Featured photo, from left: Leonard “Alan” Roy and Paul Utke. Graphic courtesy of Eric Callagan.
Minnesota’s Senate District 2 covers a huge area of northern Minnesota, from Lake of the Woods County, most of Beltrami and Becker counties, a portion of Wadena County, as well as all of Clearwater, Hubbard and Mahnomen counties.
A map of Minnesota District 2A and 2B is provided below.
In this race, DFL-endorsed Leonard “Alan” Roy of White Earth is challenging incumbent Republican Senator Paul Utke of Park Rapids.
LEONARD “ALAN” ROY
Leonard “Alan” Roy is an Army veteran, a father and a White Earth Nation band member. Roy has an undergraduate degree in political science, strategic communications and Indigenous studies, and is working on a master’s degree. Roy was elected to the White Earth Tribal Council in 2018, where he currently serves as treasurer.
PAUL UTKE
Paul Utke was first elected to the Senate District 2 seat in 2016. Utke served numerous terms on the Park Rapids City Council, and the senate race was the first political race in which he had an opponent. Utke owns and operates a hardware store on Main Street, Park Rapids, and he and his wife moved to the area with their two young daughters in 1993.
