1974Flipped from independentFinal results
1974 election for Minnesota House District 51A
Minnesota House of Representatives · Minnesota
Gary Laidig (R) won with 59.0% of the vote, defeating Opal Petersen (D) by 18.0 points, a seat another party won last time.
Gary LaidigRepublican · winner · incumbent
59.0%6,255
Opal PetersenDemocrat
41.0%4,346
10,601 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1974
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET