- Campaign Literature « 2018 Midterms « Aug. 14, 2018 Minnesota Primary Election: Governor
MINNESOTA |
Aug. 14, 2018 Primary Election |
Open Seat
(Aug.
2018)
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 have 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 is
proving to be a busy one for Minnesota. The resignation of Sen.
Al Franken means two U.S. Senate seats will be up, and there are open
U.S. House seats
Earliest of the major candidates to announce for governor was state Rep. Erin Murphy (DFL) in Nov. 2016; last in was Attorney General Lori Swanson (DFL) in June 2018 after she failed to secure the DFL endorsement at the party's convention. Most of the candidates announced during the course of 2017. Precinct caucus straw polls held by both parties on the evening of Feb. 6, 2018 helped winnow the field. The state party conventions at the beginning of June 2018 further clarified the race. As the primary approached three major candidates contested the DFL nomination and two vied for the Republican nomination. Candidates' choices for lieutenant governor are interesting to watch. 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. In Minnesota candidates for governor (and other legislative and constitiutional offices) can qualify for public subsidies overseen by the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board (>).
In the DFL primary, Tim Walz won with 41.6% of the vote followed by Erin Murphy at 32.0%, Lori Swanson at 24.6% and Tim Holden at 1.1%. In the Republican primary Jeff Johnson won with 52.6% to 43.9% for former Gov. Tim Pawlenty and 3.5% for Matt Kruse.
In November, in addition to the major party candidates, several third party candidates will also be on the ballot.
Earliest of the major candidates to announce for governor was state Rep. Erin Murphy (DFL) in Nov. 2016; last in was Attorney General Lori Swanson (DFL) in June 2018 after she failed to secure the DFL endorsement at the party's convention. Most of the candidates announced during the course of 2017. Precinct caucus straw polls held by both parties on the evening of Feb. 6, 2018 helped winnow the field. The state party conventions at the beginning of June 2018 further clarified the race. As the primary approached three major candidates contested the DFL nomination and two vied for the Republican nomination. Candidates' choices for lieutenant governor are interesting to watch. 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. In Minnesota candidates for governor (and other legislative and constitiutional offices) can qualify for public subsidies overseen by the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board (>).
In the DFL primary, Tim Walz won with 41.6% of the vote followed by Erin Murphy at 32.0%, Lori Swanson at 24.6% and Tim Holden at 1.1%. In the Republican primary Jeff Johnson won with 52.6% to 43.9% for former Gov. Tim Pawlenty and 3.5% for Matt Kruse.
In November, in addition to the major party candidates, several third party candidates will also be on the ballot.
Major Party Candidates
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 |
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 |
Major Candidates
On the Ballot |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
missing: Pawlenty |
|
missing: Swanson |
Former Candidates |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
|
missing: Liebling |
![]() |
|
missing: Osmek, Huffman |
Hats in the Ring: Major Candidate Announcements
DFL |
Murphy |
Coleman |
Otto |
Walz |
Liebling |
Thissen |
Swanson |
|||||||||||||
Nov.
16 |
Dec.
16 |
Jan.
17 |
Feb. |
Mar. |
Apr. |
May |
Jun. |
Jul. |
Aug. |
Sep. |
Oct. |
Nov. |
Dec. |
Jan.
18 |
Feb. |
Mar. |
Apr. |
May |
Jun. |
|
GOP |
Huffman Dean |
Johnson |
Downey |
Osmek |
Stephens |
Pawlenty |
|
Out of the Ring: Major Candidates Leave the Race
DFL |
Thissen Coleman |
Liebling |
Otto |
|||||||||||||||||
Nov.
16 |
Dec.
16 |
Jan.
17 |
Feb. |
Mar. |
Apr. |
May |
Jun. |
Jul. |
Aug. |
Sep. |
Oct. |
Nov. |
Dec. |
Jan.
18 |
Feb. |
Mar. |
Apr. |
May |
Jun. |
|
GOP |
Huffman |
Osmek Dean |
Downey |
Stephens
|
On the Issues
Murphy/Maye-Quade |
Swanson/Nolan |
Walz/Flanagan |
Johnson/Bergstrom |
Pawlenty/Fischbach |
ADVERTISEMENT