Minnesota's Midterm Primaries: What to Know | Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities

Gubernatorial Primary

Minnesotans voted in the midterm primaries on August 11th with a strong voter turnout among DFL supporters. The DFL will be aiming to win another trifecta in state government this November, while the GOP will look to hold their position in the state House and potentially win the governorship. The governorship will be especially challenging for the GOP as Klobuchar has historically seen high favorability ratings all across the state.

For Governor, Klobuchar handily won the DFL primary with nearly 90% of the vote.

On the GOP side, former House Speaker Lisa Demuth comfortably beat out Trump-endorsed Mike Lindell by double digits. Trump has historically not done as well in Minnesotan statewide races compared to other GOP candidates. The Lindell loss shows that a Trump endorsement is not enough alone to be a competitive candidate for Minnesota Governor.

Senate Primary

In the DFL Senate primary, Peggy Flanagan, the current Lt. Governor, beat Angie Craig by nearly a 20-point margin. Angie Craig, seen as a more moderate candidate, struggled to maintain support in an environment where voters are increasingly turning to more progressive candidates. It remains to be seen whether the controversy around fraud that has clouded Walz’s administration affects Flanagan in the general election in November.

On the GOP side, three candidates earned at least 10% of the vote in the U.S. Senate seat primary. Even in a slightly more crowded race, Michele Tafoya overwhelmingly won the primary with over 52% of the vote. Tafoya, a native Californian, moved to Minnesota after retiring from a career in sports broadcasting.

Voter Turnout

In an unprecedented turnout, more than 1,100,000 Minnesotans cast ballots in the primary – the first time more than a million votes have been cast in a Minnesota primary[1]. In terms of party enthusiasm for the midterm primaries, DFL voters turned out roughly 2 to 1 over GOP voters for major candidates in both the gubernatorial primary and Senate primary. We will see whether the DFL turnout carries over into the midterm general election, where historically the party opposite the president performs better than average.