Minnesota Minute: Primary Election Results

August 12, 2026

Over one million Minnesotans headed to the polls yesterday, setting a new record for voter turnout in a primary election. The election delivered more than a few surprises and set several historic milestones. Minnesota voters set up a historic governor’s race between U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth as Minnesota is guaranteed to elect its first female governor this fall. Demuth is also the first Black nominee for governor. In the DFL U.S. Senate race, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan beat Congresswomen Angie Craig by more than 20 points despite predictions that the race would be close. She is now positioned to be the first Native American woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate if she wins in the fall. In the Republican U.S. Senate race, Michele Tafoya handedly beat both Adam Schwarze and Royce White.

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Republicans did not pick the endorsed candidate in the Governor’s race or the U.S. Senate race and they did not pick the Trump-endorsed candidate in the Governor’s race. On the Democrat side, progressives came away with one of their biggest statewide victories, showing that Operation Metro Surge had a large impact on the race. In the state legislative races, almost all the incumbents won their races with the exception of Minnesota Senator Paul Utke who lost to former Minnesota House Representative Mike Wiener. Below are the full results from the major races across the state.

Statewide and Federal Races

Governor (Republican Primary)

  • Lisa Demuth (winner) – 43.4%
  • Mike Lindell – 32.5%
  • Kendall Qualls – 21.4%

U.S. Senate (DFL Primary)

  • Peggy Flanagan (winner) – 59.0%
  • Angie Craig – 39.4%

U.S. Senate (Republican Primary)

  • Michele Tafoya (winner) – 52.1%
  • Adam Schwarze – 24.0%
  • Royce White – 11.2%

Congressional District 2 (DFL Primary)

  • Matt Little (winner) – 47.2%
  • Matt Klein – 30.4%
  • Kaela Berg – 16.7%

Minnesota House Primaries

 House District 9B (Republican)

  • Tom Murphy (winner and incumbent) – 88.6%
  • Craig Horlocker – 11.5%

 House District 6B (Republican)

  • Josh Heintzeman (winner and incumbent) – 88.8%
  • Matthew Zinda – 11.2%

House District 60B (DFL)

  • Mohamud Noor (winner and incumbent) – 84.6%
  • Abdurrahman Mahmud – 15.4%

House District 38A (DFL)

  • Huldah Momanyi-Hiltsley (winner and incumbent) – 48.8%
  • Wynfred Russell – 41.8%

Minnesota Senate Primaries

Senate District 5 (Republican)

  • Mike Wiener (winner) – 50.8%
  • Paul Utke (incumbent) – 49.2%

Senate District 10 (Republican)

  • Nathan Wesenberg (winner and incumbent) – 74.2%
  • Deb Holthaus – 25.8%

Senate District 19 (Republican)

  • John Jasinski (winner and incumbent) – 88.2%
  • Crystal Alan – 11.8%

Senate District 38 (DFL)

  • Susan Pha (winner and incumbent) – 74.9%
  • Nehemiah Garley – 25.1%

Senate District 46 (DFL)

  • Ron Latz (winner and incumbent) – 59.8%
  • Lynette Dumalag – 40.2%

Senate District 62 (DFL)

  • Omar Fateh (winner and incumbent) – 78.3%
  • Jeanelle Austin – 14.4%
  • Brenda Short – 7.3%

Authors

About Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies

Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, an affiliate of the international law firm Cozen O’Connor, is a bipartisan government relations practice representing clients before the federal government and in cities and states throughout the country. With offices in Washington D.C., Richmond, Albany, New York City, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Chicago, and Santa Monica, the firm’s public strategies professionals offer a full complement of government affairs services, including legislative and executive branch advocacy, policy analysis, assistance with government procurement and funding programs, and crisis management. Its client base spans multiple industries, including healthcare, transportation, hospitality, education, construction, energy, real estate, entertainment, financial services, and insurance.

About Cozen O’Connor

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