2020 Election Guide—Primary Update Minnesota 2020 will be one of the more unusual election years in Minnesota history. The only statewide races will be for President, Tina Smith's US Senate seat, and former Speaker of the House Paul Thissen's first election race for the Supreme Court seat he was appointed to two years ago. No constitutional officers are on the ballot this year. All 201 legislative offices are on the November ballot, and campaigning may look very different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Candidates usually connect with their communities by walking parades, and most have been cancelled for this year. Door-knocking will be difficult due to social distancing guidelines, and candidates will likely not have the opportunity to hold large in-person fundraising events, which may make it more difficult to raise money for their campaigns. The general election is November 3 and early voting begins September 18. Noteworthy Primary Races Congressional District 5: The most high-profile race of the 2020 primary was the CD5 Democratic primary. Representative Ilhan Omar faced multiple primary challengers in her first bid for re- election to Congress. Antone Melton-Meaux was seen as Representative Omar’s main competitor in the primary. Melton-Meaux spent more than $6 million on his campaign which ended up gaining the primary national attention. The city of Minneapolis had the highest turnout for a primary election in more than 50 years with over 100,000 residents that voted. Representative Omar ended up winning her primary by a comfortable margin, with 57.94% of the vote. Representative Omar will go on to face Republican Lacy Johnson in the general election. Four Incumbent Democrats Lose Primary Elections Four incumbent DFL legislators, three House members and one Senator, lost primary campaigns to more liberal challengers. Three of those challengers secured the party endorsement over the incumbent, although the incumbents argued to voters that the endorsements were largely the result of suppressed turnout due to COVID-19 quarantines. The margins of victory for each of the challenger were quite high, suggesting that their victories were not the result of low turnout. The defeat of four incumbents perhaps signals a continuing shift to the left of the Democratic party. All four seats are in safe Democratic districts. Senate District 7: In Duluth, Jen McEwen defeated Senator Erik Simonson. McEwen received her party’s endorsement earlier this spring. Senator Simonson was endorsed by organized labor and Governor Walz. Senator Simonson had served two terms in the House and one term in the Senate. McEwen will face Republican Donna Bergstrom in November. Senate District 60: Omar Fetah defeated Senator Jeff Hayden in the SD60 Democratic primary. SD 60 encompasses large parts of south Minneapolis, including the site of George Floyd’s killing. Fateh is a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist, while Senator Hayden has represented the district for 12 years and was a member of the Senate Minority Caucus Leadership. Fateh will face Republican Bruce Lundeen in the general election. If Fateh wins the Senate election he would be the first Somali American to serve in the Senate. House District 59B: In Minneapolis, Esther Agbaje defeated Rep. Ray Dehn in the 59B Democratic primary. Agbaje was the Democratic endorsed candidate in the race. Representative Dehn was elected to the House in 2012. Agbaje will face Republican Alan Shilepsky on the ballot this November. House District 66B: In St. Paul, Athena Hollins defeated Representative John Lesch in the 66B Democratic primary. Representative Lesch was the only endorsed candidate that did not win their primary race. After having lost the initial party endorsement Hollins dropped out of the race. Hollins re-entered the race following George Floyd’s death. Representative Lesch has served in the Minnesota House for nine terms. Athena Collins will face Republican Mikki Murray on the ballot this November. Republican Primaries Proceeded with Less Drama There was far less drama in the Republican primaries, with party leaders including Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, and long-time member Paul Torkelson all easily beating primary challengers. Senate District 47: Chanhassen City Councilmember Julia Coleman (daughter-in-law of former U.S. Senator and St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman) defeated Victoria Mayor Tom Funk in the SD47 Republican primary. Senator Scott Jensen (R-Chaska) choose to retire from the legislature. Coleman will face Democrat Addie Miller of Watertown in the general election. House District 55A: Eric Mortenson beat former representative Bob Loonan in the 55A Republican primary. Loonan lost his seat to DFL Representative Brad Tabke in 2016. Representative Tabke beat Eric Mortenson winning 52% of the vote in 2018. The Republican party chose not to endorse a candidate in the race. Eric Mortenson will again face Representative Tabke on the ballot this fall. Minnesota Legislature Sixteen state representatives and four state senators will not be running for reelection to their current seats in 2020. The retiring members represent a mix of urban, rural, and suburban districts, leaving open some competitive seats that both parties will spend considerable time and resources to win. Three Democratic members of the Minnesota Legislature did not have their party’s endorsement going into the August primary election: Senator Jeff Hayden (Minneapolis), - 2 - Key: Bold: Incumbent (E): Endorsed by their party Senator Erik Simonson (Duluth), and Representative Ray Dehn (Minneapolis). Each of those candidates lost their primary. The only candidate for the Minnesota legislature that had their party’s endorsement and subsequently lost their primary was Representative John Lesch (Saint Paul). All Republican members of the Minnesota legislature received their party’s endorsement and won their primary races. This is a key election because the next Legislature will determine redistricting of the Legislature for the next 10 years. The Minnesota Senate currently has a Republican majority with 35 Republican members, and 32 Democratic-Famer-Labor (DFL) members; Democrats need to win an additional two seats to retake control. The Minnesota House has a DFL majority made up of 75 Democrats, 55 Republicans, and four members of the New Republican Caucus. The House Republicans need to win an additional nine seats to regain control of that body. US Senate and Congress All eight of Minnesota’s Congressional seats are on the ballot this year and one of Minnesota’s Senate seats is as well. Senator Tina Smith was appointed to the Senate in 2018 by Governor Mark Dayton after Senator Al Franken resigned from the Senate. Senator Smith then won a special election in 2018 to keep the seat. This will be her first regularly scheduled election. Former 2nd District Congressman Jason Lewis is challenging Senator Smith. All of Minnesota’s members of the United States House of Representatives are running for reelection and have been endorsed by their political party. Only Republican Rep. Jim Hagedorn (1st) and Democratic Rep. Angie Craig (2nd) did not have primary opponents. Representatives Dean Phillips (DFL-3rd), Betty McCollum (DFL-4th), Ilhan Omar (DFL-5th), Tom Emmer (R-6th), Collin Peterson (DFL-7th) and Pete Stauber (R-8th) all won their primary races. Third Party Candidates There are 13 marijuana candidates running for the Minnesota Senate and six running in the House. There are seven Legal Marijuana Now party candidates in the Senate and five in the House. There are six Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis party candidates in the Senate and one in the House. There is one candidate running in the House from the Veterans Party of Minnesota. The Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis party fielded candidates in the U.S. Senate race and four of the eight Congressional races. The Legal Marijuana Now party has fielded candidates in the U.S. Senate race and three Congressional races. Rae Hart Anderson won the Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis primary in the 7th Congressional District. Judiciary There are 123 judicial offices on the ballot this year. Justice Thissen is the only Supreme Court Justice up for election; he is being challenged by perennial candidate Michelle MacDonald. There are four Court of Appeals Judges running for reelection but, none of their elections are contested. - 3 - Key: Bold: Incumbent (E): Endorsed by their party There are 118 District Court Judges running for reelection. Four District Court Judges are facing opponents, one in the 1st Judicial District, one on the 2nd Judicial District, and two in the 9th Judicial District. Note: This document was last updated August 13, 2020. Results may change as mail in ballots continue to be received. - 4 - Key: Bold: Incumbent (E): Endorsed by their party United States Senate Primary Democrat United States Senate Primary Candidate—Percent Of The Vote General Election Opponent Steve Carlson—2.94% Ahmad Hassan—3.60% Jason Lewis-Republican Paula Overby—5.18% Kevin O’Connor-Legal Marijuana Now Tina Smith (E)—87.15% Oliver Steinberg-Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Christopher Lovell Seymore, Sr.—1.13% Republican United States Senate Primary Candidate—Percent Of The Vote General Election Opponent John L. Berman—6.65% Tina Smith-Democrat Bob “Again” Carney Jr.–4.28% Kevin O’Connor-Legal Marijuana Now Cynthia Gail—7.19% Oliver Steinberg-Grassroots-Legalize Jason Lewis (E)—78.13% Cannabis James Reibestein—3.75% - 5 - Key: Bold: Incumbent (E): Endorsed by their party