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Minnesota's 7th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 11 Republican primary)

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2022
2018
Minnesota's 7th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: June 2, 2020
Primary: August 11, 2020
General: November 3, 2020

Pre-election incumbent:
Collin Peterson (Democratic)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Minnesota
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Toss-up
Inside Elections: Toss-up
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
Minnesota's 7th Congressional District
U.S. Senate1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th
Minnesota elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

Michelle Fischbach defeated four other candidates to win the Republican nomination in Minnesota's 7th Congressional District in a primary on August 11, 2020. As of 9:45 p.m. Fischbach had received 59% of the vote to Dave Hughes' 22% and Noel Collis' 15%. No other candidate received more than 10% of the vote. Fischbach and Hughes led the field in media coverage, with Fischbach earning notable endorsements from party leadership and Hughes having won the Republican nomination in 2016 and 2018.[1] The nominee went on to face the Democratic incumbent in what was rated as a toss-up district.

Michelle Fischbach was a state senator from 1996 to 2018 and served as the legislative body’s president from 2011-2012 and 2017-2018. After the resignation of Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith (D) in 2018, Fischbach rose from her position as Senate President to succeed her.[2] Fischbach said her key issues included expanding regulations on abortion, increasing funding for border security, and supporting agricultural workers by improving rural infrastructure and securing beneficial trade deals.[3]

Dave Hughes is a United States Air Force veteran who works at General Atomics as a drone instructor pilot.[4] He ran against incumbent Collin Peterson as the Republican nominee in 2016 and 2018, losing both times by margins of 16,637 and 12,004 votes. Hughes’ campaign priorities included implementing policies that would economically benefit farmers and agricultural workers, reducing the national debt, ending the refugee resettlement program, and building a wall at the southern border.[5][6]

Fischbach earned noteworthy endorsements from President Donald Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, along with an endorsement from the Minnesota 7th Congressional District Republicans.[7] Hughes had won an endorsement from the Americans for Legal Immigration PAC. As of July 22, 2020 Fischbach had raised $1,006,507 and spent $663,627, while Hughes had raised $67,113 and spent $68,447.[8]

Noel Collis, William Louwagie, and Jayesun Sherman were also running in the primary.

Click on candidate names below to view their key messages:


Fischbach

Hughes


This page focuses on Minnesota's 7th Congressional District Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Minnesota modified its primary election process as follows:

  • Voting procedures: The absentee/mail-in ballot postmark deadline was extended to August 11 and the receipt deadline was extended to August 13. The witness requirement for absentee/mail-in ballots was suspended.
  • Political party events: The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota opted to conduct all local and district-level conventions online. The Republican Party of Minnesota also opted to conduct all local party conventions online.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.


Candidates and election results

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Michelle Fischbach
Michelle Fischbach
 
58.8
 
26,359
Image of Dave Hughes
Dave Hughes
 
22.2
 
9,948
Noel Collis
 
15.1
 
6,747
William Louwagie
 
2.2
 
989
Image of Jayesun Sherman
Jayesun Sherman Candidate Connection
 
1.7
 
757

Total votes: 44,800
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[9] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.

Image of Michelle Fischbach

WebsiteFacebookTwitterYouTube

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: 

  • Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota (2018-2019) 
  • Minnesota State Senate District 13 (1996-2018)

Biography:  Fischbach attended St. Cloud State University, and later earned a law degree from William Mitchell College of Law. From 2011-2012 and 2017-2018, Fischbach was elected to be the president of the Minnesota State Senate. During her tenure in the state senate, she also served as the Chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee.



Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.


“People here believe in our constitutional rights. They believe in the right to life. They believe in making sure the next generation has the opportunity to pursue the American dream right here in Western Minnesota.”


“Collin Peterson no longer represents Western Minnesota values.” Fischbach went on to state that, “Unlike Peterson, I will work with President Trump to secure our borders, build the wall, fight against the Democrats’ socialist agenda, and keep America great.”


Show sources

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Minnesota District 7 in 2020.

Image of Dave Hughes

WebsiteFacebookTwitterYouTube

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography:  After earning a degree in aerospace engineering, Hughes joined the United States Air Force and served in Serbia and Iraq. He retired after twenty-one years and at the time of the election worked as a drone instructor pilot at General Atomics. Hughes ran against Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District incumbent Collin Peterson as the Republican nominee in both 2016 and 2018.



Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.


“I’ll be a champion for Conservative policies to secure our southern border and solve our present humanitarian crisis, rein in federal spending, reduce the debt, remove government bureaucrats from our healthcare decisions, defend our 2nd Amendment rights, be a strong advocate for the pro-life movement, protect our family farms and ranches, and allow free markets to thrive.”


“Collin Peterson is a prime example of what’s wrong with the DC swamp. Peterson is a career politician who’s been in office for 40 years. He supports more out-of-control spending through wasteful pork-barrel projects, higher taxes, and allowing a pathway to U.S. citizenship for illegal aliens.”


Show sources

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Minnesota District 7 in 2020.

Image of Jayesun Sherman

WebsiteFacebookTwitterYouTube

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography "From truly humble roots, I was born in Plymouth, MA, and moved with my single-mom to Green Bay, WI, as a toddler. Growing up without a dad was difficult. We were on Welfare, rarely had anything new and mom was always sickly. Tough times make us tough. With the generous help from various people along the way, I graduated from Beth Haven Academy in 1988. The school was crazy gracious to our family and made schooling almost free. Going to college for 6 years at North Central University in Minneapolis launched me onto a life of further adventure. I traveled to 6 continents, 21 countries, lived in Asia for 10 years and gave of myself in service to people created by God. Along the way, I married an amazing Icelandic and Irish woman from MN, Michelle. We have been married for nearly 22 years now. In 2006, I officially earned 2 Masters, graduating Summa Cum Laude. We moved back to the the US in 2011 and continued to serve in Windom, MN, at Windom Assembly of God until 2018. I was elected to City Council (Mayor pro temp) and finished the term in 2018. My wife continues to teach at Winfair Elementary School and I have been subbing as a Teacher and Paraprofessional as I run for US Congress. There are too many things to list, but this is a basic summary. My conservative values have been strong all my life. My leadership experience, training, personality and passion to help people energize me as I seek to change my world through public service."


Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.


Together, We Can


I would rather *build bridges* than *burn bridges.*


Nothing to prove; Everything to give.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Minnesota District 7 in 2020.


Noteworthy primary endorsements

This section lists endorsements issued in this election. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please email us.

Republican primary endorsements
Endorsement Fischbach Hughes
Elected officials
President Donald Trump (R)[10]
U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)[11]
Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R)[11]
Minnesota House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt (R)[11]
Organizations
7th District Republican Party[12]
Americans for Legal Immigration PAC[13]

Primaries in Minnesota

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Minnesota utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[14][15][16]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+12, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 12 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Minnesota's 7th Congressional District the 112th most Republican nationally.[17]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.19. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.19 points toward that party.[18]

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[19] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[20] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Noel Collis Republican Party $834,146 $834,146 $0 As of September 30, 2020
Michelle Fischbach Republican Party $2,646,135 $2,608,186 $37,949 As of December 31, 2020
Dave Hughes Republican Party $75,252 $78,449 $380 As of December 31, 2020
William Louwagie Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Jayesun Sherman Republican Party $9,093 $11,439 $2,687 As of December 31, 2020

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.


General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[21]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[22][23][24]

Race ratings: Minnesota's 7th Congressional District election, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportToss-upToss-upToss-upToss-up
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesToss-upToss-upToss-upTilt Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallLean RepublicanToss-upToss-upToss-up
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

District represented by a Democrat in 2020 and won by Donald Trump in 2016

See also: U.S. House districts represented by a Democrat in 2020 and won by Donald Trump in 2016

This district was one of 30 Democratic-held U.S. House districts up in 2020 that Donald Trump (R) won in the 2016 presidential election. Most were expected to be among the House's most competitive elections in 2020.


2020 Democratic-held U.S. House districts won by Donald Trump in 2016
District Incumbent Ran in 2020? 2018 congressional margin 2016 presidential margin 2012 presidential margin
Arizona's 1st Democratic Party Tom O'Halleran Yes Democrats+7.7 Trump+1.1 Romney+2.5
Georgia's 6th Democratic Party Lucy McBath Yes Democrats+1.0 Trump+1.5 Romney+23.3
Illinois' 14th Democratic Party Lauren Underwood Yes Democrats+5.0 Trump+3.9 Romney+10
Illinois' 17th Democratic Party Cheri Bustos Yes Democrats+24.2 Trump+0.7 Obama+17
Iowa's 1st Democratic Party Abby Finkenauer Yes Democrats+5.1 Trump+3.5 Obama+13.7
Iowa's 2nd Democratic Party Dave Loebsack Retired Democrats+5.2 Trump+4.1 Obama+13.1
Iowa's 3rd Democratic Party Cindy Axne Yes Democrats+2.2 Trump+3.5 Obama+4.2
Maine's 2nd Democratic Party Jared Golden Yes Democrats+1.3 Trump+10.3 Obama+8.6
Michigan's 8th Democratic Party Elissa Slotkin Yes Democrats+3.8 Trump+6.7 Romney+3.1
Michigan's 11th Democratic Party Haley Stevens Yes Democrats+6.7 Trump+4.4 Romney+5.4
Minnesota's 2nd Democratic Party Angie Craig Yes Democrats+5.5 Trump+1.2 Obama+0.1
Minnesota's 7th Democratic Party Collin Peterson Yes Democrats+4.3 Trump+30.8 Romney+9.8
Nevada's 3rd Democratic Party Susie Lee Yes Democrats+9.1 Trump+1.0 Obama+0.8
New Hampshire's 1st Democratic Party Chris Pappas Yes Democrats+8.6 Trump+1.6 Obama+1.6
New Jersey's 3rd Democratic Party Andrew Kim Yes Democrats+1.3 Trump+6.2 Obama+4.6
New Jersey's 5th Democratic Party Josh Gottheimer Yes Democrats+13.7 Trump+1.1 Romney+3.0
New Jersey's 11th Democratic Party Mikie Sherrill Yes Democrats+14.6 Trump+0.9 Romney+5.8
New Mexico's 2nd Democratic Party Xochitl Torres Small Yes Democrats+1.9 Trump+10.2 Romney+6.8
New York's 11th Democratic Party Max Rose Yes Democrats+6.5 Trump+9.8 Obama+4.3
New York's 18th Democratic Party Sean Maloney Yes Democrats+10.9 Trump+1.9 Obama+4.3
New York's 19th Democratic Party Antonio Delgado Yes Democrats+5.2 Trump+6.8 Obama+6.2
New York's 22nd Democratic Party Anthony Brindisi Yes Democrats+1.8 Trump+15.5 Romney+0.4
Oklahoma's 5th Democratic Party Kendra Horn Yes Democrats+1.4 Trump+13.4 Romney+18.4
Pennsylvania's 8th Democratic Party Matt Cartwright Yes Democrats+9.3 Trump+9.6 Obama+11.9
Pennsylvania's 17th Democratic Party Conor Lamb Yes Democrats+12.5 Trump+2.6 Romney+4.5
South Carolina's 1st Democratic Party Joe Cunningham Yes Democrats+1.4 Trump+13.1 Romney+18.1
Utah's 4th Democratic Party Ben McAdams Yes Democrats+0.3 Trump+6.7 Romney+37.0
Virginia's 2nd Democratic Party Elaine Luria Yes Democrats+2.2 Trump+3.4 Romney+2.3
Virginia's 7th Democratic Party Abigail Spanberger Yes Democrats+1.9 Trump+6.5 Romney+10.5
Wisconsin's 3rd Democratic Party Ron Kind Yes Democrats+19.3 Trump+4.5 Obama+11
Source: Sabato's Crystal Ball and Daily Kos


Click here to see the five U.S. House districts represented by a Republican in 2020 and won by Hillary Clinton in 2016.

District election history

2018

See also: Minnesota's 7th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Minnesota District 7

Incumbent Collin Peterson defeated Dave Hughes in the general election for U.S. House Minnesota District 7 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Collin Peterson
Collin Peterson (D)
 
52.1
 
146,672
Image of Dave Hughes
Dave Hughes (R)
 
47.8
 
134,668
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
169

Total votes: 281,509
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7

Incumbent Collin Peterson advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7 on August 14, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Collin Peterson
Collin Peterson
 
100.0
 
39,990

Total votes: 39,990
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7

Dave Hughes defeated Matt Prosch in the Republican primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7 on August 14, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Dave Hughes
Dave Hughes
 
72.6
 
30,783
Matt Prosch
 
27.4
 
11,616

Total votes: 42,399
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2016

See also: Minnesota's 7th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Collin Peterson (D) defeated Dave Hughes (R) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Hughes defeated Amanda Lynn Hinson in the Republican primary on August 9, 2016.[25][26]

U.S. House, Minnesota District 7 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngCollin Peterson Incumbent 52.5% 173,589
     Republican Dave Hughes 47.4% 156,952
     N/A Write-in 0.1% 307
Total Votes 330,848
Source: Minnesota Secretary of State


U.S. House, Minnesota District 7 Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngDave Hughes 59% 8,769
Amanda Lynn Hinson 41% 6,104
Total Votes 14,873
Source: Minnesota Secretary of State



See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. MinnPost, "In Minnesota’s Seventh District, Republicans weigh who’s best to take on Collin Peterson," July 29, 2020
  2. KXRA's Voice of Alexandria, "Fischbach Announces Run for MN's 7th Congressional District," September 28, 2019
  3. Michelle Fischbach 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed August 10, 2020
  4. "Dave Hughes 2020 campaign website, "Dave Hughes," accessed August 10, 2020
  5. WZFG The Flag, "Dave Highes, Candidate for MN House District 7 Joins the Show," April 21, 2020
  6. KROX AM, "Dave Huges announces candidacy for Minnesota's 7th Congressional District," August 5, 2019
  7. Michelle Fischbach 2020 campaign website, "About," accessed August 10, 2020
  8. Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," accessed August 10, 2020
  9. Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
  10. Twitter, "Donald J. Trump," March 2, 2020
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 MinnPost, "As D.C. Republicans anoint a candidate in Minnesota’s Seventh District, challengers say ‘not so fast,’" November 15, 2019
  12. Minnesota Public Radio, "GOP endorses Fischbach to take on Peterson in Minnesota’s 7th District," May 2, 2020
  13. Americans for Legal Immigration, "ALIPAC Campaigns & Endorsements," June 10, 2020
  14. NCSL,"State Primary Election Types," accessed April 25, 2023
  15. Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
  16. Minnesota Secretary of State,"PRIMARY ELECTION," accessed April 25, 2023
  17. Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  18. FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
  19. Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
  20. Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
  21. Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  22. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  23. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  24. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  25. Minnesota Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings," accessed June 1, 2016
  26. Politico, "Minnesota House Primaries Results," August 9, 2016


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