Big takeaways from Minnesota's primary election results
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Clockwise from top left: Amy Klobuchar, Lisa Demuth, Peggy Flanagan and Michele Tafoya Photos; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images; Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images; Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images
The marquee matchups are set for Minnesota's high-stakes midterm election.
The big picture: Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a progressive Democrat, and Republican Michele Tafoya, a well-known former sideline reporter, will face off for the open U.S. Senate seat.
- In the governor's race, Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth handily defeated candidates backed by President Trump and her own party to go up against U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
State of play: Tuesday's outcome strengthened Republicans' prospects for putting a statewide office in play for the first time in 20 years, as better-funded, establishment-backed candidates advanced to the general.
- Recent polling, election forecasts and the national political environment still give the advantage to Democrats heading into the November campaigns.
🐘 Republicans reject endorsements: In three major statewide races — U.S. Senate, governor and state auditor — GOP primary voters passed over their party's endorsed candidate.
- That break from recent history — the endorsed candidate typically wins the primary on that side — could reignite debate about the process and its value.
👀 Republican voters also bucked Trump — a powerful kingmaker in GOP politics — in choosing Demuth over My Pillow founder Mike Lindell by a double-digit margin.
- Lindell still refused to concede last night, per the Star Tribune, telling reporters that "mathematically, it looks impossible" that he lost.
🫏 On the DFL side, Flanagan's resounding victory over moderate U.S. Rep. Angie Craig was another major win for progressives in the political tug-of-war over the future of the Democratic Party.
- The 20-point blowout may also signal that the Trump administration's immigration crackdown remains a powerful motivator for DFL voters.
- A similar level of enthusiasm in November would likely further boost Minnesota Democrats' fortunes up and down the ballot.
Zoom in: In contrast to the GOP races, Flanagan — the DFL-endorsed candidate — sailed to victory despite being significantly outspent by Craig and her allies.
- Craig, who made her track record of winning in a suburban swing seat a focal point of her campaign, barely carried her own district.
The intrigue: Despite polling suggesting the GOP gubernatorial and DFL Senate races could be close, all four nominees won by big margins.
🗳️ What we're watching: Wins by Demuth and Klobuchar put Minnesota on track to elect a female governor for the first time, regardless of which side prevails.
More results worth noting:
⚖️ Hennepin County Attorney: DFL state Rep. Cedrick Frazier and former federal prosecutor Anders Folk advanced to the November ballot.
🔎 State Auditor: Scott Jensen won the GOP primary for the open statewide office. Zack Filipovich ran unopposed for the DFL nomination.
🏛️ 2nd Congressional District: In another win for progressives, Matt Little, a former Lakeville mayor and state senator, won the three-way DFL primary. He will face Republican state Sen. Eric Pratt in the race for the open suburban swing seat.
🏛️ In state legislative races, longtime DFL Sen. Ron Latz soundly defeated his well-organized challenger in his St. Louis Park-based district.