Carly Melin of Hibbing, who had the DFL endorsement, easily won Tuesday’s party primary in House District 5B. She’ll now move on to the Feb. 15 special election to replace Tony Sertich, who was appointed head of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board.

Melin, 25, is an attorney working in the state judicial system; she once worked as a legislative intern for Sertich. She also was endorsed by AFSCME and Education Minnesota.

She received more than half the votes cast in the primary, says the Duluth News Tribune:

• Melin — 2,005 
• Shelley Robinson — 1,180
• Raymond Lee Pierce — 402 
• Jeffrey Kletscher — 317 
• John J. Spanish — 94

Melin will face Republican Paul Jacobson and Independence Party candidate Cynthia Kafut-Hagen in the special election.