The 2016 election in Minnesota will finally end on Tuesday, three months after most of the state’s voters cast their ballots for president and the state Legislature.

This final echo of the 2016 campaign will play out northeast of the Twin Cities, when voters in legislative District 32B will choose between Republican Anne Neu and Democrat Laurie Warner to fill the 134th and final seat in the state House of Representatives.

The seat was supposed to be filled in November, but the Minnesota Supreme Court ordered the special election after finding the incumbent lawmaker didn’t live in his district.

Ordinarily, the Chisago County district would heavily favor the Republican candidate, but low-turnout special elections can be unpredictable, and Democrats hope that President Donald Trump’s first month in office will spark a backlash that will lead them to a legislative upset.

The outcome of Tuesday’s election won’t affect control of the Minnesota House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a 76-54 advantage over the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. But it could be a sign of a Democratic resurgence under Trump — or a sign that such a resurgence doesn’t go as far as progressives hope.

THE CANDIDATES

Neither Neu nor Warner has served in the Legislature before, but neither is new to politics.

Neu, 42, is a longtime Republican activist and campaign worker who home-schools her five children. A native of Roseville, she has lived in North Branch for almost eight years and enjoys backpacking and home handiwork projects.

Warner, 62, is also a North Branch resident. She moved there around a decade ago from Duluth, where she served on the city council and was a field representative for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. She was the DFL Party candidate for District 32B in 2014 but lost to then-Rep. Bob Barrett.

Barrett was ruled ineligible for his seat in September by the Minnesota Supreme Court. Because of how close that decision was to the November election, the justices followed state law and ordered a February special election to fill the seat.

NEU: FOCUS ON HEALTH CARE, TAXES

If elected, Neu says a major priority is reducing taxes — particularly property taxes that affect many farmers.

“With a $1.4 billion budget surplus, we’re clearly taxed too much,” Neu said.

In addition to reducing taxes, Neu said she wants to focus on stabilizing Minnesota’s individual health-insurance market, where around 5 percent of Minnesotans have seen skyrocketing premiums and shrinking networks.

WARNER: SCHOOL FUNDING IS TOP PRIORITY

Warner said her focus is on providing more funding for the district’s schools without further stressing Chisago County farmers.

“We border with Washington County, which is quite a bit more flush with businesses and homes than us here in Chisago County,” Warner said. “We struggle with trying to pass levies for our schools here because people really do not want to be pinched any more.”

Warner also said she wants to be a “bridge-builder” in the fractious Legislature.

CAN DEMOCRATS PULL OFF UPSET VICTORY?

In 2014, Barrett won with 56 percent of the vote, while Republican candidates for governor, U.S. House and U.S. Senate also won the district comfortably. It was a similar story in 2016.

“There are more conservative voters in Chisago County than there are Democrat voters,” Neu said. “If they show up at the polls, we should win.”

But special elections like Tuesday’s race normally have lower turnout than general elections, which can give an advantage to whichever party is more organized and enthusiastic.

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Warner said she’s hopeful for a victory — especially given progressive protests against Trump in recent weeks.

“We’ve gotten phone calls from people all over the United States and here in Minnesota, who want to help in any way they can,” Warner said. “That enthusiasm is just amazing.”

Neu, in contrast, said voters she’s talked to haven’t mentioned Trump at all. Instead, she said, their focus has been taxes and health insurance.

One big challenge for both candidates is simply informing voters that there will be an election on Feb. 14 — an unusual time for an election. That’s especially true given this election’s unusual circumstances: the November ballot listed Barrett and Warner, and many residents of the district voted for the race despite notices that it wouldn’t count.

Both candidates said a big focus of their campaign has been informing voters of the election despite the odd circumstances.

“Some people said, ‘I’ve already voted for you!'” Warner said of her encounters with voters. “Well, that was a practice. Now you get to do the real thing on February 14.”