Minnesota's 2014 elections U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • Secretary of State • Other executive offices • State House • School boards • Judicial • Candidate ballot access

2015 → ← 2013

The state of Minnesota held elections in 2014. Below are the dates of note:

2014 elections and events in Minnesota
Signature filing deadline for all candidates	June 3, 2014
Voter registration deadline for primary election	July 21, 2014 & same-day
Primary election date	August 12, 2014
Voter registration deadline for general election	October 14, 2014 & same-day
General election date	November 4, 2014
Local ballot measure election	November 4, 2014
School board elections (8)	November 4, 2014

Below are the types of elections that were scheduled in Minnesota in 2014:

On the 2014 ballot
Find current election news and links here.
U.S. Senate	a
U.S. House	a
State Executives	a
State Senate	d
State House	a
Statewide ballot measures (0 measures)	d
Local ballot measures	a
School boards	a
State courts	a

2014 elections

Races to watch in Minnesota

U.S. Congress

---

See also: Minnesota's 8th Congressional District elections, 2014

Incumbent Rep. Rick Nolan (D) defeated former incumbent Chip Cravaack in 2012 for the 8th District seat. On November 4, Nolan defeated Republican Stewart Mills in a competitive race.

Minnesota State Legislature

---

See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Minnesota House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on August 12, 2014, and a general election took place on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 3, 2014. Heading into the election, the Democratic Party controlled the chamber. The following table details the 10 districts with the smallest margin of victory in the November 6, 2012, general election.

2012 Margin of Victory, Minnesota House of Representatives
District	Winner	Margin of Victory	Total Votes	Top Opponent
District 8B	Mary Franson	0.1%	21,269	Bob Cunniff
District 56B	Will Morgan	0.8%	21,200	Roz Peterson
District 48A	Yvonne Selcer	0.8%	24,714	Kirk Stensrud
District 12A	Jay McNamar	1.2%	21,234	Scott Dutcher
District 10B	Joe Radinovich	1.5%	21,851	Dale Lueck
District 32B	Bob Barrett	1.9%	20,895	Rick Olseen
District 2B	Steve Green	2%	19,135	Brita Sailer
District 36A	Mark Uglem	2.2%	20,926	Grace Baltich
District 44A	Sarah Anderson	2.6%	23,620	Audrey Britton
District 11B	Tim Faust	2.7%	18,304	Ben Wiener

Elections by type

U.S. Senate

U.S. Senate elections in Minnesota

See also: United States Senate elections in Minnesota, 2014 and United States Senate elections, 2014

Voters in Minnesota elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the election on November 4, 2014.

Candidate Filing Deadline	Primary Election	General Election
June 3, 2014	August 12, 2014	November 4, 2014

Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Minnesota utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.^[1][2][3]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters needed to register on election day, or pre-register by July 22, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 14, 2014 (21 days days prior to the election).^[4]

See also: Minnesota elections, 2014

Incumbent: The winner will fill the Senate seat held by Al Franken (D). Franken was first elected in 2008.

Candidates

---

General election candidates

• Al Franken - Incumbent
• Mike McFadden
• Steve Carlson
• Heather Johnson

August 12, 2014, primary results

Democratic Primary Al Franken - Incumbent[5]a Sandra Henningsgard[5] Independence Party Primary Tom Books[5] Steve Carlson[5]a Jack Shepard[5] Kevin Terrell[5] Stephen Williams[5]

Republican Primary Mike McFadden[6]a Patrick Munro[5] Ole Savior[5] Jim Abeler - State Representative[7] David Carlson[5] Libertarian Primary Heather Johnson[5]a

Withdrew from race

• Chris Dahlberg - St. Louis County Commissioner^[7][8]

• Julianne Ortman - State Senator^[7][8][5]

U.S. House

U.S. House of Representatives elections in Minnesota

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, 2014 and United States House of Representatives elections, 2014

The 2014 U.S. House of Representatives elections in Minnesota took place on November 4, 2014. Voters elected eight candidates to serve in the U.S. House, one from each of the state's eight congressional districts.

Candidate Filing Deadline	Primary Election	General Election
June 3, 2014	August 12, 2014	November 4, 2014

Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Minnesota utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.^[1][2][9]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters needed to register on election day, or pre-register by July 22, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 14, 2014 (21 days days prior to the election).^[10]

See also: Minnesota elections, 2014

Partisan breakdown

---

Heading into the November 4 election, the Democratic Party held five of the eight congressional seats from Minnesota.

Members of the U.S. House from Minnesota -- Partisan Breakdown
Party		As of November 2014	After the 2014 Election
	Democratic Party	5	5
	Republican Party	3	3
Total		8	8

Incumbents

---

Heading into the 2014 election, the incumbents for the eight congressional districts were:

Name	Party	District
Tim Walz	Democratic	1
John Kline	Republican	2
Erik Paulsen	Republican	3
Betty McCollum	Democratic	4
Keith Ellison	Democratic	5
Michele Bachmann	Republican	6
Collin Peterson	Democratic	7
Rick Nolan	Democratic	8

List of candidates by district

---

1st Congressional District

General election candidates

• Tim Walz - Incumbent a
• Jim Hagedorn

August 12, 2014, primary results

Democratic Primary Tim Walz - Incumbent[11]a

Republican Primary Aaron Miller - account manager[12] Jim Hagedorn[13][7]a

Withdrew from race

• Mike Benson^[13][7]

2nd Congressional District

General election candidates

• John Kline - Incumbent a
• Mike Obermueller
• Paula Overby

August 12, 2014, primary results

Republican Primary John Kline - Incumbent[5]a Independence Party Primary Paula Overby[14]a

Democratic Primary Mike Obermueller[15]a Michael J. Roberts[5]

Withdrew from race

• David Gerson^[16][5]

• Thomas Craft^[16][5]

• Sona Mehring^[17]

3rd Congressional District

General election candidates

• Erik Paulsen - Incumbent a
• Sharon Sund

August 12, 2014, primary results

Republican Primary Erik Paulsen - Incumbent[5]a

Democratic Primary Sharon Sund[5]a

4th Congressional District

General election candidates

• Betty McCollum - Incumbent a
• Sharna Wahlgren
• Dave Thomas

August 12, 2014, primary results

Democratic Primary Betty McCollum - Incumbent[5]a

Republican Primary Sharna Wahlgren[5]a

Independence Party Primary

• Dave Thomas^[5]a

5th Congressional District

General election candidates

• Keith Ellison - Incumbent a
• Doug Daggett
• Lee Bauer

August 12, 2014, primary results

Democratic Primary Keith Ellison - Incumbent[5]a

Republican Primary Doug Daggett[5]a

Independence Party Primary

• Lee Bauer^[5]a

Failed to file

• William Brownell^[5]

6th Congressional District

General election candidates

• Tom Emmer a
• Joe Perske
• John Denney

August 12, 2014, primary results

Republican Primary Tom Emmer[18]a Rhonda Sivarajah - Anoka County Comissioner[19] Independence Party Primary John Denney[5]a

Democratic Primary Joe Perske[5] - Mayor of Sartella

Withdrew from race

• Jim Read^[20][5]

Failed to file

• Phil Krinkie^[21][5]

• Allan Levene^[22][5]

• Judy Adams^[23][5]

7th Congressional District

General election candidates

• Torrey Westrom
• Collin Peterson - Incumbent a

August 12, 2014, primary results

Democratic Primary Collin Peterson - Incumbent[24]a

Republican Primary Torrey Westrom[25]a

8th Congressional District

General election candidates

• Rick Nolan - Incumbent a
• Stewart Mills
• Ray "Skip" Sandman

August 12, 2014, primary results

Democratic Primary Rick Nolan - Incumbent[5]a Green Primary Ray "Skip" Sandman[5]a

Republican Primary Stewart Mills[26]a

Failed to file

• Eric Meyer (Independence)^[5]

State Executives

State executive official elections in Minnesota

See also: Minnesota state executive official elections, 2014 and State executive official elections, 2014

Five state executive positions were up for election in 2014 in the state of Minnesota.

The following offices were elected in 2014 in Minnesota:

• Governor of Minnesota
• Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota
• Minnesota Attorney General
• Minnesota Secretary of State
• Minnesota Auditor

List of candidates by office

Governor/Lieutenant Governor

---

General election

Mark Dayton/Tina Smith - Incumbent
Jeff Johnson/Bill Kuisle
Chris Holbrook/Chris Dock
Grassroots Party candidates Chris Wright/David Daniels
Hannah Nicollet/Tim Gieseke

Defeated in the primary

Bill Dahn/James Vigliotti
Leslie Davis/Gregory K. Soderberg
Merrill Anderson/Mark Anderson
Scott Honour/Karin Housley
Marty Seifert/Pam Myhra
Kurt Zellers/Dean Simpson

Attorney General

---

General election

Lori Swanson - Incumbent
Scott Newman
Andy Dawkins
Mary O'Connor
Legal Marijuana Party candidate Dan R. Vacek
Brandan Borgos

Defeated in the primary

Sharon Anderson

Secretary of State

---

General election

Steve Simon
Dan Severson
Bob Odden
Bob Helland

Did not file

Mark Ritchie - Incumbent

Defeated in the primary

Dick Franson
Gregg A. Iverson
David A. Singleton

Down ballot offices

---

Office	Incumbent	Assumed Office	Incumbent running?	General Election Candidates	2015 Winner	Partisan Switch?
State Auditor	Rebecca Otto	2007	Yes	Rebecca Otto Randy Gilbert Keegan Iversen Judith Schwartzbacker Patrick Dean	Rebecca Otto	No

State House

State House elections in Minnesota

See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2014 and State legislative elections, 2014

Elections for the Minnesota House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on August 12, 2014, and a general election took place on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 3, 2014.

Majority control

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 4 election, the Democratic Party held the majority in the Minnesota House of Representatives:

Minnesota House of Representatives
Party		As of November 3, 2014	After November 4, 2014
	Democratic Party	73	62
	Republican Party	61	72
Total		134	134

List of candidates by district

District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20 • District 21 • District 22 • District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 26 • District 27 • District 28 • District 29 • District 30 • District 31 • District 32 • District 33 • District 34 • District 35 • District 36 • District 37 • District 38 • District 39 • District 40 • District 41 • District 42 • District 43 • District 44 • District 45 • District 46 • District 47 • District 48 • District 49 • District 50 • District 51 • District 52 • District 53 • District 54 • District 55 • District 56 • District 57 • District 58 • District 59 • District 60 • District 61 • District 62 • District 63 • District 64 • District 65 • District 66 • District 67 • District 68 • District 69 • District 70 • District 71 • District 72 • District 73 • District 74 • District 75 • District 76 • District 77 • District 78 • District 79 • District 80 • District 81 • District 82 • District 83 • District 84 • District 85 • District 86 • District 87 • District 88 • District 89 • District 90 • District 91 • District 92 • District 93 • District 94 • District 95 • District 96 • District 97 • District 98 • District 99 • District 100 • District 101 • District 102 • District 103 • District 104 • District 105 • District 106 • District 107 • District 108 • District 109 • District 110 • District 111 • District 112 • District 113 • District 114 • District 115 • District 116 • District 117 • District 118 • District 119 • District 120 • District 121 • District 122 • District 123 • District 124 • District 125 • District 126 • District 127 • District 128 • District 129 • District 130 • District 131 • District 132 • District 133 • District 134

Local ballot measures

Local ballot measure elections in Minnesota

See also: Local ballot measures, Minnesota and Local ballot measure elections in 2014

Elections by date

Click below for more information about local ballot measure elections on:

• November 4, 2014

...click here for more 2014 Minnesota local measures.

School boards

School board elections in Minnesota

See also: List of school board elections in 2014 and Minnesota school board elections, 2014

In 2014, 670 of America's largest school districts held elections for 2,188 seats. These elections took place in 37 states.

State elections

---

A total of nine Minnesota school districts among America's largest school districts by enrollment held elections in 2014 for 33 seats. Each district held elections on November 4, 2014.

Here are several quick facts about Minnesota's school board elections in 2014:

• An average of 2.00 candidates ran for each board seat up for election in 2014 in Minnesota’s largest school districts by enrollment, which was higher than the national average of 1.89 candidates per seat.

• 21.21 percent of the school board seats on the ballot in 2014 were unopposed. This was a lower percentage than the 32.57 percent of school board seats that were unopposed nationally.
• 69.70 percent of the incumbents whose seats were on the ballot ran for re-election in 2014, and they retained 60.61 percent of the total seats up for election.
• A total of 13 newcomers were elected to school boards in Minnesota. They took 39.39 percent of the total seats in 2014, which was slightly higher than the 38.19 percent of school board seats that went to newcomers nationally.
• The largest school district by enrollment with an election in 2014 was Minneapolis Public Schools with 35,046 K-12 students.
• The smallest school district by enrollment with an election in 2014 was St. Cloud Area School District with 9,660 K-12 students.
• Minneapolis Public Schools had the most seats on the ballot in 2014 with five seats up for election.
• Four districts were tied for the fewest seats on the ballot in 2014 with three seats up for election in each district.

The districts listed below served 138,661 K-12 students during the 2010-2011 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.^[27] Click on the district names for more information on the district and its school board elections.

2014 Minnesota School Board Elections
District	Date	Seats up for election	Total board seats	Student enrollment
Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District	11/4/2014	4	7	9,919
Elk River Area School District	11/4/2014	4	7	12,932
Lakeville Area Public Schools	11/4/2014	3	6	11,220
Minneapolis Public Schools	11/4/2014	5	9	35,046
North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale School District 622	11/4/2014	3	7	10,683
Osseo Area Schools	11/4/2014	3	6	20,835
Robbinsdale Area Schools	11/4/2014	4	7	12,036
Rochester Public Schools	11/4/2014	4	7	16,330
St. Cloud Area School District	11/4/2014	3	7	9,660

Voting in Minnesota

See also: Voting in Minnesota

Important voting information

• A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Minnesota utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.^[1][2][28]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

• Minnesota does not permit online voter registration.

Voting absentee

See also: Absentee voting by state

For information about eligibility, deadlines, military and overseas voting and updates to the voting laws in Minnesota, please visit our absentee voting by state page.

Voting early

See also: Early voting

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, "although [Minnesota does] not have early voting in the traditional sense .... [the state does] allow a voter to apply in person for an absentee ballot (without an excuse) and cast that ballot in one trip to an election official's office. This is often known as 'in-person absentee' voting."^[29]

Elections Performance Index

See also: Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index

Minnesota ranked 5th out of the 50 states and District of Columbia in the Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index (EPI), based on the 2012 elections. The EPI examined election administration performance and assigned an average percentage score based on 17 indicators of election performance. These indicators were chosen in order to determine both the convenience and integrity of these three phases of an election: registration, voting and counting. Minnesota received an overall score of 74 percent.^[30]

See also

Footnotes

v • e Election information Resources Sample Ballot Lookup • Elections calendar • State poll opening and closing times • Ballot access for major and minor party candidates • Elections by state and year • State voter ID laws • Absentee voting • Early voting • Online voter registration • Election result canvassing • Where do I vote • List of absentee/mail-in ballot request websites by state • List of official voter registration websites by state Elections by state Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming 2025 elections U.S. Congress special elections • State executives • State legislature • Statewide ballot measures • State judicial • Municipal government • Mayors • School boards • Local judicial • Local ballot measures • Recall 2024 elections U.S. President • U.S. Congress • U.S. Congress special elections • State executives • State legislature • Statewide ballot measures • State judicial • Municipal government • Mayors • School boards • Local judicial • Local ballot measures • Recall 2023 elections U.S. Congress special elections • State executives • State legislature • Statewide ballot measures • State judicial • Municipal government • Mayors • School boards • Local judicial • Local ballot measures • Recall 2022 elections U.S. Congress • State executives • State legislature • Statewide ballot measures • State judicial • Municipal government • Mayors • School boards • Local judicial • Local ballot measures • Recall 2021 elections U.S. Congress special elections • State executives • State legislature • Statewide ballot measures • State judicial • Municipal government • Mayors • School boards • Local judicial • Local ballot measures • Recall 2020 elections U.S. President • U.S. Congress • State executives • State legislature • Statewide ballot measures • State judicial • Municipal government • Mayors • School boards • Local judicial • Local ballot measures • Recall How to vote in each state Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • Washington, D.C. • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming

	v • e State of Minnesota St. Paul (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy