The field of candidates for state Legislature in southwest Minnesota this year will include residents from rural Redwood County and from Jackson.

On Thursday, Redwood County resident Tiffany Lesmeister-Knott said she will run for Minnesota state Senate in District 15, which is currently represented by Sen. Gary Dahms, R-Redwood Falls. And in January, Jackson resident Nathan Peterson announced he will be running in Senate District 21, which is currently represented by Sen. Bill Weber, R-Luverne.

At the same time, current state Rep. Joe Schomacker, R-Luverne, has announced that he will not be running again in Minnesota House District 21A. In his announcement Wednesday, Schomacker said he needed to focus on his Main Street businesses, rather than seek a ninth term in the House.

The news has prompted some changes in area candidates. Rural Porter resident Krist Wollum, who had previously said he planned to run for Senate in Weber’s district, said Thursday that he will be running for House in Schomacker’s district instead.

“Mr. Schomacker did an amazing job representing his district for 16 years and I would hope to continue his values and leadership if elected,” Wollum said. “I feel this position would give me a better ability to be able to continue my involvement in my farming and livestock operation.”

So far a total of four state legislators from southern and southwestern Minnesota have said they don’t intend to seek re-election this year. Dahms, Weber, Schomacker and Rep. Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, have all said they plan to step down.

In her candidacy announcement for Senate District 15, Lesmeister-Knott said she lives on a small farm between Redwood Falls and Wabasso, and works traveling throughout Minnesota and South Dakota testing milk on dairy farms. In 2024, she was the district coordinator for the Trump campaign in western Minnesota.

“I am passionate about rural Minnesota and I will take my knowledge and experience with me to St. Paul to serve the constituents of Senate District 15,” Lesmeister-Knott said in her announcement.

“As a state district director for townships, I have advocated on both the state and national levels for more funding for rural roads in Minnesota,” she said. “As the Minnesota election integrity solutions co-chair, I have fought for fair elections, more election judges in the metro area, and to keep ranked choice voting out of our elections. I fought to keep our county recorder as a voted position instead of being appointed in Redwood County. I will continue to fight for the conservative value of our area as your state senator.”

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

Before Lesmeister-Knott’s announcement, two candidates, Braxton Seifert and Brian Mock, had also said they will run in Senate District 15.

In his candidacy announcement for Senate District 21, Peterson said he currently serves on the Jackson City Council, and as chair of the Jackson County Republicans. He previously served as a congressional deputy chair for Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District GOP. He volunteers with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Reserves and is a retired firefighter.

“Senator Bill Weber has served our area well, and I’m grateful for his dedication to District 21,”

“I’m running because rural Minnesota needs a senator who understands our way of life — someone who will stand up for farmers, small businesses, public safety, and local control, and who will fight Minnesota’s epidemic of waste, fraud, and abuse without forgetting where they came from,” Peterson said.

Senate District 21 includes Lincoln, Pipestone, Murray, Rock, Nobles, Cottonwood and Jackson counties, as well as parts of Watonwan and Martin counties.