It was a quiet day for the five election judges who staffed the precinct at Coffman Union . Despite âÄúVote HereâÄù sandwich boards directing the way, by 2 p.m. only six people had come to vote. The sparsely attended primary, which decided school board and judicial nominees as well as three congressional races and a couple dozen races in the Minnesota House of Representatives, ran from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at precincts across the state. Except for a couple surprises, the primaries largely proceeded according to script, nominating candidates who had earlier received endorsements at party conventions. The most high-profile contests revolved around nominations for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican Sen. Norm Coleman. Latecomer Dean Barkley won an upset victory over the seven candidates contending for the Independence Party nomination for the seat, including IP-endorsed Stephen Williams . In 2002, Barkley had been appointed to the U.S. Senate by Gov. Jesse Ventura after the death of Sen. Paul Wellstone. DFL-endorsed senatorial candidate Al Franken also defeated a strong challenge from Priscilla Lord Faris , an attorney from St. Paul who had characterized Franken as unfit for political office due to his former career as a satirist. Incumbent State Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis , who serves the University area, also defeated challenger Joel Rainville who claimed Kahn was out of touch with people in her district. Incumbent U.S. Reps. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., and Michelle Bachmann, R-Minn., also defeated challengers by large margins. Tanya Kenigsberg , a junior in the art department, said she was planning to vote in the Democratic primary later in the evening. âÄúI feel obligated by my civic duties to at least check it out and get more informed about it,âÄù she said. Jodelle Gerdes , a design, housing and apparel senior, said students are sick of politics after hearing so much about the Republican National Convention over the past few months. âÄúNot only did we have the presidential election which has been going on forever, [but] the RNC was everywhere,âÄù she said. âÄúIt definitely took over the political aspect of peoplesâÄô brains for awhile.âÄù Election judge and University alumna Jane Strauss said part of the reason for the low turnout was due to studentsâÄô confusion about which precinct to attend. âÄúYou have to decide whether you live with your parents or you live here,âÄù she said. Between three and four dozen students tried to vote at the Coffman precinct and had to be redirected to the precinct closest to their house, she said. Primaries also focus on local issues like school board, which many students donâÄôt care about, Strauss said. âÄúMost of the major party stuff has already been hashed out in the conventions,âÄù Strauss said. âÄúSchool board isnâÄôt sexy.âÄù