Gov. Mark Dayton on Monday set Dec. 8 as the date of a special election to decide who will replace the late Rep. David Dill, DFL-Crane Lake, who died earlier this month.

Dill served in the Minnesota House since 2002, serving seven terms. He died of cancer in early August and was known as an advocate for the outdoors.

Already two candidates have emerged ahead of the opening of the candidate filing period Aug. 25. They are Ely City Councilwoman Heidi Omerza and Koochiching County Commissioner Rob Ecklund, according to the Duluth News Tribune.