In the Republican primary for the open Senate District 39 seat on Tuesday, Karin Housley defeated Eric Michael Langness of …

Neither Karin Housley nor Eric Langness on June 4 had any inkling of running for state Senate, but they found themselves filing as candidates in District 39 after frantic trips to the Capitol the very next day.

In a last-minute decision on Tuesday, June 5, State Sen. Ray Vandeveer, R-Forest Lake, has backed away from a reelection bid this fall in new Senate District 39.

The new Senate District 39 GOP last month completed its organizing convention in Mahtomedi.  It endorsed Sen. Ray Vandeveer, Forest …