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Shawn Savela wins Republican primary in 8th District of House of Representatives – Duluth News Tribune

DULUTH – Shawn Savela won the Republican primary for State Representative District 8B with 61.8% of the vote ahead of Tim Meyer.

“I think it’s a great win. While I like Tim, I think the voters have spoken,” Savela said Tuesday night. “I was disappointed with the turnout overall, but I think that will change by the time the election comes in November. I hope people look at each candidate and their policies individually, and when they do that, we will have more success.”

District 8B covers eastern Duluth from East Hillside to Brighton Beach. Savela will face incumbent DFL candidate Alicia “Liish” Kozlowski, who was first elected in 2022.

“We are obviously disappointed,” Meyer said Tuesday. “We knew it was unlikely to run as a centrist voter, and we saw Republicans toe the party line tonight.”

Both Savela and Meyer previously ran for Duluth City Council – Meyer for the council without a majority in the 2021 primary and in 2023 against 1st District Councilwoman Wendy Durrwachter. Savela ran for a council seat without a majority in 2023.

Savela is the owner and senior consultant of a software consulting company. He said his main motivation for running was the last legislative session.

Tim Meyer

Tim Meyer

“In the last ten minutes of the session, the majority party passed a 1,400-page omnibus bill without time for review or debate,” Savela previously told the News Tribune. “At a time when families are struggling to pay for food and shelter, instead of returning money from a $17 billion surplus, they spent it all and then raised taxes another $10 billion.”

Meyer is a candidate of the Forward Party who had previously stated that he would not caucus with either the Democrats or the Republicans.

Kozlowski has spent more than 12 years organizing and leading the Duluth community and has experience in business development and higher education. In a previous statement to the News Tribune, they said they “remain committed to being a responsive leader.”

A person poses for a photo and smiles.

State Rep. Alicia “Liish” Kozlowski.

Article by Alicia “Liish” Kozlowski

Teri Gift

Teri Cadeau is a reporter covering grades K-12 and higher education for the Duluth News Tribune. Originally from the Iron Range, Cadeau has worked for several local newspapers in the Duluth area, including the Duluth Budgeteer News, Western Weekly, Weekly Observer, Lake County News-Chronicle and occasionally the Cloquet Pine Journal. Outside of work, she is an avid reader and crafter.

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