2014 elections review: Connecticut, Minnesota and Wisconsin hold congressional primaries
August 13, 2014
By Ballotpedia's Congressional team
With many of the primary races in Connecticut, Minnesota and Wisconsin having been uncontested or already settled at party conventions, last night's congressional primaries did not bring too many surprises. In an otherwise uneventful night, Minnesota's 1st District Republican primary saw Jim Hagedorn defeat Aaron Miller, despite the fact that Miller had won the Republican Party's endorsement at the GOP convention.
U.S. Senate
- See also: United States Senate elections, 2014
Minnesota
The primary election for Minnesota's U.S. Senate seat was a crowded, though not very competitive, race. Incumbent Al Franken easily defeated Sandra Henningsgard for the Democratic nomination. Mike McFadden defeated four other Republican candidates by a wide margin of victory. He beat out Jim Abeler, David Carlson, Patrick Munro and Ole Savior for the chance to take on Franken in the November general election. Five candidates competed in the Independence Party primary as well, with Steve Carlson beating out Kevin Terrell, Jack Shepard, Stephen Williams and Tom Books. Heather Johnson ran uncontested for the Libertarian nomination in the primary.[1]
U.S. House
Connecticut
There are five seats up for election in Connecticut's 2014 congressional elections. Heading into the election, the Democratic Party holds all five of Connecticut's congressional seats.
Despite being Connecticut's official primary date, no congressional primaries were held yesterday. All major party candidates were already decided at convention earlier this year.
| Members of the U.S. House from Connecticut -- Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2014 | After the 2014 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 5 | 5 | |
| Republican Party | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 5 | |
Minnesota
There are eight seats up for grabs in Minnesota's 2014 congressional elections. Heading into the general election, the Democratic Party holds five of Minnesota's eight congressional seats.
| Members of the U.S. House from Minnesota -- Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2014 | After the 2014 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 5 | 5 | |
| Republican Party | 3 | 3 | |
| Total | 8 | 8 | |
Note: Both the Democratic and Republican Parties in Minnesota hold conventions prior to the primary election. In these conventions, delegates from each party vote for one candidate to endorse from their party. Often, though not always, other candidates will withdraw after the party has chosen to support a different candidate. Consequently, many of Minnesota's primary elections are uncontested.
District 1
Incumbent Tim Walz ran uncontested for the Democratic nomination in the primary. Meanwhile, Jim Hagedorn defeated Aaron Miller in the Republican primary, despite the fact that Miller had won the Republican Party's endorsement at the GOP convention.[2] Hagedorn had originally planned on bowing out of the race when Miller received the party's support, but later decided to re-enter.[3]
District 2
Incumbent John Kline ran uncontested in the Republican primary. Mike Obermueller defeated Michael J. Roberts for the Democratic nomination.[2] Paula Overby, Minnesota's first openly transgender candidate for Congress, ran unopposed for the Independence Party nomination in the primary.[4]
District 3
Both Republican incumbent Erik Paulsen and Democratic challenger Sharon Sund ran uncontested in their respective primary elections.[2]
District 4
Incumbent Betty McCollum ran uncontested for the Democratic nomination in the primary. Republican candidate Sharna Wahlgren and Independence Party candidate Dave Thomas ran uncontested in their respective primaries as well.[2]
District 5
Democratic incumbent Keith Ellison, Republican candidate Doug Daggett and Independence Party candidate Lee Bauer all ran uncontested in their respective primary elections.[2]
District 6
With incumbent Michele Bachmann (R) not seeking re-election in 2014, two candidates competed for the Republican nomination in the primary. Tom Emmer, who had Bachmann's endorsement, defeated Rhonda Sivarajah by a wide margin of victory.[5] Democratic candidate Joe Perske and Independence Party candidate John Denney ran uncontested in their respective primaries.[2]
District 7
Both Democratic incumbent Collin Peterson and Republican challenger Torrey Westrom ran uncontested in their respective primaries.[2]
District 8
Minnesota's 8th Congressional District was a battleground district in 2014. Cook's Partisan Voting Index (PVI) rated Minnesota's 8th as a D+1, or a barely Democratic district.[6] FairVote rates the district as a toss up.[7] Although Democratic incumbent Rick Nolan won in 2012 with an 8.9 percent margin of victory, and the district voted for Democratic President Barack Obama in 2012 with a 5.5 percent margin of victory, Nolan was first elected in 2012, and representatives serving their first term are often more vulnerable than those who have been in office for many years. Moreover, Minnesota's 8th district was re-drawn in 2011, which could have altered the ratio of Democrats to Republicans in the district.
Incumbent Rick Nolan ran uncontested for the Democratic nomination in the primary, while challenger Stewart Mills ran uncontested in the Republican primary. Ray "Skip" Sandman ran uncontested for the Green Party nomination.[2]
Wisconsin
There are eight seats up for grabs in Wisconsin’s 2014 congressional elections. Heading into the November 4 election, the Republican Party held five of the eight congressional seats from Wisconsin.
| Members of the U.S. House from Wisconsin -- Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2014 | After the 2014 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 3 | 3 | |
| Republican Party | 5 | 5 | |
| Total | 8 | 8 | |
District 1
Incumbent Paul Ryan defeated Jeremy Ryan in the Republican primary. Rob Zerban defeated Amar Kaleka in the Democratic primary.[8]
District 2
Incumbent Mark Pocan ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, and Peter Theron ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 3
Tony Kurtz defeated Ken Van Doren and Karen Mueller in the Republican primary.[8] Incumbent Ron Kind (D) ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.
District 4
Incumbent Gwen Moore defeated former state Sen. Gary George, who is the second senator to be recalled in state history, in the Democratic primary.[9] Dan Sebring defeated David King in the Republican primary.[8] Moore and Sebring will face independent candidate Robert Raymond in the general election.
District 5
Incumbent Jim Sensenbrenner (R) will face Chris Rockwood (D) in the general election. Neither candidate faced a primary challenger.
District 6
State Sen. Glenn Grothman defeated Duey Stroebel, state Sen. Joseph Leibham and Tom Denow in the Republican primary. Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.[8] Grothman and Harris will face Libertarian Gus Fahrendorf in the general election for the chance to win retiring Rep. Tom Petri's seat.
District 7
Incumbent Sean Duffy defeated Don Raihala, who previously ran as a Democrat for the seat, in the Republican primary. Kelly Westlund defeated Mike Krsiean, who previously ran for the seat as an independent candidate, in the Democratic primary.[8] Duffy and Westlund will face write-in candidate John Schiess (R) and Green Party candidate Lawrence Dale in the general election.[10]
District 8
Incumbent Reid Ribble (R) will face Ron Gruett (D) in the general election. Neither candidate faced a primary challenger.
See also
- List of U.S. Congress incumbents not running for re-election in 2014
- [U.S. House battleground districts, 2014]]
- United States Senate elections, 2014
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2014
- United States Senate elections in Minnesota, 2014
- United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut, 2014
- United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, 2014
- United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin, 2014
- Connecticut elections, 2014
- Minnesota elections, 2014
- Wisconsin elections, 2014
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Associated Press, "Minnesota Senate - 2014 Primary Results," accessed August 12, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Associated Press, "Minnesota - 2014 Primary Results," accessed August 12, 2014
- ↑ Mankato Free Press, "Hagedorn re-entering 1st District race," accessed August 13, 2014
- ↑ City Pages, "Eagan's Paula Overby plans to be the state's first transgender candidate for Congress," accessed August 13, 2014
- ↑ Star Tribune, "GOP voters pick Emmer as likely Bachmann heir," accessed August 12, 2014
- ↑ The Cook Political Report, "Partisan Voting Index, Districts of the 113th Congress," accessed May 24, 2014
- ↑ FairVote, "2014 Elections in Minnesota," accessed May 24, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Associated Press, "Wisconsin - Summary Vote Results," accessed August 12, 2014
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, "Both sides targeting state senators for recall elections," February 19, 2011
- ↑ JSOnline.com, "7th District candidates try new strategies to unseat Duffy," accessed August 11, 2014
| |||||
 |
State of Connecticut Hartford (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
 |
State of Minnesota St. Paul (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
 |
State of Wisconsin Madison (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
