Minnesota 2026: Governor and Senate Combined Party Outcome

Minnesota voters went to the polls August 11 in Democratic primaries pitting moderate Rep. Angie Craig against progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan for the open Senate seat left by retiring Sen. Tina Smith. Flanagan drew backing from Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Ilhan Omar and Smith herself, while Craig secured establishment support from Hakeem Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi, Pete Buttigieg and Gwen Walz, and roughly doubled Flanagan's fundraising. The race centered on Craig's contested vote for the Laken Riley Act, which she has since disavowed, immigration enforcement after federal agents killed two protesters during "Operation Metro Surge," and clashing views on Israel and AIPAC funding. On the Republican side, Michele Tafoya leads a fundraising-heavy field including party-endorsed Adam Schwarze and Royce White, while Amy Klobuchar faces minimal opposition for governor against Republicans Mike Lindell (Trump-endorsed), Lisa Demuth and Kendall Qualls, as the GOP seeks its first statewide win since 2006.

Craig's departure also triggered a six-way Democratic primary for her open 2nd Congressional District seat. The results will help determine whether Democrats lean moderate or progressive heading into the midterms and test Republican hopes of ending their statewide losing streak. Prediction markets, which favored Flanagan and Craig-adjacent dynamics entering Election Day, are watching outcomes as an early signal for the broader 2026 fight over Congress and Minnesota's state government.

A new Star Tribune/KARE 11 Minnesota Poll shows U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar with a commanding lead over Republican Lisa Demuth in the race for Minnesota governor, three weeks before Election Day. Half of likely voters said they would back Klobuchar, who is seeking to become the state's first female governor, compared with 41% for Demuth, the speaker of the Minnesota House.

Klobuchar led in the Twin Cities and suburbs and remained competitive in parts of greater Minnesota, trailing Demuth by only five points in the increasingly conservative north while Demuth held a stronger edge in the south. Demuth has sought to tie Klobuchar to a fraud scandal in state government under DFL Gov. Tim Walz, and fraud ranked as the second-most important issue to voters polled. However, slightly more respondents trusted Klobuchar than Demuth to address it, suggesting the scandal has not given Republicans a clear advantage as they try to win the governor's office for the first time since 2006.

Public safety has also emerged as a key campaign theme, with both candidates rolling out crime plans. The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, which has previously backed both Demuth and Klobuchar, has declined to endorse in the governor's race even as it formally backed GOP Senate nominee Michele Tafoya, underscoring the issue's political weight without clearly tipping the scales in either direction.

Minnesota's 2026 governor race is sharpening into a referendum on laws Democrats passed during their 2023-2024 trifecta. Republican House leader Lisa Demuth wants to scale back paid family and medical leave's 20-week maximum, reinstate an income cap on universal school meals, drop automatic gas tax and car-tab increases, and fully eliminate state income tax on Social Security. She hasn't committed to repealing the state's abortion-rights law, calling it "settled law." Democrat Amy Klobuchar says she's open to "improvements" to leave and school-meal funding but supports current benefit levels, opposes tax hikes, and strongly backs the abortion law. Any actual changes would require legislative majorities, also on the ballot this November.

Minnesota Republican gubernatorial nominee Lisa Demuth is framing fraud and government waste as the key to funding her affordability agenda, which includes a $99 cap on vehicle tabs, property tax relief, and lower income tax rates. Asked how she would pay for these cuts, Demuth pointed to rooting out fraud, trimming government waste, and directing new agency commissioners to find $1 billion in savings rather than raising new revenue.

The approach reflects a broader strategy among Minnesota Republicans this fall: tying national frustration over rising costs to claims that state Democrats let spending go unchecked. Demuth applied similar logic to the prospect of federal Medicaid cuts, saying the state should first verify recipient eligibility before deciding whether to replace lost funds or reduce benefits. Critics note that recovered fraud dollars are difficult to convert into sustained tax relief, since permanent cuts require ongoing savings. Demuth dismissed concerns that fraud-driven savings might fall short, arguing a more business-friendly climate would grow the state's tax base over time. The debate adds to a competitive Minnesota election cycle that also includes a closely watched attorney general race.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar is seeking to become Minnesota's next governor, casting herself as a moderate Democrat who can repair the state's reputation and address pandemic-era welfare fraud scandals that Republicans have used to paint Minnesota as a cautionary tale of liberal governance. Klobuchar, who built a national profile during her 2020 presidential run and has served in the U.S. Senate, is widely seen as the favorite in the race.

Her campaign comes as Minnesota Democrats face scrutiny over fraud tied to pandemic relief programs, along with lingering political fallout from the 2020 murder of George Floyd and subsequent unrest in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Klobuchar is positioning herself against more progressive currents within her party, emphasizing pragmatic governance over ideological approaches associated with democratic socialism. The race is being watched as a test of whether centrist Democrats can reclaim ground in a state Republicans have targeted as emblematic of government mismanagement, with implications for broader 2026 gubernatorial and midterm dynamics.

Minnesota's political landscape has shifted repeatedly since the year began, and more change could follow Election Day. Gov. Tim Walz exited his reelection bid early, prompting Sen. Amy Klobuchar to pivot toward a run for governor. Michele Tafoya and later Mike Lindell and Kendall Qualls jockeyed for the Republican Senate nomination, but primary voters chose Lisa Demuth. On the DFL side, Peggy Flanagan beat Angie Craig despite Craig's fundraising lead. Chris Madel dropped his gubernatorial bid over the party's immigration stance. Observers compare the turmoil to 2018's reshuffling after Mark Dayton's exit, when multiple officials moved up the ladder in sequence.

Minnesota has reached "functional zero" on veteran homelessness, meeting federal benchmarks that signal the state has built a durable system to prevent long-term housing loss among veterans. Gov. Tim Walz announced the milestone, emphasizing it is not a declaration that the problem is solved but confirmation that a reliable safety net is in place. Under federal criteria, a state meets this standard when any veteran who becomes homeless can be placed in housing within 90 days, eliminating chronic or long-term homelessness in that population.

Officials attribute the achievement to a "housing first" approach combined with stable state and federal funding, with organizations such as the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans helping secure housing and support services. Walz credited bipartisan support in the legislature for sustaining the effort. Minnesota joins Connecticut, Delaware, and Virginia as states that have reached similar federal benchmarks for ending veteran homelessness.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered a lower court to block enforcement of a Minnesota voter-interference law as applied to the Minnesota Voters Alliance, siding with the group in a First Amendment dispute over statements about felon voting rights. The case centers on House File 3, which criminalizes spreading certain election-related information within 60 days of a vote, and HF 28, which restores voting rights to felons no longer incarcerated for their offense. Both were signed by Gov. Tim Walz in 2023.

Writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, Judge David Stras found the law amounted to a prior restraint lacking procedural safeguards, allowing the state to endorse one interpretation of Minnesota's constitution while criminalizing a competing one. The ruling lets the Alliance publicly argue, without risk of prosecution, that felons should not vote before their civil rights are restored while its broader legal challenge proceeds. The decision adds to a string of First Amendment fights over Minnesota's election and speech laws, including its deepfake and social media warning label statutes.

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Minnesota, shared the meaning of her Ojibwe name in a social media post, framing it as a statement of political identity. Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, said her name, "Gizhiiwewidamookwe," translates to "Speaks in a Loud and Clear Voice Woman," adding that she intends to be "Minnesota's voice in the U.S. Senate" rather than President Donald Trump's.

Flanagan, who has twice been elected as Gov. Tim Walz's running mate, is facing Republican candidate Michele Tafoya in the race. The post drew mixed reactions online, with some critics mocking the translation and others accusing her of political posturing. The exchange follows earlier scrutiny of Flanagan after video surfaced of her wearing a hijab while addressing Somali migrant constituents, amid broader controversy in Minnesota over fraud involving welfare funds tied to Somali community programs.

President Donald Trump delivered a lengthy keynote at the Republican National Committee's first-ever midterm convention in Dallas, urging supporters to treat November "like I'm on the ballot" and framing the elections as a choice between GOP prosperity and what he called Democratic-led "communism." He touted 2025 tax cuts, including ending taxes on tips and an expanded child tax credit, and pledged a $5,000 "Trump Dividend" per citizen if Republicans hold Congress. Trump gave an energetic endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his Senate race against Democrat James Talarico, and paid tribute to Charlie Kirk on the anniversary of his assassination.

The two-day "Trumpapalooza" event drew scrutiny for a half-empty arena, steep fundraiser ticket prices, and low turnout from vulnerable California Republicans, several of whom skipped the gathering entirely. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman appeared via video praising Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick, a notable cross-party moment. Critics, including Democratic strategists, argued Trump's self-focused approach, delivered amid low approval ratings and high gas prices, could hurt Republicans in competitive districts ahead of the midterms.