OVERLOOKED

U.S.·United States

TIME-SENSITIVE / UNOFFICIAL: Spring Lake Park, Minn., mayoral race tied 1,401–1,401 between Robert Nelson and Halyn Roth; City Council canvass Monday at 5:30 p.m.; if still tied, Minnesota law requires the winner "by lot"

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SPRING LAKE PARK, Minn. —

Depth

Dig five layers into this story — from what happened to the full picture.

L1What happened

What happened: UNOFFICIAL — Nelson and Roth each 1,401 votes (49.77%); all three precincts reported (CBS Minnesota; hometownsource; FOX 9). Write-ins: CBS Minnesota and KSTP say 13; FOX 9 says 12 — shown separately.

L2Who’s affected

Who is affected: Spring Lake Park voters and the two-year mayoral term; City Council race where 17 votes separate Julien and Wendling, eligible for a publicly funded recount (CBS Minnesota; hometownsource).

L3Why it’s quiet

Why it stayed quiet: Analysis: a small Anoka County suburb on a national election night; opened local CBS Minnesota/KSTP/FOX 9 and hometown paper only this run. ostore_hint: none among 13 majors (CBS Minnesota is local O&O).

L4Deeper impact

Deeper impact: If the canvass leaves the race tied, Minnesota law requires deciding the winner by lot; recount requests until 5 p.m. Nov. 16; tentative recounts Nov. 17 at Anoka County Courthouse (CBS Minnesota; hometownsource).

L5Full context

Full context: CBS Minnesota notes a 2018 Maplewood City Council tie settled by coin toss was later overturned when the official canvass showed the incumbent ahead by five. FOX 9: Roth plans to request a recount if Nelson wins a drawing and results are unchanged. Canvass Monday at 5:30 p.m. as CBS/hometownsource state.

You’ve reached the bottom. Read the original reporting below.

Original reporting

  1. CBS Minnesota (Eric Henderson)Spring Lake Park mayoral race ends in a tieNov 5, 2026 ↗
  2. ABC Newspapers / hometownsourceSLP mayoral race results in a tieNov 5, 2026 ↗
  3. KSTP (Joey Swanson)Spring Lake Park mayoral race ends in tieNov 5, 2026 ↗
  4. FOX 9 (Kilat Fitzgerald)Spring Lake Park mayor election tiedNov 4, 2026 ↗
Status history (2 events, ET)
  1. Published
  2. O-Score check: 10 (Fully overlooked) · 0 of 13 outlets counted

Story timeline

Drag to see how this story moved: when we published, when big outlets had it, and each O-Score check. From our stored check log; times ET.

Nov 5, 2026Nov 5, 2026

PublishedUpdates 0Outlets by our date 0Later pickups 0Checks 1

No later pickups logged so far.

All 2 events as a list
  1. 11:19 AM ET, Nov 5, 2026 · OVERLOOKED published this story
  2. 11:19 AM ET, Nov 5, 2026 · O-Score check: 0 of 13 outlets had it (score 10)

Election Daymayoral racetielotrecountSpring Lake ParkMinnesotaunofficial results

This is an OVERLOOKED summary of the reporting above. Facts and figures come from the linked sources. Everything here is a fact unless it is labelled otherwise. Support this work.

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