1986Final results
1986 election for Minnesota Senate District 17
Minnesota State Senate · Minnesota
James Pehler (D) won with 50.9% of the vote, defeating Joanne Benson (R) by 1.9 points.
James PehlerDemocrat · winner · incumbent
50.9%10,222
Joanne BensonRepublican
49.1%9,844
20,066 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 1986
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET