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United States Senate election in Minnesota (August 14, 2018 Democratic primary)

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2020
2014
U.S. Senate, Minnesota
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: June 5, 2018
Primary: August 14, 2018
General: November 6, 2018

Pre-election incumbent:
Amy Klobuchar (Democrat)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Minnesota
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
See also
U.S. Senate, Minnesota
U.S. Senate (regular)U.S. Senate (special)1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th
Minnesota elections, 2018
U.S. Congress elections, 2018
U.S. Senate elections, 2018
U.S. House elections, 2018

A Democratic Party primary election took place on August 14, 2018, in Minnesota to determine which Democrat would run in the state's November 6, 2018, general election.

This page focuses on the Democratic primary. For an overview of the election in general, click here.

Seeking her third term in office, incumbent Sen. Amy Klobuchar was not expected to face a competitive primary. She won her re-election bid in 2012 by 35 points.


See also: United States Senate Democratic Party primaries, 2018


Candidates and election results

See also: Statistics on U.S. Congress candidates, 2018

Incumbent Amy Klobuchar defeated Steve Carlson, Stephen Emery, David Robert Groves, and Leonard Richards in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Minnesota on August 14, 2018.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Minnesota

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Amy Klobuchar
Amy Klobuchar
 
95.7
 
557,306
Image of Steve Carlson
Steve Carlson
 
1.7
 
9,934
Image of Stephen Emery
Stephen Emery
 
1.2
 
7,047
David Robert Groves
 
0.8
 
4,511
Leonard Richards
 
0.6
 
3,552

Total votes: 582,350
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign finance

The table below contains data from FEC Quarterly October 2017 reports. It includes only candidates who reported at least $10,000 in campaign contributions as of September 30, 2017.[1]

Democratic Party Democrats



Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Nineteen of 87 Minnesota counties—21.8 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Beltrami County, Minnesota 9.72% 9.89% 10.15%
Blue Earth County, Minnesota 3.69% 9.48% 12.95%
Chippewa County, Minnesota 28.70% 1.87% 5.87%
Clay County, Minnesota 1.95% 7.92% 16.02%
Fillmore County, Minnesota 21.70% 7.34% 8.26%
Freeborn County, Minnesota 17.24% 14.11% 17.13%
Houston County, Minnesota 13.87% 3.16% 10.69%
Itasca County, Minnesota 16.35% 9.83% 12.92%
Kittson County, Minnesota 22.05% 6.03% 18.54%
Koochiching County, Minnesota 19.85% 9.45% 10.10%
Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota 25.60% 0.90% 5.92%
Mahnomen County, Minnesota 2.92% 18.56% 25.31%
Mower County, Minnesota 7.82% 22.61% 23.61%
Nicollet County, Minnesota 3.04% 7.83% 10.52%
Norman County, Minnesota 13.34% 10.79% 26.94%
Rice County, Minnesota 3.06% 8.27% 11.50%
Swift County, Minnesota 25.57% 9.83% 13.79%
Traverse County, Minnesota 23.30% 4.44% 5.41%
Winona County, Minnesota 2.90% 12.85% 19.09%

In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won Minnesota with 46.4 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 44.9 percent. In presidential elections between 1860 and 2016, Minnesota voted Republican 50 percent of the time and Democratic 47.5 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Minnesota voted Democratic all five times.[2]

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Minnesota. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[3][4]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 68 out of 134 state House districts in Minnesota with an average margin of victory of 27.6 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 62 out of 134 state House districts in Minnesota with an average margin of victory of 30.4 points. Clinton won 12 districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 66 out of 134 state House districts in Minnesota with an average margin of victory of 12.3 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 72 out of 134 state House districts in Minnesota with an average margin of victory of 23.8 points. Trump won seven districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.

State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Minnesota heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

State executives

State legislature

  • Republicans had a 77-56 majority in the state House. The state Senate was tied, with 33 Republicans and 33 Democrats.

Trifecta status

  • Minnesota was under divided government, meaning that the two parties shared control of the state government. Mark Dayton (D) served as governor, while Republicans controlled the state legislature.

2018 elections

See also: Minnesota elections, 2018

Minnesota held elections for the following positions in 2018:

Demographics

Demographic data for Minnesota
 MinnesotaU.S.
Total population:5,482,435316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):79,6273,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:84.8%73.6%
Black/African American:5.5%12.6%
Asian:4.4%5.1%
Native American:1%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
Two or more:2.7%3%
Hispanic/Latino:5%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:92.4%86.7%
College graduation rate:33.7%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$61,492$53,889
Persons below poverty level:12.2%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Minnesota.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

As of July 2016, Minnesota's three largest cities were Minneapolis (pop. est. 422,000), St. Paul (pop. est. 307,000), and Rochester (pop. est. 116,000).[5]

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Minnesota from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Minnesota Secretary of State.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Minnesota every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Minnesota 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Democratic Party Hillary Clinton 46.4% Republican Party Donald Trump 44.9% 1.5%
2012 Democratic Party Barack Obama 52.7% Republican Party Mitt Romney 45.0% 7.7%
2008 Democratic Party Barack Obama 54.1% Republican Party John McCain 43.8% 10.3%
2004 Democratic Party John Kerry 51.1% Republican Party George W. Bush 47.6% 3.5%
2000 Democratic Party Al Gore 47.9% Republican Party George W. Bush 45.5% 2.4%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Minnesota from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Minnesota 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2014 Democratic Party Al Franken 53.2% Republican Party Mike McFadden 42.9% 10.3%
2012 Democratic Party Amy Klobuchar 65.2% Republican Party Kurt Bills 30.5% 34.7%
2008 Democratic Party Al Franken 41.99% Republican Party Norm Coleman 41.98% 0.01%
2006 Democratic Party Amy Klobuchar 58.1% Republican Party Mark Kennedy 37.9% 20.2%
2002 Republican Party Norm Coleman 49.5% Democratic Party Walter Mondale 47.3% 2.2%
2000 Democratic Party Mark Dayton 48.8% Republican Party Rod Grams 43.3% 5.5%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Minnesota.

Election results (Governor), Minnesota 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2014 Democratic Party Mark Dayton 50.1% Republican Party Jeff Johnson 44.5% 5.6%
2010 Democratic Party Mark Dayton 43.6% Republican Party Tom Emmer 43.2% 0.4%
2006 Republican Party Tim Pawlenty 46.7% Democratic Party Mike Hatch 45.7% 1.0%
2002 Republican Party Tim Pawlenty 44.4% Democratic Party Roger Moe 36.5% 7.9%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Minnesota in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Minnesota 2000-2016
Year Republicans Republicans (%) Democrats Democrats (%) Balance of power
2016 Republican Party 3 37.5% Democratic Party 5 62.5% D+2
2014 Republican Party 3 37.5% Democratic Party 5 62.5% D+2
2012 Republican Party 3 37.5% Democratic Party 5 62.5% D+2
2010 Republican Party 4 50.0% Democratic Party 4 50.0% Even
2008 Republican Party 3 37.5% Democratic Party 5 62.5% D+2
2006 Republican Party 3 37.5% Democratic Party 5 62.5% D+2
2004 Republican Party 4 50.0% Democratic Party 4 50.0% Even
2002 Republican Party 4 50.0% Democratic Party 4 50.0% Even
2000 Republican Party 3 37.5% Democratic Party 5 62.5% D+2

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

Minnesota Party Control: 1992-2024
Four years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Governor R R R R R R R I I I I R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R D D D D R R R R R R D D
House D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R D D D D R R D D R R R R D D D D D D


See also

Footnotes


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
Tom Emmer (R)
District 7
District 8
Democratic Party (6)
Republican Party (4)