Jeff Anderson knows all too well about close elections. Tuesday's general election for the state House 27B race wasn't any different.

It took until the early morning hours today for Anderson to celebrate his victory over DFL challenger Jeanne Poppe. Anderson, the Republican-nominated candidate, won by a vote count of 7,777-7,399.

Two years ago, Anderson lost the same race by approximately 500 votes to Rob Leighton, who decided not to seek another term. That left the race up for grabs between Anderson, an Austin High School social studies teacher and Poppe, an Austin City Council member who also works at Riverland Community College.

"I'm just so grateful to the voters," Anderson said. "For them to give their vote to me is a very humbling thing. They're trusting me to represent them and to do that to the best of my ability."

Earlier Wednesday morning, Anderson reflected on all the parades and door-knocking over the past few years.

"I think I worked harder this time than two years ago," he said. "There were places in Austin I hit three times. That's a lot of houses and a lot of miles."

Rep. Dan Dorman is relieved to have another election win, but knows the next two years in St. Paul won't be easy.

"It's going to be a difficult session coming up and I think people are going to want an experienced person representing them," Dorman, R-Albert Lea, said. The state faces billions in budget deficits and hard questions and school and transportation funding, among others, next year.

Dorman defeated Emmons resident Allan Halvorsen, a Democrat, by a margin of 57 percent to 43 percent, 10,102 votes to 7,495 for the District 27A state house seat, which covers Freeborn County and a small portion of Mower County.

"Allan is a good competitor, very knowledgeable, very personable," Dorman said. "It made for a hard choice, but I also think I've done a good job of representing my district."

First elected four years ago in a tight race, Dorman won an easy victory two years ago and will now serve his third term in St. Paul.

"I think it's certainly been very humbling the times that I've won," Dorman said. "You feel a definite sense of responsibility but also appreciation."

Halvorsen said he's grateful for the support he received.

"I'm very pleased with the support I got and the help that people gave me, and I'd like to congratulate Dan Dorman for winning and thank him for running a clean campaign, too," Halvorsen said. "I suggest that people who supported me and have concerns, make sure Dan Dorman knows about them."