Minnesota 2012 legislative election results

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

Senate

2012 Legislative Election Results
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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 displays the following lists of candidates:

• Incumbents who ran on November 6
• 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 who ran on November 6

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

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

New State Senators and General Election Winners

Newly elected senators

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

Democratic

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

Republican

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

Open Seat Winners

The following displays a list of candidates who won election in seats where there was no incumbent:

Democratic

1. Kent Eken

Republican

1. Branden Petersen

Candidates who won election

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

Democratic

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

Republican

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

Competitiveness

Unopposed candidates in general election

The following candidates did not face major party competition:

Democratic

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

Republican

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

Ballot Access

Third party candidates

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

1. Thomas Bakk
2. Josh D. Ondich
3. Rahn V. Workcuff
4. Eric Blair
5. Scott Larson
6. David Tomassoni

House

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 displays the following lists of candidates:

• Incumbents who ran on November 6
• 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 were on the November 6 general election ballot:

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

New Representatives and General Election Winners

Newly elected representatives

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

Democratic

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

Republican

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

Open Seat Winners

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

Democratic

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

Republican

1. Mark Uglem
2. Ron Kresha
3. Jeff Howe
4. Jim Newberger
5. John Petersburg
6. David FitzSimmons
7. Jerry Hertaus
8. Tony Albright
9. Anna Wills
10. Mark Anderson (Minnesota state representative)
11. Marion Rarick

Candidates who won election

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

Democratic

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

Republican

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

Competitiveness

Unopposed candidates in general election

The following candidates did not face major party competition:

Democratic

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

Republican

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

Ballot Access

Third party candidates

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

1. Cory Pylkka
2. Zachary Liebl
3. William Wagner (Minnesota)
4. Eugene Newcombe
5. Joseph Koch
6. Dave Thomas (Minnesota)
7. Anthony Hilton
8. Timothy Utz
9. Dave Holman
10. Paul Bergley
11. Ron Lischeid
12. Andrew Kratoska

National Partisan Trends

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 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 incumbents defeated 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:	36	59	3	1	41	56	1	1