BUFFALO — Candidate filing has closed for the 2026 Minnesota Senate District 29 race, setting up a Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary and a November challenge to incumbent Sen. Michael Holmstrom Jr.
Holmstrom, a Buffalo businessman who won last year’s special election to complete the term of the late Sen. Bruce Anderson, was the lone Republican to file for the seat and will advance directly to the Nov. 3 general election.
Two candidates filed for the DFL nomination: Louis McNutt of Buffalo and Dan Fiskum of Rockford. Because more than one DFL candidate entered the race, voters will choose the party’s nominee in the Aug. 11 primary election.
McNutt, 42, returns to the ballot after serving as the DFL nominee in the 2025 special election. A Buffalo resident since 2016, McNutt has worked for the Minnesota Department of Transportation for the past decade as a heavy equipment mechanic and serves in leadership roles within AFSCME.
During last year’s campaign, McNutt said his priorities included lowering health care costs, addressing affordability concerns, simplifying the tax code and ensuring rural communities have a stronger voice in state government. He also pointed to his work with legislators from both parties on issues involving MnDOT oversight and government accountability.
Fiskum announced his candidacy June 2. A Rockford resident for more than 19 years, he is an attorney and litigator with more than 30 years of legal experience.
Fiskum said he is running because he believes Senate District 29 needs leaders willing to ask difficult questions, solve problems and hold government accountable.
Among his top concerns is the proposed hyperscale data center development in Monticello and the potential for similar projects elsewhere in Wright County.
“Families have invested their lives in these communities,” Fiskum said. “They deserve transparency, meaningful environmental review, and a real voice before decisions that could permanently change the character of our communities are made.”
Fiskum said he opposes locating hyperscale data centers in Monticello, Buffalo or near established population centers. He also cited affordability, education and expansion of fiber-optic broadband as priorities.
“As I say often, we need less chaos and more community,” Fiskum said. “We need to build a Minnesota we can trust.”
The winner of the DFL primary will face Holmstrom in November.
Holmstrom won the 2025 special election following Anderson’s death, defeating McNutt in the general election after advancing through a three-way Republican primary. He is now seeking his first full four-year term in the Senate.
Senate District 29 includes communities in Wright and western Hennepin counties, including Monticello, Buffalo, St. Michael, Albertville, Delano, Rockford, Waverly and surrounding areas.
The filing period closed June 2, and the withdrawal deadline expired June 4.
The primary election will be held Aug. 11. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 3.
The Monticello Times contacted all three candidates seeking comment on their campaigns and priorities. Responses from Holmstrom and McNutt had not been received by press time.
Republican
Democratic-Farmer-Labor
A Rockford attorney is making his first run for office with a campaign centered on stopping a proposed Monticello data center and winning the Senate District 29 seat for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
Dan Fiskum, 72, is running in the Aug. 11 DFL primary against the party’s endorsed candidate, Louis McNutt. The winner of that race will try to unseat Sen. Michael Holmstrom, R-Buffalo, who won a special election last year to finish the late Sen. Bruce Anderson’s term.
McNutt ran against Holmstrom in last year’s special election for Anderson’s seat. He lost to Holmstrom and is running for the Senate seat again this year.
Fiskum calls the data center the most important issue the district faces. He said hyperscale data centers would raise utility bills, use large amounts of water and leave behind few lasting jobs once construction crews go home.
He said the proposed Monticello center would be the size of 40 football fields and would sit across the street from homes.
“So if you can imagine 40 buildings, the size of 1 1/2 Walmarts surrounded by a nine-foot cyclone fence with barbed wire on top, that’s what we’re talking about,” Fiskum said.
He said hyperscale centers would create short-term construction jobs, but he said many of those workers would come from outside the area. Once a center is running, Fiskum said, 20 to 30 people can manage it.
He said that leaves little benefit for the communities where the centers are built.
“So there’s not really an upside to the people of Monticello, except, I guess, it’s another entity that will pay some property taxes,” Fiskum said. “But when you destroy people’s homes in their neighborhoods, it’s just not worth it.”
Fiskum said the Legislature has the power to act because cities and towns are political subdivisions of the state. He said lawmakers could remove tax incentives for the centers or order a moratorium while the state studies their effects.
He also wants to ban nondisclosure agreements that keep data center owners secret. He said the buyer may not be known until a project is built, and the public has a right to know who will own something that uses local power and water.
“I mean, it’s government business, and I don’t know why that should be kept secret,” Fiskum said.
Fiskum has practiced law in Minnesota since 1992 and handles mostly matrimonial cases. He worked earlier as a civil litigator on business, entertainment and probate cases. He moved to Rockford about 19 years ago and has not run for office before.
He said he entered the race last winter, after watching how Democrats had run and lost in the district for decades. He said the party has grown resigned to losing and has stopped asking why.
The data center is not Fiskum’s only issue. He said he also wants to expand fiber-optic broadband, keep civil defense sirens running, change farm tax rules and help districts keep teachers.
Internet service in much of the area runs on old coaxial cables, and residents pay high rates because cable companies face little competition, Fiskum said. He wants fiber-optic service expanded and said competition would cut what residents pay for internet and television.
Fiskum said cities are dropping service contracts on their tornado sirens to save money, at a time when the area sees frequent severe weather. He said the contracts cost about $10,000 a year for each siren, and that text alerts are not a full substitute.
On farms, Fiskum said state law often saddles families with large tax bills when they sell their land or pass it to a younger generation.
He said Minnesota appraises working farms on their farm output rather than on what the land could sell for, but that the break is clawed back when the farm changes hands. He wants the law changed so families are not forced to pay three years of back taxes at a higher rate.
Fiskum also said Minnesota’s estate tax treats farm families unfairly because the state exemption, unlike the federal one, does not pass between spouses. He wants that changed, too.
On schools, Fiskum said the state should level funding so districts can keep the teachers they have. He said districts that bring in more money often lure teachers away from neighbors that cannot match the pay.
Fiskum said winning the district means reaching beyond the party’s base. He said he is courting independents and Republicans who feel their own party has failed them, and he tells them their vote is private.
“You need to hold your nose and just vote for me because I’m the guy that’s going to make a difference, a real difference in your life,” Fiskum said.