Primary Election Snapshot of the Hottest Races
by Sam Richie, AASPMN Lobbyist
On Tuesday, August 11, Minnesotans went to the polls to select candidates for federal, state and local office for November’s general election.
This year’s statewide primary was particularly notable as it featured competitive races for all four constitutional officers, eight seats in Congress, a U.S. Senate seat and a number of seats in the Minnesota Legislature. Here is a summary of the significant races from the hotly-contested primary.
• U.S. Senate: Democratic Sen. Tina Smith announced last year that she would not seek another term, creating an open seat in the U.S. Senate for the first time since 2006. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan won the Democratic Farmer Labor Party (“DFL”) endorsement in May before defeating Congresswoman Angie Craig in one of the more expensive and contentious primary elections in recent memory. While many had expected this outcome, the margin of victory for the Lt. Gov. came as something of a surprise.
*Flanagan: 59.02 percent
Craig: 39.38 percent
Republicans also had a primary for the U.S. Senate race featuring former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya, former Navy SEAL (and Republican endorsed candidate) Adam Schwarze and former NBA player (and 2024 U.S. Senate nominee) Royce White. Tafoya emerged with a comfortable victory, having secured significantly more resources for her campaign than her competitors.
*Tafoya: 52.58 percent
Schwarze: 23.87 percent
White: 10.97 percent
• Governor: While 15 different candidates filed to run for governor of Minnesota, it is the Republican primary that drew the most attention with three top candidates, including the Republican-endorsed candidate, businessman Kendall Qualls, Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. Despite President Trump’s endorsement of Lindell, Speaker Demuth emerged as the Republican nominee and will face off against U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar in November.
*Demuth: 43.44 percent
Lindell: 32.47 percent
Qualls: 21.37 percent
• U.S. House of Representatives: While each of Minnesota’s eight congressional district offices are also up for election, Minnesota’s Second Congressional District (currently represented by Rep. Angie Craig) was the host of the most notable primary. Six candidates sought the DFL nomination, with former state Sen. Matt Little (DFL-Lakeville) victorious. Little will face off against current state Sen. Eric Pratt (R-Prior-Lake) in November.
*Matt Little: 47.23 percent
Sen. Matt Klein: 30.4 percent
Rep. Kaela Berg: 16.66 percent
• Minnesota State Legislature: With more than 40 of the 201 incumbent state legislators not seeking their current office and some incumbents drawing intra-party challenges, there were several notable primary elections across the state. Some of the more prominent incumbents also faced intra-party challenges this month, including Democrats Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-St. Louis Park), Sen. Susan Pha (DFL-Brooklyn Park), Sen. Omar Fateh (DFL-Minneapolis), Rep. Mohamud Noor (DFL-Minneapolis) and Rep. Huldah Momanyi-Hiltsley (DFL-Brooklyn Park). All Democrat incumbents were victorious in the primary.
*Sen. Latz: 59.77 percent
Lynette Lungay Dumalag: 40.23 percent
*Sen. Pha: 74.89 percent
Nehemiah Garley: 25.11 percent
*Sen. Fateh: 78.29 percent
Jeanelle Austin: 14.37 percent
Brenda Short: 7.34 percent
*Rep. Noor: 84.63 percent
Abdurrahman Mahmud: 15.37 percent
*Rep. Momanyi-Hiltsley: 48.79 percent
Wynfred Russell: 41.81 percent
Richard A. Klatte: 9.4 percent
Republicans had their own slate of incumbent primaries, including Sen. Paul Utke (R-Park Rapids), Sen. Nathan Wesenberg (R-Little Falls) and Sen. John Jasinski (R-Faribault) as well as with Rep. Josh Heintzeman (R-Nisswa), Rep. Tom Murphy (R-Underwood) and Rep. Dawn Gillman (R-Dassel). All but one incumbent won their primary races, with current state Rep. Mike Wiener (R-Long Prairie) narrowly beating Sen. Paul Utke by less than 200 votes.
*Rep. Wiener: 50.84 percent
Sen. Utke: 49.16 percent
*Sen. Wesenberg: 74.21 percent
Deb Holthaus: 25.79 percent
*Sen. Jasinski: 88.22 percent
Crystal Alan: 11.78 percent
*Rep. Heintzeman: 88.18 percent
Matthew Zinda: 11.18 percent
*Rep. Murphy: 88.55 percent
Craig Horlocker: 11.45 percent
*Rep. Gillman: 77.48 percent
Wayne Olson: 22.52 percent
This expensive and sometimes contentious primary season indicates a bruising general election to come this fall. Watch for more information and context leading up to the November general election and how election results may impact AASPMN’s legislative goals in 2027 and beyond.
Want more? Check out the September 2026 issue of AASP-MN News!