Minnesota 2012 legislative election results

The tabs below contain analysis of election results in the 2012 legislative elections for Minnesota.

• Senate
• House
• National Partisan Trends

2012 Legislative Election Results
State-by-State Analysis
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Other 2012 Election information
State legislative elections • State legislative election results • Statewide elections, 2012 • State Senate elections • State House elections

Minnesota State Senate Election Results

This page contains macro-level election results and analysis for the Minnesota State Senate 2012 elections. For results in individual contests see our Minnesota State Senate elections, 2012 page. The following is a breakdown of the state senate before and after the election:

Minnesota State Senate
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	30	39
	Republican Party	37	28
Total		67	67

What You'll See on This Page

This page will display the following lists of candidates

• Incumbents running on November 6
• Defeated incumbents
• Challengers who defeated an incumbent
• Newly elected senators
• List of all winners
• Unopposed candidates
• Third party candidates

State Senate Overview:

• A total of 67 of the state's Senate seats were up for election in 2012.

Incumbents

Incumbents running in November 6

The following is a list of all of the incumbents running on the November 6 general election ballot:

1. Ann Rest
2. Barbara Goodwin
3. Benjamin Kruse
4. Bev Scalze
5. Bill Ingebrigtsen
6. Bobby Joe Champion
7. Carla Nelson
8. Charles Wiger
9. Chris Eaton
10. Dan Hall
11. Dan Sparks
12. Dave Brown (Minnesota)
13. Dave Thompson
14. David Hann
15. David Senjem
16. David Tomassoni
17. Dick Cohen
18. Gary Dahms
19. James Metzen
20. Jeff Hayden
21. Jeremy Miller (Minnesota)
22. Joe Gimse
23. John Carlson
24. John Howe
25. John Marty
26. John Pederson
27. Julianne Ortman
28. Julie Rosen
29. Kari Dziedzic
30. Kathy Sheran
31. Katie Sieben
32. Keith Downey
33. LeRoy Stumpf
34. Lyle Koenen
35. Michelle Benson
36. Michelle Fischbach
37. Pam Wolf
38. Patricia Torres Ray
39. Paul Gazelka
40. Rod Skoe
41. Roger Chamberlain
42. Roger Reinert
43. Ron Latz
44. Sandra Pappas
45. Scott Dibble
46. Scott Newman
47. Sean Nienow
48. Ted Daley
49. Ted Lillie
50. Terri Bonoff
51. Thomas Bakk
52. Tom Saxhaug
53. Tony Lourey
54. Torrey Westrom
55. Warren Limmer

Incumbents defeated

The followings is a list of incumbents defeated in 2012:

General election

Candidate	Party	District
Benjamin Kruse	Republican	Minnesota State Senate District 47
Joe Gimse	Republican	Minnesota State Senate District 13
John Carlson	Republican	Minnesota State Senate District 4
John Howe	Republican	Minnesota State Senate District 28
Keith Downey	Republican	Minnesota House of Representatives District 41A
Pam Wolf	Republican	Minnesota State Senate District 51
Ted Daley	Republican	Minnesota State Senate District 38
Ted Lillie	Republican	Minnesota State Senate District 56

Primary election

No candidates have this category yet.

Challengers who beat an incumbent

The following is a list of challengers who defeated an incumbent in 2012:

General election

Candidate	Party	District
Alice M. Johnson	Democratic	Minnesota State Senate District 37
Bill Weber	Republican	Minnesota State Senate District 22
Bruce Anderson	Republican	Maine State Senate District 29
Carrie Ruud	Republican	Minnesota State Senate District 10
David Osmek	Republican	Minnesota State Senate District 33
Eric Pratt	Republican	Minnesota State Senate District 55
Foung Hawj	Democratic	Minnesota State Senate District 67
Greg Clausen	Democratic	Minnesota State Senate District 57
Jim Carlson	Democratic	Minnesota State Senate District 51
John Hoffman (Minnesota)	Democratic	Minnesota State Senate District 36
Karin Housley	Republican	Minnesota State Senate District 39
Kevin Dahle	Democratic	Minnesota State Senate District 20
Mary Kiffmeyer	Republican	Minnesota State Senate District 30
Matt Schmit	Democratic	Minnesota State Senate District 21
Melisa Franzen	Democratic	Minnesota State Senate District 49
Melissa Halvorson Wiklund	Democratic	Minnesota State Senate District 50
Susan Kent	Democratic	Minnesota State Senate District 53
Vicki Jensen	Democratic	Minnesota State Senate District 24

Primary election

Results will display after the election on November 6.

New State Senators and General Election Winners

Newly elected senators

The following list will display the newly-elected members of the Minnesota State Senate:

Democratic

1. Alice M. Johnson
2. Foung Hawj
3. Greg Clausen
4. Jim Carlson
5. John Hoffman (Minnesota)
6. Kent Eken
7. Kevin Dahle
8. Matt Schmit
9. Melisa Franzen
10. Melissa Halvorson Wiklund
11. Susan Kent
12. Vicki Jensen

Republican

1. Bill Weber
2. Branden Petersen
3. Bruce Anderson
4. Carrie Ruud
5. David Osmek
6. Eric Pratt
7. Karin Housley
8. Mary Kiffmeyer

Open Seat Winners

The following will display a list of candidates who won election in seats where no incumbent was running:

Democratic

1. Kent Eken

Republican

1. Branden Petersen

Candidates who won election

The following will be a list of all candidates elected to the Minnesota State Senate:

Democratic

1. Alice M. Johnson
2. Ann Rest
3. Barbara Goodwin
4. Bev Scalze
5. Bobby Joe Champion
6. Charles Wiger
7. Chris Eaton
8. Dan Sparks
9. David Tomassoni
10. Dick Cohen
11. Foung Hawj
12. Greg Clausen
13. James Metzen
14. Jeff Hayden
15. Jim Carlson
16. John Hoffman (Minnesota)
17. John Marty
18. Kari Dziedzic
19. Kathy Sheran
20. Katie Sieben
21. Kent Eken
22. Kevin Dahle
23. LeRoy Stumpf
24. Lyle Koenen
25. Matt Schmit
26. Melisa Franzen
27. Melissa Halvorson Wiklund
28. Patricia Torres Ray
29. Rod Skoe
30. Roger Reinert
31. Ron Latz
32. Sandra Pappas
33. Scott Dibble
34. Susan Kent
35. Terri Bonoff
36. Thomas Bakk
37. Tom Saxhaug
38. Tony Lourey
39. Vicki Jensen

Republican

1. Bill Ingebrigtsen
2. Bill Weber
3. Branden Petersen
4. Bruce Anderson
5. Carla Nelson
6. Carrie Ruud
7. Dan Hall
8. Dave Brown (Minnesota)
9. Dave Thompson
10. David Hann
11. David Osmek
12. David Senjem
13. Eric Pratt
14. Gary Dahms
15. Jeremy Miller (Minnesota)
16. John Pederson
17. Julianne Ortman
18. Julie Rosen
19. Karin Housley
20. Mary Kiffmeyer
21. Michelle Benson
22. Michelle Fischbach
23. Paul Gazelka
24. Roger Chamberlain
25. Scott Newman
26. Sean Nienow
27. Torrey Westrom
28. Warren Limmer

Competitiveness

Unopposed candidates in general election

The following candidates will not face major party competition:

Democratic

1. Bev Scalze
2. Bobby Joe Champion
3. Chris Eaton
4. David Tomassoni
5. James Metzen
6. Jeff Hayden
7. Kathy Sheran
8. Scott Dibble

Republican

1. Connie Doepke
2. Dan Hall
3. Dave Thompson
4. Keith Downey

Ballot Access

Third party candidates

The following is a list of third party and independent candidates who are running in 2012:

1. Eric Blair
2. Rahn V. Workcuff
3. Scott Larson
4. Sharon Anderson

2012 Legislative Election Results
State-by-State Analysis
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Other 2012 Election information
State legislative elections • State legislative election results • Statewide elections, 2012 • State Senate elections • State House elections

Minnesota State House Election Results

This page contains macro-level election results and analysis for the Minnesota House of Representatives elections in 2012. For results in individual contests, see our Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2012. The following is a breakdown of the state house before and after the election:

Minnesota House of Representatives
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	61	73
	Republican Party	72	61
	Vacancy	1	0
Total		134	134

What You'll See on This Page

This page will display the following lists of candidates

• Incumbents running on November 6
• Defeated incumbents
• Challengers who defeated an incumbent
• Newly elected representatives
• List of all winners
• Unopposed candidates
• Third party candidates

State House Overview

• All 134 of the state's House seats were up for election in 2012.

Incumbency Analysis

Incumbents who ran on November 6

The following is a list of all of the incumbents who are running on the November 6 general election ballot:

1. Alice Hausman
2. Andrea Kieffer
3. Andrew Falk
4. Ann Lenczewski
5. Bob Barrett
6. Bob Dettmer
7. Bob Gunther
8. Bruce Vogel
9. Bud Nornes
10. Carlos Mariani
11. Carly Melin
12. Carolyn Laine
13. Carolyn McElfatrick
14. Chris Swedzinski
15. Dan Fabian
16. David Dill
17. David Hancock
18. Dean Urdahl
19. Debra Hilstrom
20. Debra Kiel
21. Denny McNamara
22. Diane Anderson
23. Diane Loeffler
24. Doug Wardlow
25. Duane Quam
26. Erin Murphy
27. Ernie Leidiger
28. Frank Hornstein
29. Gene Pelowski, Jr.
30. Glenn Gruenhagen
31. Gregory Davids
32. Jean Wagenius
33. Jeanne Poppe
34. Jenifer Loon
35. Jim Abeler
36. Jim Davnie
37. Joe Atkins
38. Joe Hoppe
39. Joe McDonald
40. Joe Mullery
41. Joe Schomacker
42. John Benson
43. John Lesch
44. John Persell
45. John Ward
46. Joyce Peppin
47. Karen Clark
48. Kathy Brynaert
49. Kathy Lohmer
50. Kelby Woodard
51. Kim Norton
52. King Banaian
53. Kirk Stensrud
54. Kurt Daudt
55. Kurt Zellers
56. Larry Howes
57. Leon Lillie
58. Linda Runbeck
59. Linda Slocum
60. Lyndon Carlson
61. Mary Franson
62. Mary Liz Holberg
63. Mary Murphy
64. Matt Dean
65. Melissa Hortman
66. Michael Beard
67. Michael Nelson
68. Michael Paymar
69. Mike Benson
70. Pam Myhra
71. Pat Garofalo
72. Patti Fritz
73. Paul Anderson (Minnesota)
74. Paul Marquart
75. Paul Thissen
76. Paul Torkelson
77. Peggy Scott
78. Phyllis Kahn
79. Rena Moran
80. Rich Murray
81. Rick Hansen
82. Rod Hamilton
83. Ryan Winkler
84. Sarah Anderson
85. Sheldon Johnson
86. Sondra Erickson
87. Steve Drazkowski
88. Steve Gottwalt
89. Steve Simon
90. Susan Allen
91. Tara Mack
92. Terry Morrow
93. Thomas Huntley
94. Tim Kelly (Minnesota)
95. Tim Mahoney, Minnesota Representative
96. Tim O'Driscoll
97. Tim Sanders
98. Tina Liebling
99. Tom Anzelc
100. Tom Hackbarth
101. Tony Cornish

Incumbents defeated

The followings will display a a list of incumbents defeated in 2012:

General election

Candidate	Party	District
Bruce Vogel	Republican	Minnesota House of Representatives District 13B
Carolyn McElfatrick	Republican	Minnesota House of Representatives District 3B
David Hancock	Republican	Minnesota House of Representatives District 2B
Diane Anderson	Republican	Minnesota House of Representatives District 38A
Doug Wardlow	Republican	Minnesota House of Representatives District 38B
King Banaian	Republican	Minnesota House of Representatives District 15B
Kirk Stensrud	Republican	Minnesota House of Representatives District 42A
Larry Howes	Republican	Minnesota House of Representatives District 4B
Rich Murray	Republican	Minnesota House of Representatives District 27A

Primary election

Candidate	Party	District
Steve Smith (Minnesota)	Republican	Minnesota House of Representatives District 33A

Challengers who beat an incumbent

The following will display a list of challengers who defeated an incumbent in 2012:

General election

Candidate	Party	District
Ben Lien	Democratic	Minnesota House of Representatives District 4A
Brian Johnson	Republican	Minnesota House of Representatives District 32A
Cindy Pugh	Republican	Minnesota House of Representatives District 33B
David Bly	Democratic	Minnesota House of Representatives District 20B
Jason Metsa	Democratic	Minnesota House of Representatives District 6B
Jerry Newton	Democratic	Minnesota House of Representatives District 37A
Joe Radinovich	Democratic	Minnesota House of Representatives District 10B
Laurie Halverson	Democratic	Minnesota House of Representatives District 51B
Mary Sawatzky	Democratic	Minnesota House of Representatives District 17B
Nick Zerwas	Republican	Minnesota House of Representatives District 30A
Paul Rosenthal (Minnesota)	Democratic	Minnesota House of Representatives District 49B
Roger A. Erickson	Democratic	Minnesota House of Representatives District 2A
Sandra Masin	Democratic	Minnesota House of Representatives District 51A
Shannon Savick	Democratic	Minnesota House of Representatives District 27A
Steve Green	Republican	Minnesota House of Representatives District 2B
Tim Faust	Democratic	Minnesota House of Representatives District 11B
Yvonne Selcer	Democratic	Minnesota House of Representatives District 48A
Zach Dorholt	Democratic	Minnesota House of Representatives District 14B

Primary election

No candidates have been added to this category yet.

New Representatives and General Election Winners

Newly elected representatives

The following will list the newly-elected members of the Minnesota House of Representatives:

Democratic

1. Barb Yarusso
2. Ben Lien
3. Connie Bernardy
4. Dan Schoen
5. David Bly
6. Erik Simonson
7. Jason Isaacson
8. Jason Metsa
9. Jay McNamar
10. Jerry Newton
11. Joann Ward
12. Joe Radinovich
13. Laurie Halverson
14. Mary Sawatzky
15. Mike Freiberg
16. Mike Sundin
17. Paul Rosenthal (Minnesota)
18. Peter Fischer
19. Raymond Dehn
20. Roger A. Erickson
21. Ron Erhardt
22. Sandra Masin
23. Shannon Savick
24. Tim Faust
25. Will Morgan
26. Yvonne Selcer
27. Zach Dorholt

Republican

1. Anna Wills
2. Brian Johnson
3. Cindy Pugh
4. David FitzSimmons
5. Jeff Howe
6. Jerry Hertaus
7. Jim Newberger
8. John Petersburg
9. Marion O'Neill
10. Mark Anderson
11. Mark Uglem
12. Nick Zerwas
13. Ron Kresha
14. Steve Green
15. Tony Albright

Open Seat Winners

The following will list candidates who won election in seats where no incumbent was running:

Democratic

1. Barb Yarusso
2. Connie Bernardy
3. Dan Schoen
4. Erik Simonson
5. Jason Isaacson
6. Jay McNamar
7. Joann Ward
8. Mike Freiberg
9. Mike Sundin
10. Peter Fischer
11. Raymond Dehn
12. Ron Erhardt
13. Will Morgan

Republican

1. Anna Wills
2. David FitzSimmons
3. Jeff Howe
4. Jerry Hertaus
5. Jim Newberger
6. John Petersburg
7. Marion O'Neill
8. Mark Anderson
9. Mark Uglem
10. Ron Kresha
11. Tony Albright

Candidates who won election

The following will list all candidates elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2012:

Democratic

1. Alice Hausman
2. Andrew Falk
3. Ann Lenczewski
4. Barb Yarusso
5. Ben Lien
6. Carlos Mariani
7. Carly Melin
8. Carolyn Laine
9. Connie Bernardy
10. Dan Schoen
11. David Bly
12. David Dill
13. Debra Hilstrom
14. Diane Loeffler
15. Erik Simonson
16. Erin Murphy
17. Frank Hornstein
18. Gene Pelowski, Jr.
19. Jason Isaacson
20. Jason Metsa
21. Jay McNamar
22. Jean Wagenius
23. Jeanne Poppe
24. Jerry Newton
25. Jim Davnie
26. Joann Ward
27. Joe Atkins
28. Joe Mullery
29. Joe Radinovich
30. John Benson
31. John Lesch
32. John Persell
33. John Ward
34. Karen Clark
35. Kathy Brynaert
36. Kim Norton
37. Laurie Halverson
38. Leon Lillie
39. Linda Slocum
40. Lyndon Carlson
41. Mary Murphy
42. Mary Sawatzky
43. Melissa Hortman
44. Michael Nelson
45. Michael Paymar
46. Mike Freiberg
47. Mike Sundin
48. Patti Fritz
49. Paul Marquart
50. Paul Rosenthal (Minnesota)
51. Paul Thissen
52. Peter Fischer
53. Phyllis Kahn
54. Raymond Dehn
55. Rena Moran
56. Rick Hansen
57. Roger A. Erickson
58. Ron Erhardt
59. Ryan Winkler
60. Sandra Masin
61. Shannon Savick
62. Sheldon Johnson
63. Steve Simon
64. Susan Allen
65. Terry Morrow
66. Thomas Huntley
67. Tim Faust
68. Tim Mahoney, Minnesota Representative
69. Tina Liebling
70. Tom Anzelc
71. Will Morgan
72. Yvonne Selcer
73. Zach Dorholt

Republican

1. Andrea Kieffer
2. Anna Wills
3. Bob Barrett
4. Bob Dettmer
5. Bob Gunther
6. Brian Johnson
7. Bud Nornes
8. Chris Swedzinski
9. Cindy Pugh
10. Dan Fabian
11. David FitzSimmons
12. Dean Urdahl
13. Debra Kiel
14. Denny McNamara
15. Duane Quam
16. Ernie Leidiger
17. Glenn Gruenhagen
18. Gregory Davids
19. Jeff Howe
20. Jenifer Loon
21. Jerry Hertaus
22. Jim Abeler
23. Jim Newberger
24. Joe Hoppe
25. Joe McDonald
26. Joe Schomacker
27. John Petersburg
28. Joyce Peppin
29. Kathy Lohmer
30. Kelby Woodard
31. Kurt Daudt
32. Kurt Zellers
33. Linda Runbeck
34. Marion O'Neill
35. Mark Anderson
36. Mark Uglem
37. Mary Franson
38. Mary Liz Holberg
39. Matt Dean
40. Michael Beard
41. Mike Benson
42. Nick Zerwas
43. Pam Myhra
44. Pat Garofalo
45. Paul Anderson (Minnesota)
46. Paul Torkelson
47. Peggy Scott
48. Rod Hamilton
49. Ron Kresha
50. Sarah Anderson
51. Sondra Erickson
52. Steve Drazkowski
53. Steve Gottwalt
54. Steve Green
55. Tara Mack
56. Tim Kelly (Minnesota)
57. Tim O'Driscoll
58. Tim Sanders
59. Tom Hackbarth
60. Tony Albright
61. Tony Cornish

Competitiveness

Unopposed candidates in general election

The following candidates will not face major party competition:

Democratic

1. Alice Hausman
2. Andrew Falk
3. Ann Lenczewski
4. Carlos Mariani
5. Carly Melin
6. Carolyn Laine
7. David Bly
8. David Dill
9. Debra Hilstrom
10. Diane Loeffler
11. Erin Murphy
12. Frank Hornstein
13. Gene Pelowski, Jr.
14. Jean Wagenius
15. Jeanne Poppe
16. Jim Davnie
17. Joe Atkins
18. John Benson
19. John Lesch
20. John Persell
21. John Ward
22. Karen Clark
23. Kathy Brynaert
24. Kim Norton
25. Leon Lillie
26. Linda Slocum
27. Lyndon Carlson
28. Mary Murphy
29. Melissa Hortman
30. Michael Nelson
31. Michael Paymar
32. Patti Fritz
33. Paul Marquart
34. Paul Thissen
35. Phyllis Kahn
36. Rena Moran
37. Rick Hansen
38. Ryan Winkler
39. Sheldon Johnson
40. Steve Simon
41. Susan Allen
42. Terry Morrow
43. Tim Mahoney, Minnesota Representative
44. Tina Liebling
45. Tom Anzelc

Republican

1. Bob Barrett
2. Bob Dettmer
3. Bob Gunther
4. Bruce Vogel
5. Bud Nornes
6. Carolyn McElfatrick
7. Chris Swedzinski
8. Dean Urdahl
9. Denny McNamara
10. Diane Anderson
11. Doug Wardlow
12. Duane Quam
13. Ernie Leidiger
14. Glenn Gruenhagen
15. Gregory Davids
16. Jenifer Loon
17. Jim Abeler
18. Joe Hoppe
19. Joe McDonald
20. Joe Schomacker
21. Joyce Peppin
22. Kathy Lohmer
23. Kelby Woodard
24. King Banaian
25. Kirk Stensrud
26. Kurt Daudt
27. Kurt Zellers
28. Linda Runbeck
29. Mary Franson
30. Matt Dean
31. Mike Benson
32. Pam Myhra
33. Pat Garofalo
34. Paul Anderson (Minnesota)
35. Paul Torkelson
36. Peggy Scott
37. Rich Murray
38. Rod Hamilton
39. Sarah Anderson
40. Sondra Erickson
41. Steve Drazkowski
42. Steve Gottwalt
43. Tara Mack
44. Tim Kelly (Minnesota)
45. Tim O'Driscoll
46. Tom Hackbarth
47. Tony Cornish

Ballot Access

Third party candidates

The following is a list of third party and independent candidates running in 2012:

1. Andrew Kratoska
2. Anthony Hilton
3. Cory Pylkka
4. Dave Holman
5. Joseph Koch
6. Paul Bergley
7. Ron Lischeid
8. Zachary Liebl

2012 Legislative Election Results
State-by-State Analysis
Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Maine Massachusetts • Michigan• Minnesota • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming
Other 2012 Election information
State legislative elections • State legislative election results • Statewide elections, 2012 • State Senate elections • State House elections

National Partisan Trends

The following tables will detail the partisan breakdown of national election results.

Incumbents who were defeated in the general election

In the 44 states with elections, there were 4,534 incumbents who ran in the general election. The following is a breakdown of incumbent defeats in the 2012 general election:

Incumbents defeated in 2012 legislative general election
Party	Senate	House	Total
Democratic	21	49	70
Republican	37	182	219
Third Party	2	3	5
TOTALS	60	234	294

Total new legislators elected

In total, 1,707 (28.4%) new legislators were elected in 2012. Of these 1,707, 849 (50.0%) were Republicans and 854 (50.0%) were Democrats.

The following is the breakdown of new legislators.

New Legislators after the 2012 legislative elections
Party	Senate	House	Total
Democratic	165	684	849
Republican	202	652	854
Independent	0	4	4
TOTALS	367	1,340	1,707

Winners of Open Seats

Open seats contests made up 705 (11.7%) of the 6,015 seats in 2012. Of these 705 open seats, Republicans won 401 (56.9%) while Democrats won 304 (43.1%). Going into the election, the number of open seats formerly held by each party was quite similar. Estimates prior to the election suggested that approximately 52% of the open seats were previously held by Republicans and 48% were held by Democrats.

The following is the breakdown of open seat winners.

Open Seat Winners in 2012 legislative elections
Party	Senate	House	Total
Democratic	82	220	302
Republican	105	296	401
Third Party	0	0	0
TOTALS	187	516	703

Impact on legislative majorities

See also: Partisan balance of state legislatures

Partisan Balance of Chambers with 2012 Elections
	Pre-election				Post-election
Legislative chamber
State senates	17	24	1	1	18	24	0	1
State houses	15	27	1	0	19	24	0	0
Totals:	32	51	2	1	37	48	0	1

Partisan Balance of All 99 Chambers Before and After 2012 Elections
	Pre-election				Post-election
Legislative chamber
State senates	19	28	2	1	20	28	1	1
State houses	17	31	1	0	21	28	0	0
Totals:	35	60	3	1	41	56	1	1