Minnesota state Sen. Gary Dahms, R-Redwood Falls, has announced that he will not be seeking re-election this year. In a Thursday news release, Dahms said he will be stepping down at the end of his Senate term.

“When I first ran for the Minnesota Senate, I said that when I was elected, I would serve 10 years. This year will be my 16th year. After careful consideration and discussion with my family, I’ve decided not to seek reelection when my term ends in 2026. I believe it’s time to give others the opportunity to serve in the Senate. Representing the people of Senate District 15, southwest Minnesota, and the entire state has been an honor,” Dahms said.

Senate District 15 includes Lac qui Parle, Yellow Medicine, Lyon, Redwood and Brown counties, as well as portions of Chippewa and Blue Earth counties.

Dahms is the second state senator in southwest Minnesota to announce he is not seeking re-election this year. Last week, Sen. Bill Weber, R-Luverne, also announced that he would not be running again. Weber, who represents Senate District 21, was first elected in 2012.

There are already two candidates running for Dahms’ Senate District 15 seat. On Thursday afternoon, Marshall area resident Braxton Seifert announced on Facebook that he will be running for Minnesota Senate. Seifert had previously served as Dahms’ campaign manager.

“As a sixth-generation Minnesotan who was born, raised and educated right here in southwest Minnesota, I understand our people, our values and our way of life,” Seifert said in a social media video announcing his candidacy. “I’m running for all Minnesotans who work hard, play by the rules, and want to realize the American dream.”

Seifert said Minnesota needed things like a lower cost of living, affordable health care, quality education, “and zero tolerance for fraud.”

In December, New Ulm City Council President Andrea Boettger announced that she would be running for Minnesota Senate in District 15. Boettger said she was running as a DFL candidate but said she was not afraid to cross the aisle and talk common-sense issues that raise the quality of life in the state.

As a senator, Dahms served in leadership roles in the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Finance and Policy Committee, the Agriculture and Rural Economies Committee, the Education Finance Committee, and the Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus Personnel Committee.

Dahms’ Thursday news release said achievements as Senator included authoring a bill for a statewide reinsurance program that became a model for other states; increasing funding for rural nursing homes and assisted living facilities; securing bonding funds for wastewater infrastructure in several small rural communities; and helping establish an agricultural education degree program at Southwest Minnesota State University.

“As a senator, I have focused on finding practical solutions to the problems facing Minnesota families, businesses, and local government units. It has been an honor and a pleasure to represent our shared values. In my final legislative session, I will fight for the commonsense policies that Minnesotans deserve and expect from their government,” Dahms said.

It’s not unprecedented for southwest Minnesota to have more than one state legislator stepping down in the same year, said David Sturrock, professor of political science at Southwest Minnesota State University. In 2010, “Most of Lyon County was in a district where the (state) senator and representative were leaving,” Sturrock said.

That year, state Sen. Dennis Frederickson said he wouldn’t seek re-election, while at the same time Rep. Marty Seifert said he would run for governor and not seek re-election in the Minnesota House.

While there have been examples of more than one area legislator retiring at a time, Sturrock said southwest Minnesota legislators have also tended to have longevity.

“Our region has a history of electing legislators and keeping them for a long time,” he said.

It was a pattern that held true for both Democratic and Republican legislators. Sturrock said the last time there was major turnover in state legislators was around 1986, during the height of the farm crisis.

With legislators like Dahms and Weber not seeking re-election, Sturrock said, “Both political parties have an opportunity to encourage new candidates to seek seats.”

At the same time, the region would be losing some legislators with seniority, he said. Dahms and Weber “were very effective advocates for southwest Minnesota, and they both were very strong vote-getters,” Sturrock said.

Members of area political parties were feeling optimistic Thursday that there would be new candidates entering the Senate District 15 race.

“We thank Gary for his years of service,” said Lyon County Republicans co-chair Rick Konold. Konold said Dahms had represented southwest Minnesota well. Looking ahead to the 2026 Senate race, he said, “I think we’re going to have good candidates running.”

“We are excited. Hopefully some great candidates will be stepping into the race,” said Lyon County Republicans co-chair Holly Lamote.

Brown County Republican chairman Greg Bartz said Dahms will be hard to replace.

“He did a great job for us. There will be big shoes to fill,” said Bartz. “He was a good fit for the district. He was strong in agriculture, had good, conservative values. He always showed up for things like meetings, parades, town halls, whatever. He always tried to be accessible to voters.”

Minnesota Rep. Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, praised Dahms’ service.

“He’s been a tremendous partner for me in my work at the Legislature. We always cooperated. He’s been a great colleague, worked hard and had a wealth of experience,” said Torkelson. “He will be greatly missed my me. He’s been a good, solid senate member. He’s done a lot of good work there, representing his district very well. I thank him for his service. It’s been an honor to work with him.”

“Despite any disagreements on political issues or policies, I certainly respect Gary’s 16 years of service,” said Brown County DFL chairwoman Lori Sellner. “I’m thankful for anyone who makes that sort of sacrifice for public service. I wish he and his family well. I see a number of politicians are retiring now. I assume some may be exhausted with the political divide. Legislators go to lots of meetings, do committee work and other things. There is more to it than most people think.”

Sellner and Lyon County DFL chairwoman Anita Gaul both said they looked forward to an open state Senate race.

“I think now that it’s an open seat, it is going to get interesting,” Gaul said.

It was possible that, in addition to new candidates running in Senate District 15, there would be higher turnouts for local caucuses. In addition, “With all the stuff happening at the state and federal level, people are already energized,” she said.

“We have some good candidates, especially (DFL) candidate Andrea Boettger of New Ulm. She has lots of experience with the New Ulm City Council and Region Nine,” said Sellner. “We’ll see what the Legislature looks like after the next election.”

— Fritz Busch

contributed to this story.