Minnesota gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026
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← 2022
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| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota |
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| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: June 2, 2026 |
| Primary: August 11, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times:
7 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Race ratings |
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely Democratic Inside Elections: Likely Democratic |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2026 Impact of term limits in 2026 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026 |
| Minnesota executive elections |
| Governor Lieutenant Governor |
Minnesota is holding an election for governor and lieutenant governor on November 3, 2026. The primary is August 11, 2026. The filing deadline is June 2, 2026.
In Minnesota, gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates run for election together on a single ticket in both the primary and the general election.
For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:
- Minnesota gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026 (August 11 Democratic primary)
- Minnesota gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026 (August 11 Republican primary)
Candidates and election results
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
Governor
General election
The primary will occur on August 11, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for Governor of Minnesota
Mike Newcome is running in the general election for Governor of Minnesota on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Mike Newcome (Independent)  | |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Minnesota
Rick DeVoe, Amy Klobuchar, and Christopher Seymore are running in the Democratic primary for Governor of Minnesota on August 11, 2026.
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| = 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
- Tim Walz (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Minnesota
The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for Governor of Minnesota on August 11, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Peggy Bennett | |
 | Lisa Demuth | |
 | Thomas Evenstad | |
 | Patrick Knight | |
 | Brad Kohler | |
 | John Krhin | |
 | Mike Lindell | |
 | Phillip Parrish | |
 | Kendall Qualls | |
 | Kristin Robbins | |
| ||||
| = 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
- Chris Madel (R)
- Jeff Johnson (R)
- Scott Jensen (R)
Lieutenant Governor
General election
The primary will occur on August 11, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota
Ryan Wilson is running in the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota on August 11, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Ryan Wilson | |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
Survey responses from candidates in this race
Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
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Mike Newcome (Independent)
Every Minnesotan should have equal access to the “good life.” That starts with being safe in your home, on your street, in your community, and in our beautiful Twin Cities. It extends to our children, who deserve to feel safe in their schools.
World-Class Education
No matter your zip code, every child deserves a public education that truly prepares them for the future. We will remove partisan-driven agendas from our schools and put educators and common sense back in control of our classrooms.
Common Sense Accountable Government
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Public Education Thriving Business Climate The Environment
Effective & Efficient Government
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Mike Newcome (Independent)
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Minnesota
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
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.[1]
- 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.[2][3][4]
| Race ratings: Minnesota gubernatorial election, 2026 | |||||||||
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| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| 2/10/2026 | 2/3/2026 | 1/27/2026 | 1/20/2026 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week. | |||||||||
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
Polls are conducted with a variety of methodologies and have margins of error or credibility intervals.[5] The Pew Research Center wrote, "A margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level means that if we fielded the same survey 100 times, we would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times."[6] For tips on reading polls from FiveThirtyEight, click here. For tips from Pew, click here.
Below we provide results for polls from a wide variety of sources, including media outlets, social media, campaigns, and aggregation websites, when available. We only report polls for which we can find a margin of error or credibility interval. Know of something we're missing? Click here to let us know.
| Poll | Dates | Bennett | Demuth | Jensen | Johnson | Klobuchar | Knight | Kohler | Lindell | Parrish | Qualls | Robbins | Other/Undecided | Undecided | Sample size | Margin of error | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emerson College (includes Klobuchar and DeMuth) NoteTwo-way race between Klobuchar and DeMuth | – | -- | 38 | -- | -- | 51 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 11 | -- | 1,000 LV | ± 3.0% | |
Emerson College (includes Klobuchar and Lindell) NoteTwo-way race between Klobuchar and Lindell | – | -- | -- | -- | -- | 53 | -- | -- | 31 | -- | -- | -- | 16 | -- | 1,000 LV | ± 3.0% | |
SurveyUSA (includes Amy Klobuchar and Brad Kohler) NoteHypothetical matchup between Amy Klobuchar (D) and Brad Kohler (R). | – | -- | -- | -- | -- | 49 | -- | 32 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 19 | 575 RV | ± 4.8% | KAAL-TV, KSTP-TV, and WDIO-DT |
SurveyUSA (includes Amy Klobuchar and Jeff Johnson) NoteHypothetical matchup between Amy Klobuchar (D) and Jeff Johnson (R). | – | -- | -- | -- | 33 | 50 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 17 | 575 RV | ± 4.8% | KAAL-TV, KSTP-TV, and WDIO-DT |
SurveyUSA (includes Amy Klobuchar and Kendall Qualls) NoteHypothetical matchup between Amy Klobuchar (D) and Kendall Qualls (R). | – | -- | -- | -- | -- | 49 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 33 | -- | -- | 18 | 575 RV | ± 4.8% | KAAL-TV, KSTP-TV, and WDIO-DT |
SurveyUSA (includes Amy Klobuchar and Kristin Robbins) NoteHypothetical matchup between Amy Klobuchar (D) and Kristin Robbins (R). | – | -- | -- | -- | -- | 48 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 33 | -- | 19 | 575 RV | ± 4.8% | KAAL-TV, KSTP-TV, and WDIO-DT |
SurveyUSA (includes Amy Klobuchar and Lisa Demuth) NoteHypothetical matchup between Amy Klobuchar (D) and Lisa Demuth (R). | – | -- | 34 | -- | -- | 49 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 17 | 575 RV | ± 4.8% | KAAL-TV, KSTP-TV, and WDIO-DT |
SurveyUSA (includes Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lindell) NoteHypothetical matchup between Amy Klobuchar (D) and Mike Lindell (R). | – | -- | -- | -- | -- | 52 | -- | -- | 32 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 16 | 575 RV | ± 4.8% | KAAL-TV, KSTP-TV, and WDIO-DT |
SurveyUSA (includes Amy Klobuchar and Patrick Knight) NoteHypothetical matchup between Amy Klobuchar (D) and Patrick Knight (R). | – | -- | -- | -- | -- | 49 | 33 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 18 | 575 RV | ± 4.8% | KAAL-TV, KSTP-TV, and WDIO-DT |
SurveyUSA (includes Amy Klobuchar and Peggy Bennett) NoteHypothetical matchup between Amy Klobuchar (D) and Peggy Bennett (R). | – | 30 | -- | -- | -- | 50 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 20 | 575 RV | ± 4.8% | KAAL-TV, KSTP-TV, and WDIO-DT |
SurveyUSA (includes Amy Klobuchar and Phillip Parrish) NoteHypothetical matchup between Amy Klobuchar (D) and Phillip Parrish (R). | – | -- | -- | -- | -- | 49 | -- | -- | -- | 32 | -- | -- | -- | 19 | 575 RV | ± 4.8% | KAAL-TV, KSTP-TV, and WDIO-DT |
SurveyUSA (includes Amy Klobuchar and Scott Jensen) NoteHypothetical matchup between Amy Klobuchar (D) and Scott Jensen (R). | – | -- | -- | 35 | -- | 49 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 16 | 575 RV | ± 4.8% | KAAL-TV, KSTP-TV, and WDIO-DT |
| Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters. | |||||||||||||||||
Past elections
The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2014.
2022
General election
General election for Governor of Minnesota
The following candidates ran in the general election for Governor of Minnesota on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Tim Walz (D) | 52.3 | 1,312,349 |
 | Scott Jensen (R) | 44.6 | 1,119,941 | |
| James McCaskel (Legal Marijuana Now Party) | 1.2 | 29,346 | ||
 | Steve Patterson (Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party of Minnesota) | 0.9 | 22,599 | |
 | Hugh McTavish (Independence-Alliance Party of Minnesota) | 0.7 | 18,156 | |
| Gabrielle Prosser (Socialist Workers Party) | 0.3 | 7,241 | ||
 | Joyce Lacey (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 11 | |
| Mohamed Mourssi-Alfash (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 5 | ||
 | Loner Blue (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 4 | |
| Joshua Olgbolahan Jubril (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 1,009 | ||
| Total votes: 2,510,661 | |||
| = 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
- Cory Hepola (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Minnesota
Incumbent Tim Walz defeated Ole Savior in the Democratic primary for Governor of Minnesota on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tim Walz | 96.5 | 416,973 |
 | Ole Savior | 3.5 | 14,950 | |
| Total votes: 431,923 | |||
| = 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
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Minnesota
Scott Jensen defeated Joyce Lacey and Bob Carney Jr. in the Republican primary for Governor of Minnesota on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Scott Jensen | 89.3 | 288,499 |
| Joyce Lacey | 6.6 | 21,308 | |
 | Bob Carney Jr. | 4.1 | 13,213 | |
| Total votes: 323,020 | |||
| = 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
- Mike Murphy (R)
- Neil Shah (R)
- Michelle Benson (R)
- Paul Gazelka (R)
- Mike Marti (R)
- Kendall Qualls (R)
- Richard Stanek (R)
- Scott Magie (R)
Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party of Minnesota primary election
Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party of Minnesota primary for Governor of Minnesota
Steve Patterson defeated Darrell Paulsen in the Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party of Minnesota primary for Governor of Minnesota on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Steve Patterson | 59.1 | 1,003 |
| Darrell Paulsen | 40.9 | 693 | ||
| Total votes: 1,696 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Legal Marijuana Now Party primary election
Legal Marijuana Now Party primary for Governor of Minnesota
James McCaskel defeated Chris Wright in the Legal Marijuana Now Party primary for Governor of Minnesota on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | James McCaskel | 51.9 | 1,461 | |
 | Chris Wright | 48.1 | 1,356 | |
| Total votes: 2,817 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Governor of Minnesota
Tim Walz defeated Jeff Johnson, Chris Wright, and Josh Welter in the general election for Governor of Minnesota on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tim Walz (D) | 53.8 | 1,393,096 |
 | Jeff Johnson (R) | 42.4 | 1,097,705 | |
| Chris Wright (Grassroots Party) | 2.7 | 68,667 | |
| Josh Welter (L) | 1.0 | 26,735 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 1,084 | ||
| Total votes: 2,587,287 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = 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
- Christopher Seymore (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Minnesota
Tim Walz defeated Erin Murphy, Lori Swanson, Tim Holden, and Ole Savior in the Democratic primary for Governor of Minnesota on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tim Walz | 41.6 | 242,832 |
 | Erin Murphy | 32.0 | 186,969 | |
 | Lori Swanson | 24.6 | 143,517 | |
 | Tim Holden | 1.1 | 6,398 | |
| Ole Savior | 0.7 | 4,019 | |
| Total votes: 583,735 | |||
| = 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
- Tina Liebling (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Minnesota
Jeff Johnson defeated Tim Pawlenty and Matt Kruse in the Republican primary for Governor of Minnesota on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jeff Johnson | 52.6 | 168,841 |
 | Tim Pawlenty | 43.9 | 140,743 | |
| Matt Kruse | 3.5 | 11,330 | ||
| Total votes: 320,914 | |||
| = 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
2014
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Mark Dayton/Tina Smith Incumbent |
50.1% | 989,113 | |
| Republican | Jeff Johnson/Bill Kuisle | 44.5% | 879,257 | |
| Independence | Hannah Nicollet/Tim Gieseke | 2.9% | 56,900 | |
| Grassroots Party | Chris Wright/David Daniels | 1.6% | 31,259 | |
| Libertarian | Chris Holbrook/Chris Dock | 0.9% | 18,082 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.1% | 1,134 | |
| Total Votes | 1,975,745 | |||
| Election results via Minnesota Secretary of State | ||||
See also
| Minnesota | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Governor of Minnesota official website
- Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota official website
Footnotes
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
- ↑ For more information on the difference between margins of error and credibility intervals, see explanations from the American Association for Public Opinion Research and Ipsos.
- ↑ Pew Research Center, "5 key things to know about the margin of error in election polls," September 8, 2016
