Minnesota Senate winner?

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 DFL Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan with a modest lead over Republican Michele Tafoya in the race for Minnesota's open U.S. Senate seat, one of the few Republicans hope to flip this cycle despite a difficult national environment for the GOP.

Flanagan's edge is driven largely by lopsided margins in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, reflecting broader dissatisfaction among Minnesota voters with President Donald Trump. Some voters, including independents critical of both parties, cited opposition to Trump's policies, including the administration's actions regarding Iran, as a reason for backing Flanagan.

Despite the deficit, the poll results support Tafoya's contention that she is running competitively in a traditionally Democratic-leaning state, bucking broader national trends that favor Democrats this cycle. Minnesota hasn't elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 2002, and Democrats appear more enthusiastic heading into the election even as national Republicans focus resources on defending seats in more conservative states.

Minnesota surpassed its previous midterm early-voting record, with nearly 729,000 residents casting ballots in person or by mail ahead of Tuesday's election and more than 938,000 absentee requests filed overall. Secretary of State Steve Simon forecast historically high turnout and said his office has prepared for the unprecedented possibility of federal interference, after President Trump suggested without evidence that the Minnesota Senate race—where Republican Michele Tafoya trails DFL Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in polling—could only be lost through fraud. The Justice Department plans to send election monitors nationwide. State officials, including Attorney General Keith Ellison, say Minnesota's elections are secure and monitors will see a fair, well-run process.

DFL incumbent Steve Simon, seeking a fourth term as Minnesota secretary of state, debated Republican challenger Tad Jude at Minnesota Public Radio's St. Paul studio. Jude called for tighter voter requirements, including provisional ballots for same-day registrants, saying "an illegal vote is a stolen vote." Simon cited studies ranking Minnesota first nationally on election performance and showing only three illegal votes among 13.4 million cast from 2015 to 2024. Simon pressed Jude on Trump's unsubstantiated claims of winning Minnesota; Jude acknowledged certified results but stopped short of refuting Trump. Both addressed a DOJ lawsuit over Alaska's Senate certification and debated the state's redesigned flag. Election Day is November 3.

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.

An opinion piece in the Star Tribune has sharpened a political clash in Minnesota ahead of upcoming elections, centered on how state leaders address both local fraud scandals and their connections to President Donald Trump. DFL Attorney General Keith Ellison, running for reelection, has directly tied his Republican opponent, corporate lawyer Ron Schutz, to Trump in campaign messaging, criticizing Schutz for saying he would seek White House support. Trump himself recently weighed in on Minnesota politics, endorsing Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michele Tafoya.

The commentary argues that while fraud in Minnesota's social services programs is a legitimate concern — one acknowledged by DFL figures including Senator Amy Klobuchar and Governor Tim Walz — Republicans face scrutiny for condemning state-level fraud while aligning with Trump. The piece frames this contrast as a central theme likely to shape Minnesota's competitive races, including the attorney general and Senate contests, as candidates position themselves on fraud accountability and their relationships with the president.

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.

A November 3 legislative race in Minnesota's largest House district, 3A, is drawing attention as a test of rural populist politics amid worsening economic conditions. Republican incumbent Rep. Dave Skraba, who narrowly won the seat in 2022 before a comfortable 2024 victory, faces DFL challenger Kania, who has been outworking the campaign trail despite trailing badly in fundraising. Kania is betting that door-knocking and a focus on mining, health care, and forest management can recreate the kind of cross-coalition appeal once shown by Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party figures like Gov. Rudy Perpich and Sen. Paul Wellstone, who dominated the region decades earlier. The race remains a long shot for Democrats but reflects broader questions about rural voters' patience with economic decline.

A Twin Cities opinion piece by local election official Ken Peterson defends Minnesota's voting system amid DOJ threats to deploy election-day monitors. Peterson notes bipartisan agreement between state GOP and DFL chairs that the system, run by over 30,000 local poll workers, is secure. A federal judge recently blocked DOJ efforts to obtain state voter rolls for DHS review. Minnesota uses paper ballots, certified equipment, and the Statewide Registration System to prevent double voting. Cited fraud cases remain rare: a St. Thomas Law School study found only three noncitizen voting convictions among 13.4 million ballots cast from 2014–2024. Minnesota led the nation in 2024 voter turnout and election administration rankings.

St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker and state Rep. Maria Isa Perez-Vega are competing for the open District 5 seat on the Ramsey County Board, vacated by longtime Commissioner Rafael Ortega, who has endorsed Perez-Vega. The district spans downtown St. Paul, Highland Park, Macalester-Groveland, West Seventh, the West Side and Dayton's Bluff. The race has been closely contested, ending in virtual ties at both the DFL endorsement convention and the August primary, with early voting now underway ahead of the November election.

Noecker emphasizes her council record on housing, wages and constituent services, and has criticized Ramsey County's handling of the Riverview Corridor transit project and detox center closures. Perez-Vega highlights her legislative work on insulin price caps and West Seventh Street road funding, prioritizing protection of federal assistance programs and downtown revitalization. Noecker has secured more labor union backing, while Perez-Vega holds endorsements from a majority of county commissioners and numerous state legislators. County commissioners earn $107,000 annually, and the board oversees a proposed 8.25% tax levy increase alongside a $320 million downtown development package.