1980Final results
1980 election for Minnesota Senate District 53
Minnesota State Senate · Minnesota
Howard Knutson (R) won with 56.9% of the vote, defeating Margaret J. Tilley (D) by 25.8 points.
Howard KnutsonRepublican · winner · incumbent
56.9%25,316
Margaret J. TilleyDemocrat
31.1%13,844
Gene A. RechtzigelIndependent
12.0%5,345
44,505 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 1980
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET