Campaign Literature Archive - Aug. 14, 2018 Minnesota Primary Election: Governor

Campaign Literature « 2018 Midterms « 2018 Minnesota Race for Governor: The Nominating Campaigns

MINNESOTA

2018 Race for Governor: The Nominating Campaigns

Open Seat

(Aug. 2018, revised Dec. 9, 2021) The race to succeed retiring two-term Gov. Mark Dayton (DFL) drew many candidates with a range of experience in elective office and the private sector. Republicans had not won a statewide office in 12 years, but Trump came close to carrying the state in 2016, falling short by 44,765 votes (1.52 percentage points) out of more than 2.9 million votes cast. The 2018 cycle proved to be a busy one for Minnesota. In addition to the governor's race, the resignation of Sen. Al Franken meant both U.S. Senate seats were up, and there were open U.S. House seats and the battle for control of the legislature.

DFL and Republican candidates pursue two major strategies in seeking their party's nomination: vie for the party's endorsement at the state convention or bypass the convention and run in the primary. Sometimes a candidate will be unsuccessful in competing for the endorsement but opt to continue their campaign to the primary. The endorsement represents a grassroots "seal of approval" but does not always translate into a primary win. It is not unusual for a nominee to change his or her campaign manager after the convention, as rallying up support of delegates and winning support at the ballot box are very different tasks. Also interesting to watch are candidates' choices for lieutenant governor. Candidates often try to achieve gender balance with their picks; there are differences in the timing of the running mate announcements and the role the number twos play and their prominence in the campaign. Also note, in Minnesota candidates for governor (and other legislative and constitutional offices) can qualify for public subsidies overseen by the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board (>).

DFL
First of the major candidates to announce for governor was state Rep. Erin Murphy in Nov. 2016, most of the candidates announced during the course of 2017, and last in was Attorney General Lori Swanson in June 2018. Precinct caucus straw polls held by both parties on the evening of Feb. 6, 2018 helped winnow the field. The DFL held its convention in Rochester on June 1-3. Competing for the endorsement were U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, Murphy and state Auditor Rebecca Otto; Murphy won the party's endorsement on the seventh ballot, However, in the Aug. 14 DFL primary, Walz won with 41.6% of the vote followed by Murphy at 32.0%, Swanson at 24.6% and Tim Holden at 1.1%.

DFL	Announced	(Withdrew)	Running Mate	Announced
Erin Murphy	Nov. 17, 2016		Erin Maye Quade	June 3, 2018
Lori Swanson	June 4, 2018		Rick Nolan	June 4, 2018
Tim Walz	Mar. 27, 2017		Peggy Flanagan	Oct. 5, 2017
Rebecca Otto	Jan. 9, 2017	June 4, 2018	Zarina Baber	May 21, 2018
Tina Liebling	Apr. 2, 2017	Mar. 12, 2018
Chris Coleman	Dec. 13, 2016	Feb. 12, 2018
Paul Thissen	June 15, 2017	Feb. 7, 2018

Other DFL Candidates: Tim Holden/James Mellin II; Ole Savior/Chris Edman.

Republican
Republicans held their convention in Duluth on June 1-2 and endorsed Johnson (>), but former Gov. Tim Pawlenty bypassed the convention and ran in the primary. Many observers expected Pawlenty would prevail, but Johnson defeated Pawlenty and Matt Kruse by 52.6% to 43.9% and 3.5%. Comebacks by former officials are not always successful; there is what one might call a "retread effect" where voters look for something new.

GOP	Announced	(Withdrew)	Running Mate	Announced
Jeff Johnson	May 10, 2017		Donna Bergstrom	May 14, 2018
Tim Pawlenty	Apr. 5, 2018		Michelle Fischbach	May 31, 2018
Mary Giuliani Stephens	Nov. 29, 2017	June 2, 2018	Jeff Backer	May 2, 2018
Keith Downey	July 24, 2017	Apr. 18, 2018
Matt Dean	Apr. 26, 2017	Jan. 25, 2018
Dave Osmek	Aug. 22, 2017	Jan. 8, 2018
Blake Huffman	April 18, 2017	Sept. 3, 2017