2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota

2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota

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All 8 Minnesota seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic (DFL) Republican Last election 5 3 Seats won 5 3 Seat change Popular vote 985,760 913,539 Percentage 50.20% 46.53% Swing 5.28% 3.51%
Results by percentageResults by seats wonResults by seats gainedShow all

The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota took place in the U.S. state of Minnesota on November 4, 2014, to elect Minnesota's eight representatives in the United States House of Representatives for two-year terms, one from each of Minnesota's eight congressional districts. Primary elections were held on August 12, 2014.

In these elections, Minnesotans elected their oldest U.S. House delegation across the 80 cycles since statehood, at an average age of 58.8 years: Rick Nolan (age 70), Collin Peterson (70), John Kline (67), Betty McCollum (60), Keith Ellison (51), Tom Emmer (53), Tim Walz (50) and Erik Paulsen (49).^[1]

Overview[]

United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, 2014[2]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats Before	Seats After	+/–
	Democratic–Farmer–Labor	985,760	50.20%	5	5	-
	Republican	913,539	46.53%	3	3	-
	Independence	50,836	2.59%	0	0	-
	Green	11,450	0.58%	0	0	-
	Others	1,954	0.10%	0	0	-
Totals		1,963,539	100.00%	8	8	—

By district[]

Results of the 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota by district:^[3]

District	Democratic (DFL)		Republican		Others		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	122,851	54.19%	103,536	45.67%	308	0.14%	226,695	100.0%	Democratic Hold
District 2	95,565	38.87%	137,778	56.04%	12,505	5.09%	245,848	100.0%	Republican Hold
District 3	101,846	37.78%	167,515	62.14%	224	0.08%	269,585	100.0%	Republican Hold
District 4	147,857	61.19%	79,492	32.90%	14,288	5.91%	241,637	100.0%	Democratic Hold
District 5	167,079	70.79%	56,577	23.97%	12,354	5.24%	236,010	100.0%	Democratic Hold
District 6	90,926	38.39%	133,328	56.29%	12,592	5.32%	236,846	100.0%	Republican Hold
District 7	130,546	54.21%	109,955	45.66%	334	0.14%	240,835	100.0%	Democratic Hold
District 8	129,090	48.52%	125,358	47.11%	11,635	4.37%	266,083	100.0%	Democratic Hold
Total	985,760	50.20%	913,539	46.53%	64,240	3.27%	1,963,539	100.0%

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District 1[]

DFL incumbent Tim Walz had represented the 1st district since 2007.

Republican State Representative Mike Benson,^[4] Jim Hagedorn of Blue Earth and U.S. Army veteran Aaron Miller of Byron all sought the nomination to challenge Walz. Hagedorn and Miller had pledged to abide by the Republican endorsement while Benson did not.^[5] On April 5, 2014, Aaron Miller won the GOP endorsement.^[6] Benson and Hagedorn then withdrew, though Hagedorn re-entered the race on May 18, expressing concerns that Miller was not dedicating enough time to the race.^[7]

Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary[]

Candidates[]

Nominee

• Tim Walz, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results[]

Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary results^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Tim Walz (incumbent)	19,983	100.0

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

Declared

• Jim Hagedorn, candidate for the seat in 2010^[7]
• Aaron Miller, U.S. Army veteran^[5]

Withdrew

• Mike Benson, state representative^[6]

Declined

• Jeremy Miller, state senator^[9]

Results[]

Republican primary results^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Hagedorn	12,748	54.0
	Republican	Aaron Miller	10,870	46.0
Total votes			23,618	100.0

General election[]

Polling[]

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Tim Walz (DFL)	Jim Hagedorn (R)	Undecided
Harper Polling (R-Hagedorn)	September 9–10, 2014	437	± 4.69%	38%	32%	31%

Results[]

Minnesota's 1st congressional district, 2014^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Tim Walz (incumbent)	122,851	54.2
	Republican	Jim Hagedorn	103,536	45.7
	N/A	Write-ins	308	0.1
Total votes			226,695	100.0
	Democratic (DFL) hold

District 2[]

Republican Representative John Kline was rumored to be interested in running for Governor of Minnesota or the United States Senate. Instead, he announced he would seek re-election. David Gerson challenged Kline for the Republican nomination but conceded after Kline won the Republican endorsement.^[11]

The 2014 election in the 2nd district was expected to be one of the tightest congressional races in the country. Kline's district was one of 17 Republican congressional districts to vote for President Barack Obama in 2012, and polling data suggested a Democratic challenger could unseat Kline.^[12]

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

Declared

• John Kline, incumbent U.S. Representative^[13]

Withdrew

• David Gerson, candidate for the seat in 2012^[11][14]

Declined

• Kurt Bills, former state representative and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2012^[15]
• Chris Gerlach, state senator and Dakota County Commissioner^[15]
• Pat Garofalo, state representative^[15]
• Kelby Woodard, state representative^[15]

Results[]

Republican primary results^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Kline (incumbent)	18,236	100.0

Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary[]

Mike Obermueller, who lost to Kline in 2012, had decided to run again.^[13] He won the DFL endorsement on April 26, 2014.^[16] Sona Mehring, the founder of CaringBridge, declared her candidacy, but dropped out of the race three weeks later.^[17] Thomas Craft, who volunteered for Obermueller in the 2012 race, declared his candidacy in July 2013 and positioned himself as a fiscally conservative, socially liberal alternative to Kline and Obermueller.^[18] Craft ceased his campaign after Obermueller won the DFL endorsement.^[16] Eagan quality assurance analyst Paula Overby initially sought the DFL endorsement but withdrew after Obermueller won it and instead became the Independence Party nominee.^[16][19]

Declared

• Mike Obermueller, former state representative and nominee for the seat in 2012^[13]
• Michael Roberts^[20]

Withdrew

• Thomas Craft, IT consultant^[16]
• Sona Mehring, founder of CaringBridge^[17]
• Paula Overby, quality assurance analyst (ran for the Independence nomination)^[16]

Results[]

Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary results^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Mike Obermueller	12,361	82.5
	Democratic (DFL)	Michael J. Roberts	2,622	17.5
Total votes			14,983	100.0

Independence primary[]

Candidates[]

Nominee

• Paula Overby, quality assurance analyst^[21]

Results[]

Independence primary results^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independence	Paula Overby	461	100.0

General election[]

Polling[]

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	John Kline (R)	Mike Obermueller (DFL)	Paula Overby (I)	Undecided
Remington Research Group	September 18–21, 2014	568	± 4.1%	54%	32%	4%	10%
Public Policy Polling	October 21–22, 2013	825	± 3.4%	38%	42%	—	20%

Results[]

Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, 2014^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Kline (incumbent)	137,778	56.0
	Democratic (DFL)	Mike Obermueller	95,565	38.9
	Independence	Paula Overby	12,319	5.0
	N/A	Write-ins	186	0.1
Total votes			245,848	100.0
	Republican hold

District 3[]

Republican U.S. Representative Erik Paulsen considered running for governor or the United States Senate in 2014. He announced he would seek re-election to the U.S. House instead.^[22]

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

Declared

• Erik Paulsen, incumbent U.S. Representative^[22]

Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary[]

Candidates[]

Declared

• Sharon Sund, businesswoman^[23]

Declined

• James Lawrence, businessman^[24]
• Don Shelby, former WCCO-TV anchor^[25]

General election[]

Results[]

Minnesota's 3rd congressional district, 2014^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Erik Paulsen (incumbent)	167,515	62.1
	Democratic (DFL)	Sharon Sund	101,846	37.8
	N/A	Write-ins	224	0.1
Total votes			269,585	100.0
	Republican hold

District 4[]

Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary[]

Candidates[]

Nominee

• Betty McCollum, incumbent U.S. Representative^[20]

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

Nominee

• Sharna Wahlgren^[20]

Independence primary[]

Candidates[]

Nominee

• Dave Thomas, educator, firefighter, and Iraq War veteran^[20]

General election[]

Results[]

Minnesota's 4th congressional district, 2014^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Betty McCollum (incumbent)	147,857	61.2
	Republican	Sharna Wahlgren	79,492	32.9
	Independence	Dave Thomas	14,059	5.8
	N/A	Write-ins	229	0.1
Total votes			241,637	100.0
	Democratic (DFL) hold

District 5[]

Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary[]

Candidates[]

Nominee

• Keith Ellison, incumbent U.S Representative^[20]

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

Nominee

• Doug Daggett^[20]

Independence primary[]

Candidates[]

Nominee

• Lee Bauer^[20]

General election[]

Results[]

Minnesota's 5th congressional district, 2014^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Keith Ellison (incumbent)	167,079	70.8
	Republican	Doug Daggett	56,577	24.0
	Independence	Lee Bauer	12,001	5.1
	N/A	Write-ins	353	0.1
Total votes			236,010	100.0
	Democratic (DFL) hold

District 6[]

Republican U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann won re-election in 2012, defeating DFL nominee Jim Graves by approximately 1.2 percentage points, although fellow Republican Mitt Romney received 56% of the vote to Democrat Barack Obama's 41% in this district in the 2012 presidential election. Bachmann announced on May 29, 2013, that she would not seek re-election.^[26] Graves, who had previously said he would run again, said he would continue to run.^[27] However, on May 31, 2013, Graves announced that he was suspending his campaign.^[28]

Former state representative and 2010 gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer and Anoka County Commissioner Rhonda Sivarajah sought the Republican nomination.^[29][30][31] Allan Levene, a Kennesaw, Georgia, resident who sought the Republican nomination in four congressional districts in four separate states, including Minnesota, ultimately did not file an affidavit of candidacy.^[32]

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

Declared

• Tom Emmer, former state representative and nominee for Governor in 2010^[29]
• Rhonda Sivarajah, Anoka County Commissioner^[30]

Withdrew

• Phil Krinkie, former state representative^[33]
• Allan Levene, resident of Georgia running in three other congressional races^[32]
• John Pederson, state senator^[34]

Declined

• Michele Bachmann, incumbent U.S. Representative^[26]

Polling[]

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Tom Emmer	Phil Krinkie	Rhonda Sivarajah	Undecided
Public Opinion Strategies (R-Emmer)	April 16–17, 2014	300	± 5.66%	73%	4%	5%	18%

Results[]

Republican primary results^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Emmer	19,557	73.3
	Republican	Rhonda Sivarajah	7,125	26.7
Total votes			26,682	100.0

Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary[]

Joe Perske, Mayor of Sartell, Minnesota, was the DFL endorsed candidate and nominee. Judy Adams, a painter and environmental activist, and Jim Read, an author and professor of political science at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, both withdrew after failing to win the DFL endorsement.^{[35][36][37][38]}

Candidates[]

Nominee

• Joe Perske, Mayor of Sartell^[36]

Withdrew

• Judy Adams, environmental activist^[35][38]
• Jim Graves, businessman and nominee for the seat in 2012^[28]
• Jim Read, professor at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University^[37][38]

Results[]

Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary results^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Joe Perske	10,070	100.0

Independence primary[]

Candidates[]

Nominee

• John Denney^[20]

Results[]

Independence primary results^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independence	John Denney	467	100.0

General election[]

Results[]

Minnesota's 6th congressional district, 2014^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Emmer	133,328	56.3
	Democratic (DFL)	Joe Perske	90,926	38.4
	Independence	John Denney	12,457	5.2
	Write-in		135	0.1
Total votes			236,846	100.0
	Republican hold

District 7[]

The 7th district covers almost the entire western side of Minnesota. It is the largest district in the state and one of the largest in the country and includes the cities of Moorhead, Fergus Falls, Alexandria and Willmar. The incumbent was DFLer Collin Peterson, who had represented the district since 1991. He was re-elected with 60% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+6.

In 2013, Republicans began pressuring Peterson, in hopes of convincing him to retire. His seat was one of only a handful that was represented by a Democrat but was carried by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in the 2012 election and was seen as a top pick-up opportunity had Peterson retired. Their tactics included airing television advertisements, hiring a press staffer to give opposition research to reporters, hiring a tracker to follow him around his district and record him, and sending mobile billboards with critical statements on them to drive around his hometown. Peterson responded by saying "They don't have anybody else to go after. It's kind of ridiculous, but whatever."^[39][40] After Republicans spread rumors that Peterson was planning to buy a house in Florida and retire there, he said: "I went from neutral on running again to 90 percent just because of this stupid stuff they're doing. You can't let these people be in charge of anything, in my opinion."^[41] On March 17, 2014, Peterson officially announced that he was running for re-election, saying, "I still have a lot of work to do."^[42]

Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary[]

Candidates[]

Nominee

• Collin Peterson, incumbent U.S. Representative^[42]

Declined

• Paul Marquart, state representative^[15]

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

Nominee

• Torrey Westrom, state senator^[43]

Declined

• Dan Fabian, state representative^[15]
• Mary Franson, state representative^[15]
• Bill Ingebrigtsen, state senator^[15]
• Morrie Lanning, former state representative^[15]
• Marty Seifert, former Minority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives and candidate for Governor of Minnesota in 2010 and 2014^[15]
• Scott Van Binsbergen, businessman^[15]

General election[]

Polling[]

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Collin Peterson (DFL)	Torrey Westrom (R)	Undecided
Tarrance Group (R-NRCC)	October 12–14, 2014	300	± 5.8%	43%	44%	13%
SurveyUSA	October 3–6, 2014	545	± 4.3%	50%	41%	10%
Tarrance Group (R-Westrom)	September 21–23, 2014	402	± 4.9%	45%	40%	15%
Global Strategy Group (D-Peterson)	September 4–7, 2014	405	± 4.9%	53%	29%	18%
Tarrance Group (R-Westrom)	February 3–5, 2014	400	± 4.9%	46%	39%	15%

Results[]

Minnesota's 7th congressional district, 2014^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Collin Peterson (incumbent)	130,546	54.2
	Republican	Torrey Westrom	109,955	45.7
	N/A	Write-ins	334	0.1
Total votes			240,835	100.0
	Democratic (DFL) hold

District 8[]

Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary[]

Candidates[]

Nominee

• Rick Nolan, incumbent U.S. Representative^[20]

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

Nominee

• Stewart Mills III, Mills Fleet Farm executive^[44]

Green Party[]

Nominee

• Skip Sandman

General election[]

Polling[]

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Rick Nolan (DFL)	Stewart Mills (R)	Skip Sandman (G)	Undecided
KSTP/SurveyUSA	October 9–12, 2014	555	± 4.2%	39%	47%	4%	11%
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner (D-DCCC)	September 25–28, 2014	405	± 4.9%	48%	37%	7%	9%

Results[]

Minnesota's 8th congressional district, 2014^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Rick Nolan (incumbent)	129,090	48.5
	Republican	Stewart Mills III	125,358	47.1
	Green	Skip Sandman	11,450	4.3
	N/A	Write-ins	185	0.1
Total votes			266,083	100.0
	Democratic (DFL) hold

See also[]

• 2014 Minnesota elections
• 2014 United States House of Representatives elections

References[]

External links[]

• Elections & Voting - Minnesota Secretary of State
• U.S. House elections in Minnesota, 2014 at Ballotpedia
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org