A general election was held in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

on November 4, 2014. All of Minnesota's executive officers were up for election as well as all the seats in the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Minnesota Legislature, Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the Min ...

, several state judicial seats, a

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

seat, all of Minnesota's eight seats in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

, and several seats for local offices. A primary election was held on August 12, 2014, to nominate major political party candidates for partisan offices and candidates for nonpartisan offices.

State elections

Governor

Incumbent Democratic–Farmer–Labor

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Mark Dayton Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He was a United States Senator for Minnesota from 2001 to 2007, and the Minnesota State Auditor from 1991 to 1 ...

sought re-election. Other candidates included Republican

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneap ...

Commissioner Jeff Johnson, Hannah Nicollet of the Independence Party, Chris Wright of the

Grassroots Party The Grassroots Party was a political Third party (United States), third party in the United States established in 1986 to oppose drug prohibition. The party shared many of the progressive values of the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, Farmer-Labor P ...

, and

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

Chris Holbrook. Republicans Merrill Anderson, Scott Honour, former state

House Minority Leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are el ...

Marty Seifert Martin John "Marty" Seifert (born April 23, 1972) is a former Republican Party of Minnesota, Republican Minority Leader and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. He represented District 21A, a predominantly rural district in s ...

, former state

House Speaker The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerfo ...

Kurt Zellers Kurt Zellers (born October 16, 1969) is an American politician who served as speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013 and minority leader from 2009 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represent ...

, and Democrats Bill Dahn and Leslie Davis were defeated in the primary election. Republicans St. Louis County Commissioner Rob Farnsworth and state Senator Dave Thompson withdrew after failing to win their party's endorsement at the Republican state convention. Dayton was re-elected to a second term.

Attorney General

Incumbent Democratic–Farmer–Labor

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Lori Swanson Lori Swanson (born December 16, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the attorney general of Minnesota from 2007 to 2019. She was the first female attorney general elected in Minnesota. In 2018, she ran for Governor of Minne ...

sought re-election. Other candidates included Republican state Senator Scott Newman, Brandan Borgos of the Independence Party,

Mary O'Connor, former DFL state Representative

Andy Dawkins Andrew J. Dawkins (born July 29, 1950) is an American politician and attorney from Minnesota. Dawkins is a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from Saint Paul. Running as a Democrat, Dawkins was first elected in 1986 to repre ...

of the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundati ...

, and Dan Vacek running under the label "

Legal Marijuana Now The Legal Marijuana Now Party is a political third party in the United States. The party’s platform includes abolishing the Drug Enforcement Administration and legalizing hemp and marijuana. As of 2022, the party has ballot access in Minnesota ...

." Republican Sharon Anderson was defeated in the primary election. Swanson was re-elected to a third term.

Secretary of State

Incumbent Democratic–Farmer–Labor Secretary of State

Mark Ritchie Mark Ritchie may refer to: *Mark Ritchie (politician), Minnesota Secretary of State, 2007–2015 *Mark Ritchie (pinball designer) Mark Ritchie (born August 20, 1958) is an American pinball designer and video game producer. He is best known for hi ...

announced on June 4, 2013, that he would not seek re-election. Candidates that sought election include DFL state Representative

Steve Simon Steve Simon (born December 12, 1969) is an American politician from the state of Minnesota serving as the 22nd Minnesota Secretary of State. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he previously represented District 46B ...

, former Republican state Representative

Dan Severson Daniel Mark "Doc" Severson (born August 31, 1954) is an American Republican politician. He is a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives who represented District 14A, which includes portions of Benton and Stearns counties in the ...

, Bob Helland of the Independence Party, and

Bob Odden. Democrats Dick Franson and Gregg Iverson, and David Singleton of the Independence Party were defeated in the primary election. Democrats Rachel Bohman and former state Representative

Jeremy Kalin Jeremy N. Kalin (born January 3, 1975) is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represented District 17B, northeast of the Twin ...

withdrew in 2013 several months following their announcements. Republican Dennis Nguyen withdrew in mid-March 2014 following reports of an alleged strip club visit. DFL state Representative

Debra Hilstrom Debra J. Hilstrom (born June 21, 1968) is an American politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represented District 40B, which included portion ...

and former Republican state Senator John Howe withdrew after failing to win their party's endorsement at their party's state convention. Simon was elected.

State Auditor

Incumbent Democratic–Farmer–Labor

State Auditor State auditors (also known as state comptrollers, state controllers, state examiners, or inspectors general) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, financ ...

Rebecca Otto Rebecca Otto (born July 9, 1963) is an American politician who served as State Auditor of Minnesota from 2007 to 2019. Affiliated with the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), she served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 20 ...

announced on August 20, 2013, that she would seek re-election. Other candidates included Republican Randy Gilbert, Pat Dean of the Independence Party, Judith Schwartzbacker of the

, and

Keegan Iversen. Former DFL state

Matt Entenza Matthew "Matt" Keating Entenza (born October 4, 1961) is a Minnesota lawyer and former politician who served six terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He served as House Minority Leader from 2003 to 2006. After leaving the legislatur ...

was defeated in the primary election. Otto was re-elected to a third term.

Minnesota House of Representatives

All 134 seats in the

were up for election. The

Republican Party of Minnesota The Republican Party of Minnesota is the oldest active political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Republican Party’s platform is relatively moderate. The party’s main issues are economic growth, education, healthcare, civ ...

won a majority of seats.

Judiciary

Minnesota Supreme Court The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center. History The court was first asse ...

justices

Wilhelmina Wright Wilhelmina Marie Wright (born January 13, 1964) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. She is the only jurist in Minnesota's history to be State District Court Judge, Appellate Court J ...

and

David Lillehaug David Lee Lillehaug (born May 22, 1954) is a former associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. He served as the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota from 1994 to 1998. Early life and education Lillehaug was born in Waverly, ...

sought election to six-year terms following their respective appointments in 2012 and 2013 by

. Several seats on the

Minnesota Court of Appeals The Minnesota Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It began operating on November 1, 1983. Jurisdiction The Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over most appeals from the state trial courts, inclu ...

and the

Minnesota District Courts The District Court of Minnesota is the state trial court of general jurisdiction in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Jurisdiction of the court The Minnesota Constitution provides that the district court has original jurisdiction in civil and crimi ...

were up for election as well. Both Wright and Lillehaug were elected.

Federal elections

United States Senate

Incumbent Democratic–Farmer–Labor Senator

Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...

sought re-election. Other candidates included Republican

Mike McFadden Michael Frederick McFadden (born September 7, 1964) is an American businessperson and the co-CEO of Lazard Middle Market, a Minneapolis-based investment bank. McFadden was the 2014 Republican nominee for the United States Senate in Minnesota agai ...

, Steve Carlson of the Independence Party, and

Heather Johnson. Republicans state Representative Jim Abeler, David Carlson, Patrick Munro, and Ole Savior; Democrat Sandra Henningsgard; and Tom Books, Jack Shepard, Kevin Terrell, and Stephen Williams of the Independence Party were defeated in the primary election. Republicans Chris Dahlberg, Monti Moreno, state Senator

Julianne Ortman Julianne E. Ortman (born August 29, 1962) is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, she represented District 47, which included portions of Carver County in the southwester ...

, and Phillip Parrish withdrew after failing to win their party's endorsement at the Republican state convention. Franken was re-elected to a second term.

United States House of Representatives

All of Minnesota's eight seats in the

were up for election. No political party gained or lost seats.

References

External links

Elections & Voting - Minnesota Secretary of State
{{2014 United States elections