Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Members Vote in Primary Elections

Minnesota Chippewa Tribe members voted in primary elections across the state this week.

Six of the seven Minnesota Ojibwe tribes participated included Leech Lake, White Earth, and Mille Lacs in the Lakeland viewing area. If candidates get more than 50% of the vote in the primary election, they are declared the winner and don’t have to take part in the general election.

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe voters gave more than 50% to Kyle Fairbanks in the District I Representative primary as well as incumbent Steve White in District II, so both are declared the winner of those elections.

White Earth Nation held three primaries. Michael “Mike” LaRoque and Eugene “Umsy” Tibbetts were the top two vote-getters for Secretary-Treasurer and move on to the general election. Raymond J. Auginaush, Sr. and Henry George Fox advance in District I, and Tara Mason and Eugene Sommers do likewise in District II.

In the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe primary, incumbent Secretary-Treasurer Sheldon Ray Boyd and District II Representative candidate Wendy Megan Merrill each tallied more than 50% of the vote and won their respective races.

The only Ojibwe band that did not hold primary elections this week was Red Lake. Their election is set for May 18th.

Full primary election results can be found on the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe’s website.