3 Candidates in the Running for MN House District 6B Seat

With election season underway, the race is on for seats in Minnesota’s House of Representatives. One such race is House District 6B, which includes cities like Brainerd, Baxter, Nisswa, Pequot Lakes, Jenkins, and Breezy Point.

Three candidates are up for election in House District 6B: incumbent Republican Rep. Josh Heintzeman, DFLer Emily LeClaire, and Troy Scheffler of the Americans First party.

Heintzeman is seeking his sixth term as a state Representative. As the GOP Chair on the Steering Committee on Elections, Heintzeman is staying busy with his campaign and campaigns for Republican candidates across the state this election cycle.

“Every election cycle is a little different, but generally speaking, more often than not, you see a lot of the same things,” said Heintzeman. “And that’s part of the reason that I’m not just, you know, working in my own district, but working with a lot of our candidates.”

Emily LeClaire is the DFL-endorsed candidate for District 6B. LeClaire, like many who enter politics, wants to have a hand in creating a positive future for the next generation.

“The main reason is that I’m a mom and I care about what kind of future my children have going forward. And I want to be a part of making a positive impact,” explained LeClaire. “I have always kind of been interested in politics, and I’ve been an advocate for early childhood education for many years, and I feel like it’s the next logical step.”

Troy Scheffler is a third-party candidate in the race. Because of what he believes were negative changes in the Twin Cities metro, he moved from there to the Brainerd Lakes Area about seven years ago. He is not new to politics, as he ran for a Crow Wing County Commissioner seat in 2022. Scheffler believes those same negative changes are creeping into the Lakes area, which is why he entered the political world.

“That’s what segued, or seguing into why I’m shooting for this position and the Commissioner position before in 2022,” Scheffler said. “I want to put the brakes on a lot of this stuff that’s going on.”

As a five-time incumbent, Heintzeman believes he has earned the trust of voters in the district. In his eyes, the consistency over his multiple terms is something that resonates with voters and is effective for politicians.

He stated, “I think that most of my colleagues, it doesn’t matter one side of the aisle or the other, that are consistent and don’t betray that trust with the voter, their district, and are consistent in their values and in their approach to the legislature – they do very well.”

Certain qualities make for more effective leaders. One quality that LeClaire says she has that would make her effective as a state Representative is empathy.

“I think being able to empathize with people from all walks of life is an important thing for a Representative because you’re not just representing the people who have a shared experience with you. You need to be able to reach across the aisle and work with the other side,” emphasized LeClaire. “I know we’re in a time of division now and that’s something that is more and more difficult, but that’s something I want to strive to do going forward.”

Scheffler wants voters to look past the label of parties and vote on shared values and principles.

“I’m hoping to maybe wake some people up, maybe snap them out of the two-party system, start voting on principles over politics or principles over parties, and see if we can make some positive headway,” he added.

Join Lakeland PBS for our Debate Night coverage beginning October 7th, where we will bring you eight debates featuring districts across our viewing area. The debate for House District 6B will be on Friday, October 11th at 7 p.m.