Longtime state servant Mary Kiffmeyer, a former State House member and one-time Secretary of State under Gov. Tim Pawlenty, won the Minnesota Senate District 30 seat.

She had the GOP party endorsement.

The new Senate District, unveiled last February, includes Albertville, St. Michael, Otsego, Elk River and Big Lake.

She defeated DFL candidate Paul Perovich.

Kiffmeyer took about 62 percent of the votes, while Perovich took about 37 percent.

Vote totals showed Kiffmeyer with 25,177 votes and Perovich with 15,103.

"Thank you to the voters of my district for their confidence and trust in me to continue to serve them now as State Senator," said Kiffmeyer in an informaton release today. "The nearly 80,000 people in this new district live and work in vibrant growing communities and will have a voice in St. Paul that understands their needs."

She added that her priorities for the district include transportation, equity in school funding and pro-job growth policies. She will immediately start working with leaders on these priorities, she said.

"I look forward to providing the strong conservative representation for this newly drawn senate district in St. Paul and will use my experience and knowledge to benefit the Senate District 30 communities in the years ahead," Kiffmeyer said.