Democrat Mary Jo McGuire swept the state Senate seat in District 66, which includes part of the University of MinnesotaâÄôs St. Paul campus, in a special election Tuesday.

McGuire, 54, beat Republican Greg Copeland with about 80 percent of the vote.

Copeland formerly lost the race to Democrat Ellen Anderson, but in March, Gov. Mark Dayton appointed Anderson as chairwoman of the Public Utilities Commission, freeing up the spot.

The district encompasses a number of St. PaulâÄôs northern suburbs, and is home to students in Bailey Hall. The area is predominately Democratic, helping usher in McGuire, who previously served as a representative for part of the district from 1988 to 2002.

She is an associate director at the Learning Law and Democracy Foundation and an adjunct professor at St. Catherine University.