The Aug. 11 Minnesota primaries settled nominations for governor, a U.S. Senate seat and several U.S. House contests with roughly 99% of precincts reporting. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan won the Democratic Senate primary and Michele Tafoya won the Republican Senate primary. Lisa Demuth and Sen. Amy Klobuchar won their respective party primaries for governor. Several incumbents — including Reps. Brad Finstad, Tom Emmer, Betty McCollum, Ilhan Omar, Pete Stauber and Michelle Fischbach — secured nominations, and a number of races were uncontested.
Minnesota Primaries (Aug. 11): Winners in Governor, Senate and U.S. House Races
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who is running against Angie Craig for the Democratic nomination to fill Tina Smith's senate seat, speaks at a campaign rally in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., July 20, 2026. REUTERS/Tim Evans
With Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz not seeking re-election, a large and competitive field of candidates vied for the state's top offices. On Aug. 11, voters decided primary contests for governor, a U.S. Senate seat and multiple U.S. House nominations. The following summarizes the reported primary winners and vote shares (approximately 99% of precincts reporting).
U.S. Senate
Minnesota will select a senator to fill the seat held by Sen. Tina Smith. Reported primary winners:
Republican: Michele Tafoya — 52.1% (vs. Adam Schwarze 24.0%) (≈99% reporting)
Democrat: Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan — 59.0% (vs. Rep. Angie Craig 39.4%) (≈99% reporting)
Governor
With Gov. Walz not on the ballot, both parties saw decisive primary outcomes.
Republican: State House Speaker Lisa Demuth — 43.4% (vs. Mike Lindell 32.5%) (≈99% reporting)
Democrat: Sen. Amy Klobuchar — 89.7% (vs. Kobey J. Layne 5.8%) (≈99% reporting)
U.S. House Primaries (By District)
District 1
Republican: Incumbent Rep. Brad Finstad — 90.1% (vs. Gregory Goetzman 5.2%) (≈99% reporting)
Democrat: Jake Johnson — 81.7% (vs. Alex Eaton 18.4%) (≈99% reporting)
District 2
Republican: Eric Pratt — Uncontested
Democrat: Matt Little — 47.2% (vs. Matt Klein 30.4%) (≈99% reporting)
District 3
Republican: Tyler Bass — 55.4% (vs. Quentin Wittrock 44.6%) (≈99% reporting)
Democrat: Rep. Kelly Morrison — Uncontested
District 4
Republican: Paul Wikstrom — 72.6% (vs. Paul Xiong 16.9%) (≈99% reporting)
Democrat: Rep. Betty McCollum — 85.8% (vs. Aswar Rahman 14.2%) (≈99% reporting)
District 5
Republican: John Nagel — 52.2% (vs. Dalia Al-Aqidi 26.2%) (≈99% reporting)
Democrat: Rep. Ilhan Omar — 80.7% (vs. Julie Trang Le 6.7%) (≈99% reporting)
District 6
Republican: Rep. Tom Emmer — 80.9% (vs. Mike Foley 15.3%) (≈99% reporting)
Democrat: Doug Chapin — Uncontested
District 7
Republican: Rep. Michelle Fischbach — Uncontested
Democrat: Erik Osberg — 65.7% (vs. Steve Carlson 34.3%) (≈99% reporting)
District 8
Republican: Rep. Pete Stauber — 86.5% (vs. Anthony Hamilton 13.6%) (≈99% reporting)
Democrat: Trina Swanson — 77.2% (vs. Luke Gulbranson 16.9%) (≈99% reporting)
Note: Vote shares and reporting percentages are based on the Associated Press and CNN tallies released following the Aug. 11 primaries.
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