Five candidates ran for Hennepin County attorney, and 2 are left. Cedrick Frazier, the DFL-endorsed state representative from New Hope, finished first in the Aug. 11 primary with 87,447 votes, or about 36%. Former federal prosecutor Anders Folk came second with 55,610 votes, about 22.9%. Both advance to the Nov. 3 general election to replace Mary Moriarty, who isn't running for a second term.
The rest of the field finished well back. Diane Krenz, a 40-year veteran of the county attorney's office, got 46,150 votes (19%). Hao Nguyen, a longtime Ramsey County prosecutor, got 36,424 (15%), and Matt Pelikan got 17,648 (7.3%).
Whoever wins will run prosecutions across the county, Bloomington included. The seat came open when Moriarty announced that she wouldn't seek reelection.
Frazier was the only candidate with both DFL and Labor endorsements going into the primary. He has worked as a public defender, as legal counsel for Minneapolis Public Schools and as a labor attorney at Education Minnesota, and he has served on a suburban city council and in the Legislature. He grew up on Chicago's South Side. His platform focuses on prosecuting violent crime while protecting abortion access and immigrant communities. He says he has more endorsements than all of his opponents combined, including Attorney General Keith Ellison. "I will prosecute ICE agents who violate Minnesota law," Frazier said.
Folk grew up in Hopkins and is a Marine and a former acting U.S. Attorney. He worked under Amy Klobuchar when she ran the county attorney's office and later held leadership roles at the Department of Justice under President Biden. He has proposed a Federal Prosecution Task Force for cases tied to Operation Metro Surge, along with a Crime Victims' Bill of Rights. "Hennepin County deserves an experienced prosecutor and leader who will work every day to make Hennepin County safe," Folk said.
The 3 candidates who were eliminated had argued for different approaches. Krenz worked in the office from 1985 to 2025 and ended up supervising its fraud team. She ran as the course-correction candidate. "I worked there for 40 years and believe the office has taken a turn that decreases public safety," she said. Nguyen spent 15 years in Ramsey County and led its trials division. She proposed bringing that county's trauma-informed victim services and diversion programs to Hennepin. Pelikan didn't answer the candidate questionnaire.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The county says Oct. 13 is the deadline to pre-register. In-person early voting opens at city locations across the county Oct. 16 and runs through Nov. 2. The county's election calendar has the full schedule.
