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 so ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

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 chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

, several state judicial seats, a

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

seat, all of Minnesota's eight seats in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, 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 politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Mark Dayton Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the List of governors of Minnesota, 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He served as a United States Senate, United States Senator representing Minneso ...

sought re-election. Other candidates included Republican

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,281,565, and was estimated to be 1,273,334 in 2024, making it the List of counties in ...

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

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

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 Minority Leader and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. He represented District 21A, a predominantly rural district in southwestern Minnesota that in ...

, former state House Speaker Kurt Zellers, 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 (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

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

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 of the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

, and Dan Vacek running under the label " Legal Marijuana Now." 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 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 Severson (born August 31, 1954) is a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives who represented District 14A, which includes portions of Benton County, Minnesota, Benton and Stearns County, Minnesota, Stearns counties in ...

, 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 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 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, or state examiners, among others) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, program eval ...

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 Grassroots Party, and

Keegan Iversen. Former DFL state

Matt Entenza 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 state affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in Minnesota and the oldest active political party in the state. Founded in 1855, the party is headquartered in Edina, Minnesota, E ...

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 assemb ...

justices Wilhelmina Wright and David Lillehaug 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 court (United State ...

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 crimin ...

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 politician, comedian, and actor who served from 2009 to 2018 as a United States senator from Minnesota. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he worked as an ...

sought re-election. Other candidates included Republican Mike McFadden, 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 southweste ...

, 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