United States Senate election in Minnesota, 2018
General election
General election for U.S. Senate Minnesota
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Amy Klobuchar (D) | 60.3 | 1,566,174 | |
| Jim Newberger (R) | 36.2 | 940,437 | ||
| Dennis Schuller (Legal Marijuana Now Party) | 2.6 | 66,236 | ||
| Paula Overby (G) | 0.9 | 23,101 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 931 | ||
| Total votes: 2,596,879 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
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- General election: Nov. 6
- Voter registration deadline: Oct. 16 , or in-person on Nov. 6
- Early voting: Sept. 21 - Nov. 5
- Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: Yes
- Voter ID: No
- Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
2020 →
← 2014
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| U.S. Senate, Minnesota |
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| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: June 5, 2018 |
| Primary: August 14, 2018 General: November 6, 2018 Pre-election incumbent: Amy Klobuchar (Democrat) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Minnesota |
| Race ratings |
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic Inside Elections: Solid Democratic |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate (regular) • U.S. Senate (special) • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th Minnesota elections, 2018 U.S. Congress elections, 2018 U.S. Senate elections, 2018 U.S. House elections, 2018 |
Voters in Minnesota elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the election on November 6, 2018.
The election filled the Class 1 Senate seat held by Amy Klobuchar (D). She was first elected in 2006.
Candidates and election results
General election
General election for U.S. Senate Minnesota
Incumbent Amy Klobuchar defeated Jim Newberger, Dennis Schuller, and Paula Overby in the general election for U.S. Senate Minnesota on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Amy Klobuchar (D) | 60.3 | 1,566,174 | |
| Jim Newberger (R) | 36.2 | 940,437 | ||
| Dennis Schuller (Legal Marijuana Now Party) | 2.6 | 66,236 | ||
| Paula Overby (G) | 0.9 | 23,101 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 931 | ||
| Total votes: 2,596,879 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Minnesota
Incumbent Amy Klobuchar defeated Steve Carlson, Stephen Emery, David Robert Groves, and Leonard Richards in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Minnesota on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Amy Klobuchar | 95.7 | 557,306 | |
| Steve Carlson | 1.7 | 9,934 | ||
 | Stephen Emery | 1.2 | 7,047 | |
| David Robert Groves | 0.8 | 4,511 | |
| Leonard Richards | 0.6 | 3,552 | |
| Total votes: 582,350 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. Senate Minnesota
Jim Newberger defeated Merrill Anderson, Rae Hart Anderson, and Roque De La Fuente in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Minnesota on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jim Newberger | 69.5 | 201,531 | |
| Merrill Anderson | 15.7 | 45,492 | ||
| Rae Hart Anderson | 8.9 | 25,883 | |
| Roque De La Fuente | 5.9 | 17,051 | ||
| Total votes: 289,957 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Campaign themes
Amy Klobuchar
Note: Ballotpedia did not find campaign themes information on Amy Klobuchar's campaign website on October 17, 2018.[1]
Jim Newberger
Newberger's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Taxes The American tax system is a bloated bureaucratic mess. Today, there are 73,954 pages of tax code and growing. Americans are over-taxed on every level of life. I agree with President Trump. We must simplify our tax code so everyone can understand it. It should not take more than 20 minutes to do your taxes. Along with simplifying our tax code, we must reduce the crushing burden our tax system places on our citizens. The IRS has become too powerful. Those three letters strike fear into the hearts of all Americans. This shouldn’t be so! The IRS, like all giant federal agencies needs to serve the people of the United States, instead of the people serving the IRS. As your next U.S. Senator, I will work to reduce our taxes, simplify the code and reign in the IRS. Thanks to Senator Klobuchar’s help, government has grown by leaps-and-bounds under the Obama Administration. It’s time to turn things around. MAGA! ObamaCare How many times did you hear President Obama say, “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.” “If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your health care plan.” "I will sign a universal health care bill into law by the end of my first term as president that will cover every American and cut the cost of a typical family's premium by up to $2,500 a year." We saw the exact opposite. The Democrats nearly destroyed one of the best healthcare systems in the world. Thousands of people lost their trusted family doctors, they were forced out of their healthcare plans and saw their rates skyrocket to almost 60%. Senator Klobuchar was a champion for this and blocked attempts to stop the misery we endured because of ObamaCare. It’s time to free up our health care markets, cut the bureaucrats out of the decision making process and get back on to the path of becoming the greatest healthcare providing nation in the world. I support President Trump’s push to fix this mess and look forward to doing so. MAGA! National Debt America’s national debt is now over 20 trillion dollars. Think about that for a moment. That is a staggering number that will bankrupt our nation and default the futures of our children and grandchildren. Our parents and grandparents did not hand off that kind of a future to us and we have no right to hand that kind of a future off to our children and grandchildren. It is wrong to do so. We must make every effort to fix this. Period. When Senator Klobuchar took office our national debt was 8.5 trillion dollars. Under the Obama Administration our national debt grew to almost 19 trillion dollars. Senator Klobuchar has a history of voting over 90% with the Democrat Party. We must partner with President Trump and turn this mess around. Today, our national debt is over 20 trillion dollars. I look forward to working with President Trump to stop this sprint towards the fiscal cliff and eliminate our national debt. He needs people on his team, in the Senate, who are determined to fix this destructive fiscal situation. We must do whatever it takes to accomplish this. We can do it! MAGA! Social Security Social Security must be protected. We have all paid into this system and our government has promised that our funds will be there when we retire. As your next U.S. Senator, I will make protecting Social Security one of my highest priorities. Every working American deserves to have their futures protected. MAGA! Military Part of what make our nation great is our military. My father served in World War Two and I will forever be proud of that fact. America can only be great if America is strong. I support our military and our veterans. Keeping our military fully funded is foundational to making America great again! Refugee Resettlement Reform Part of what makes our nation the greatest nation of the modern age, is that we help others. America has been the shining city on the hill, a beacon of hope for the world. We must continue to shine. However, over the past decade, thanks to the Obama Administration and the support of Senator Klobuchar, our Refugee Resettlement Program has become a fast track citizenship program for hundreds of thousands of people who are poorly vetted and do not have any intention of adopting American Law. There is only one thing that makes us Americans. It’s that we all agree to live under the same law, i.e. the Constitution. Once we lose that, we lose our country. America needs to reform our refugee program. Each refugee costs an average of $64,000 for the first five years they live in the United States. Our local communities have little, or no, say in this matter. Yet, they are forced to bear much of this unfunded mandate. We must hit the “stop button” and fix our broken system. It needs guardrails and local input. By doing this, we can make America great! Life I am, and always will be prolife. I support life from conception to natural death. Senator Klobuchar does not. She is highly ranked and heavily funded by the abortion industry. It’s time to stand up for those who have no voice, the weakest members of our society – instead of terminating them. We can make America great again if we support life! Energy Over the past decade, the Obama Administration has waged a war on our power producing communities. I have watched as hundreds of job providing power plants were prematurely shut down. I have listened to countless individuals express their deepest fears because their livelihoods were cut off. They had nowhere to go. I know this first hand. It happened to my home town in Becker. Thanks to the Obama power plan, our economic engine was nearly shut down. I fought for years to save our jobs and tax base. Many folks have asked me where I stand when it comes to energy. I support an all-of-the-above approach. Every form of energy production, coal, nuclear, natural gas, solar, wind and hydro can benefit our communities. I support them. However, the government should not pick winners and losers. Many of these industries can only survive if they receive millions of dollars in government subsidies. This is part of the reason why our nation has severe financial problems. Senator Klobuchar has been an out -front champion for shutting down our power producing communities. We can make America great again if we get the government OUT of this industry. It’s time to stop punishing our nation. Second Amendment I always have been, and will continue to be, a firm supporter of our Second Amendment Rights. It’s the one right that guarantees them all. Mining I support the folks on the Iron Range in Minnesota and have authored, and voted in favor of, several pieces of legislation to turn things around for the Range. We must get the government and the extreme environmental Left off the backs of the folks on the Range and stop oppressive regulations. I support President Trump’s plan to put America first and buy American steel products. I support expanding and rebuilding our pipelines. I support opening up the Iron Range to tap in to the vast mineral wealth that God has given us. I can see a day where the Iron Range will become one of the economic powerhouses of our great nation. Senator Klobuchar has enabled the extreme environmental left. These folks have kept the Northeastern sector of our state in a bureaucratic choke hold for too long. Farming Minnesota farmers feed the world. Ask any farmer what causes them the greatest stress? Most will tell you it’s the unpredictable, over powered bureaucracies. Giant, faceless agencies threaten to regulate our farmers to death. It’s time to turn this around. Get the government off their backs! And what has Senator Klobuchar done? She votes over 90% with her party in Washington. It’s time to fix this and make America great again![2] |
” |
| —Jim Newberger’s campaign website (2018)[3] | ||
Paula Overby
Overby's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE: Our political process is broken. The most recent Gallup poll1 shows 13% of Americans approve the way that Congress is doing its job. We cannot have representative government if we continue selling our congressional seats to the highest bidder. The ideal of a government that serves the people has been crushed under the weight of corporate political investment, campaign finance, and an army of overpaid lobbyists representing special interests. We must return our government to the people. As a quality assurance analyst, I'm focused on creating quality processes. If we don't fix our process, nothing else really matters. I will advocate for diverse voices in government, oppose gerrymandering, endorse public funding for elections, and promote collaboration. Only by working together to find solutions can we truly serve the people. HEALTH CARE: Health care should be about maintaining health and caring for those in need. Today, it's a privatized industry dedicated to profits. Americans pay more for health care than any other affluent nation on earth2 and we still do not provide basic health care for all of our citizens. We can point proudly to some of the finest medical facilities in the world, but for most Americans, access to quality health care is limited or non-existent. It is unconscionable that in the wealthiest country in the world, we still refuse to provide equitable access to quality healthcare for all. The Affordable Care Act promised freedom for jobs and business opportunities not linked to your health care. What we got was continuing cost escalation and higher premiums. Even popular benefits like coverage for pre-existing conditions, would never be a problem if we had a universal health care system. We need to embrace a system that provides health care to all citizens, and includes dental, vision, and mental health services. Such a system will reduce costs and will operate with minimal overhead in comparison to private insurance. Removing the insurance profit-motive, gives consumers freedom of choice. Increasing transparency creates a more competitive market where decisions will be made by individuals and their doctors based on science and best practices rather than by insurance company profits. We can save trillions of dollars in health care costs by providing universal health care. This will provide a tremendous source of economic power for our country. EDUCATION: The value of education in the US has regressed to a singular focus on technology, dominated by multi-national conglomerates. The strength of our democracy, health of our communities, and the development of meaningful social policy depends on the diversity of knowledge, critical thinking skills, and problem solving abilities. Education should be viewed as a social investment. We need to rely on scientific research and best practices, by creating quality metrics that correlate to success. We should view education with a social perspective from prenatal to career. K-12 is not sufficient for today’s complex world. Today, college students' futures have been drowned under trillions of dollars of debt before they even have a chance to participate fully in our economy.5 We need to provide student debt forgiveness in order to ensure our economic health. We need to end the predatory loan practices of for-profit schools. It is vital to our shared future that we provide affordable, equitable access to education for all.
JOBS: It was not long ago that a person could graduate from high school and get a job that would support a family. Higher education meant higher earnings. Private industry has clearly demonstrated its unwillingness to invest in long-term growth strategies that will produce jobs for our workers. Automation is making it more difficult for low-skilled workers to provide for their families. When I look around our state today, I see college-educated citizens working two and three jobs to support a family and I see them trying to deal with thousand dollar a month daycare bills. We have created a cost of living that is unsustainable for most of us. Tax payers cannot continue subsidizing obsolete technologies and bailing out bankrupt investment strategies. Trickle-down economics has clearly failed us with corporations moving trillions of dollars out of our economy into offshore resources. It is time for those who have benefited most to re-invest and help provide a stable economic future. We need to protect workers and provide them real incentives to ensure our communities prosper. We need to return economic power to workers, who provide the source of economic prosperity. We need to promote worker cooperatives, restore pensions and sick leave benefits, and stop gambling with our shared economic future through privatized and risky retirement accounts. We need to invest in infrastructure and sustainable energy alternatives that will not only provide stable, living wage jobs, but will benefit all of us. Finally, we need to start planning for a post-industrial society in which achievement and economic stability are not measured solely through profit, employment, and wages. ENERGY AND CONSERVATION: The markets have clearly demonstrated the potential for renewable energy but our government continues to abide by policies that sustain fossil fuels. The rapidly expanding global demand for energy and the impact on climate and the environment, creates a pressing demand for a global energy policy. The United States should be a leader on energy policy and innovation but we are sacrificing our economic advantage by failing to invest in economic development and the maintenance of our own infrastructure. An American energy policy focused on sustainable technologies and advanced research into energy conservation and distribution will ensure that we successfully face the challenges of global warming. We must return to a healthy and cooperative relationship with our environment. MONEY MANAGEMENT: The average citizen cannot reasonably invest in or profit from a monetary system that is controlled and manipulated by wealthy interests. Computer trading is clearly not a capital investment for any except a few well-to-do people. For most of us, it is gambling, taking wealth from honest investors and giving it to Wall Street profiteers. Faith in our monetary system is essential to average investors and most of us do not trust that system today. We need to ensure that our financial system will fairly reward all of us. SOCIAL EQUITY: The judicial branch was created to defend the constitution and protect the rights of citizens from the abuses of government. The advent of the privatized prison system has undermined this system. We are creating a criminal class based on ethnic and racial discrimination to generate profits for the incarceration industry. Our legal system is completely overwhelmed by low-level prosecution, adversarial family law, and frivolous tort proceedings. Our legal process is so complex that it excludes a majority of Americans from any form of due process or social justice. With 5% of the world’s population, the United States has 25% of the world’s prison population. Prison industries provide billions worth of forced labor to multinational conglomerates. Tax payers foot the bill with little benefit to society at large. We must focus on scientific research and best practices in restorative justice to decrease recidivism. We need to provide opportunities to historically under-served and marginalized communities that allow for equitable access to economic and social stability. We must listen to the diverse voices of community leaders instead of imposing solutions from outside those communities. WAR ON DRUGS: The misguided “war” on drugs has resulted in little more than the creation of a militarized police force that focuses on the incarceration of low-level drug users that feeds the for-profit prison industry and is waged primarily in communities of color and oppressive poverty, rather than addressing the root causes of this crisis. It is time to end this masquerade. We are not winning and we are suffering enormous casualties. This misguided initiative is clearly not providing us any relief from what is essentially a public health crisis. The opiod crisis and the increase in exploitative drug pricing demonstrates the contradiction in America’s drug policies. We can not continue to allow prescription drugs to be marketed for profit without any regard for social impact and health consequences. I support legalization of marijuana along with taxation and regulation as a vital initiative toward ending the war on drugs and creating equitable drug policies. The crisis of drug abuse must be addressed by providing communities with economic stability, equitable access to health care resources, and quality educational opportunities. PRIVACY: After whistle blowers like Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning revealed the extent of government surveillance of U.S. citizens by the NSA, Congress has taken no steps to eliminate this activity. Minnesota's own Coleen Rowley, former agent of the FBI, has warned about this assault on American civil liberties.7 History has demonstrated the consequences of governments acting in secrecy to control civilian populations. We must oppose these threats to our freedoms. The NSA in concert with corporate media, magnifies fears of terrorism from without and within and leads us to the willing sacrifice of our individual freedoms along with excessive spending on militarism and war.. Our First Amendment right to free speech is far more critical to personal liberty than our Second Amendment right to bear arms. Freedom and liberty cannot survive under a system of government allowed to operate in secrecy. Similarly, citizens need protection from corporate invasion of our privacy as well as lack of corporate attention to computer security. The rash of hacker attacks stealing private data from major data warehouse like Equifax, demonstrates a need for greater scrutiny of our credit markets, and more consumer protections from credit fraud and identity theft. Consumers should not have to pay to protect themselves from the irresponsible use of private data. IMMIGRATION: We are a nation of immigrants, a nation of diverse cultures. We deny our history by ignoring immigration reform. We jeopardize our future by targeting immigrants and refugees as threats to our life and liberty. Aside from the obvious benefits of expanding our shared cultural experience, immigration reform also includes very real economic benefits. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that enacting the Senate immigration reform bill of 2013 would have increased real GDP relative to current law projections by 3.3 percent in 2023 and 5.4 percent in 2033 – an increase of roughly $700 billion in 2023 and $1.4 trillion in 2033 in today's dollars.8 What's stopping immigration reform? Wealthy interests promoting protectionist fears to assert their own private interests. FAMILIES: A strong family unit is critical to social stability. Wealth inequality and social welfare policies that aggressively divide families have jeopardized the fundamental family unit. Women and children continue to bear the consequences. Women earn 40% less than men, but still provide 40% of family income.. Beyond the issue of equal pay, women also hold seven out of ten minimum wage jobs. Gender equity demands greater emphasis on the social value of what women do. Twenty-six percent of America's children are in single-parent homes. Seventy-nine percent of custodial single mothers are gainfully employed. Fifty percent of them work full time. The fastest growing family model is single parent fathers. Ninety-five percent of single parent fathers work.9 In 1966, the organizers of the National Organization of Women, recognized that equality demanded economic independence for women, requiring a social restructuring that wouldn’t simply create employment opportunity for women but create economic value for the work done by women. Community work and child-rearing would have to be shared more equally by husband, wife, and society. That remains true today more than ever. A broad paid family leave policy10 is a proven policy shift that reduces pay inequity and drives gender equity. VIOLENCE: We clearly need leadership willing to address the serious levels of violence in this culture. Violence against women continues at intolerable levels and there is a continued unwillingness to recognize that violence is not bounded by gender. Attacking the cause of violence requires attention to the family structure, early intervention, economic and social equity, emphasis upon improving the school environment, and education that stresses the importance of healthy community. SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE: Sound public policy must respect the freedoms and dignity of the individual and must not be infringed upon by principles or beliefs of any religion. We should not prohibit communities of faith from active participation in our political process. I am a Christian and my beliefs compel me to care for the sick, feed the poor, and house the homeless. I naturally look for solutions that promote those objectives. There is no proper motive for the state to restrict a couple's right to choose when or if they have children. Safe, accessible birth control options must be a priority. DEFENSE: We have a new generation of Veterans with traumatic brain injuries and PTSD who are not getting the care and respect they have earned. How long will we continue to send our young people off to war for financial interests? Following Vietnam our military leadership defined clear rules of engagement to prevent extended involvement in counterinsurgency, but our civilian leadership has ignored these sound principles of engagement, sacrificing our young people and mortgaging their future solely for the economic benefit of the wealthy minority. It's time to put an end to declarations of war made by executive order. That is the responsibility of our congress. We can strengthen and preserve our military by avoiding extended military engagements that will never gain the support of the American people. It is time to let go of our war time economy and start focusing on building peaceful relationships and cooperation with allies. Diplomacy should be managed by the State Department, not the military. GUN CONTROL: The majority of citizens support legitimate control of firearm access such as background checks11, and I endorse that as well. I recognize the right to bear arms in the Second Amendment. The root issue, however, is a culture of violence which is facilitated by easy access to high-capacity military-grade weapons. We need to address both of these core issues to finally break this vicious cycle. There is growing anxiety about the evolving "police state". The National Defense Authorization Act of 1997 legitimized the use of military force against our own citizens; a dangerous precedent. I strenuously oppose the increasing militarization of our police and distribution of military surplus through the 1033 program. I would move to cancel it. [2] |
” |
| —Paula Overby's campaign website (2018)[4] | ||
Dennis Schuller
Schuller's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Hi my name is Dennis Schuller I am running to represent the state of Minnesota as one of our two United States Senators. I would like to think that honesty, integrity, hard work, and practical sense have a place in our system of government, if so I am the right person for the job. Yes cannabis should be legalized but what exactly does that mean? My main points of focus will be at the federal level as a US senator.
You might be saying this guy has a one track mind what does he think about the real issues? Prohibition is a real issue that so many other issues come from, we honestly tried to just say “no” but it didn’t work. These days with all the cell phones, computers, and other surveillance tracking there is no denying that the age of accountability and truth is upon us. Not to mention this flowering plant was only made illegal based on fear of the immigrants bolstered by lies and deliberate misinformation from our government. Now think of all the bad stuff that has happened during cannabis prohibition, the ensuing drug war, the world wide preoccupation with "drugs", the underground gang activity, the police state, the private prisons, and most importantly the question of personal safety still lingers. After all this and ninety years of prohibition I think it is time to reset and focus on actual crimes that violate a person’s life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. At the state level I recommend
|
” |
| —Dennis Schuller's campaign website (2018)[5] | ||
Key votes
Key votes cast by Klobuchar
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) cast the following key votes—votes that help citizens understand where their legislators stand on major policy issues—during the 115th Congress, which convened on January 3, 2017, and adjourned on January 3, 2019.
| Click show to see key votes for Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) → |
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Key votes: 115th Congress, 2017-2018
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2016 Pivot Counties
Minnesota features four congressional districts that, based on boundaries adopted after the 2010 census, intersected with one or more Pivot Counties. These 206 Pivot Counties voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012.
The 206 Pivot Counties are located in 34 states. Iowa, with 31, had the most such counties. Heading into the 2018 elections, the partisan makeup of the 108 congressional districts intersecting with Pivot Counties was more Republican than the partisan breakdown of the U.S. House. Of the 108 congressional districts that had at least one Pivot County, 63 percent were held by a Republican incumbent, while 55.4 percent of U.S. House seats were won by a Republican in the 2016 elections.[46]
Campaign finance
The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amy Klobuchar | Democratic Party | $10,860,151 | $9,571,860 | $3,935,477 | As of December 31, 2018 |
| Jim Newberger | Republican Party | $258,769 | $258,689 | $79 | As of December 31, 2018 |
| Paula Overby | Green Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Dennis Schuller | Legal Marijuana Now Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
|||||
Noteworthy events
Brett Kavanaugh confirmation vote
- See also: Supreme Court vacancy, 2018: An overview
On October 6, 2018, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Fifty Senators voted to confirm Kavanaugh's nomination, 48 voted against, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted present. A simple majority was required to confirm Kavanaugh.[47]
Klobuchar voted against Kavanaugh. At a September 29 interview with the Texas Tribune, two days after Klobuchar and other senators questioned Kavanaugh about attempted sexual assault allegations brought by Christine Blasey Ford, Klobuchar said, “I really was stunned by what happened that afternoon — by his demeanor, by my colleagues over there pounding their chests. This is not the person for the Supreme Court.”[48]
After Klobuchar voted against a procedural motion to move Kavanaugh's nomination forward, Newberger said, "Senator Klobuchar needs to stop obstructing the nomination process and do the job that 5.5 million Minnesotans need her to do. She has broken the trust of the people in the state she has been elected to represent. I have been travelling the state for over 16 months. The people of Minnesota want Senator Klobuchar to stop acting in such a hyper partisan fashion."[49]
Other 2018 statewide elections
This race took place in one of twenty-two states that held elections for both governor and U.S. Senate in 2018.
A table of where these elections occurred, the names of incumbents prior to the 2018 elections, and links to our coverage of these races can be viewed by clicking "[show]" on the banner below:
Wave election analysis
- See also: Wave elections (1918-2016)
The term wave election is frequently used to describe an election cycle in which one party makes significant electoral gains. How many seats would Republicans have had to lose for the 2018 midterm election to be considered a wave election?
Ballotpedia examined the results of the 50 election cycles that occurred between 1918 and 2016—spanning from President Woodrow Wilson's (D) second midterm in 1918 to Donald Trump's (R) first presidential election in 2016. We define wave elections as the 20 percent of elections in that period resulting in the greatest seat swings against the president's party.
Applying this definition to U.S. Senate elections, we found that Republicans needed to lose seven seats for 2018 to qualify as a wave election.
The chart below shows the number of seats the president's party lost in the 10 U.S. Senate waves from 1918 to 2016. Click here to read the full report.
| U.S. Senate wave elections | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | President | Party | Election type | Senate seats change | Senate majority[50] | |
| 1932 | Hoover | R | Presidential | -13 | D (flipped) | |
| 1958 | Eisenhower | R | Second midterm | -12 | D | |
| 1946 | Truman | D | First midterm | -10 | R (flipped) | |
| 1980 | Carter | D | Presidential | -9 | R (flipped) | |
| 2014 | Obama | D | Second midterm | -9 | R (flipped) | |
| 1942 | Roosevelt | D | Third midterm | -8 | D | |
| 2008 | George W. Bush | D | Presidential | -8 | D | |
| 1926 | Coolidge | R | First midterm[51] | -7 | R | |
| 1930 | Hoover | R | First midterm | -7 | R | |
| 1986 | Reagan | R | Second midterm | -7 | D (flipped) | |
Election history
2014
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Al Franken Incumbent |
53.2% | 1,053,205 | |
| Republican | Mike McFadden | 42.9% | 850,227 | |
| Libertarian | Heather Johnson | 1.5% | 29,685 | |
| Independence | Steve Carlson | 2.4% | 47,530 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0% | 881 | |
| Total Votes | 1,981,528 | |||
| Source: Minnesota Secretary of State | ||||
2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Amy Klobuchar Incumbent |
65.2% | 1,854,595 | |
| Republican | Kurt Bills | 30.5% | 867,974 | |
| Independence | Stephen Williams | 2.6% | 73,539 | |
| Grassroots | Tim Davis | 1.1% | 30,531 | |
| Progressive | Michael Cavlan | 0.5% | 13,986 | |
| Total Votes | 2,843,207 | |||
| Source: Minnesota Secretary of State, "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" (dead link) | ||||
State overview
Partisan control
This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Minnesota heading into the 2018 elections.
Congressional delegation
- Following the 2016 elections, Democrats held both U.S. Senate seats in Minnesota.
- Democrats held 5 of 8 U.S. House seats in Minnesota.
State executives
- The governor of Minnesota was Democrat Mark Dayton. The state held an election for governor and lieutenant governor on November 6, 2018.
State legislature
- Republicans had a 77-56 majority in the state House. The state Senate was tied, with 33 Republicans and 33 Democrats.
Trifecta status
- Minnesota was under divided government, meaning that the two parties shared control of the state government. Mark Dayton (D) served as governor, while Republicans controlled the state legislature.
2018 elections
- See also: Minnesota elections, 2018
Minnesota held elections for the following positions in 2018:
- Two U.S. Senate seats (one regular election and one special election)
- 8 U.S. House seats
- Governor and lieutenant governor
- Five lower state executive positions
- 134 state House seats
- One state Senate seat
- Municipal elections in St. Paul, Hennepin County, and Ramsey County
Demographics
| Demographic data for Minnesota | ||
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 5,482,435 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 79,627 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 84.8% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 5.5% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 4.4% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 1% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.7% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 5% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 92.4% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 33.7% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $61,492 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 12.2% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Minnesota. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
As of July 2016, Minnesota's three largest cities were Minneapolis (pop. est. 422,000), St. Paul (pop. est. 307,000), and Rochester (pop. est. 116,000).[52]
State election history
This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Minnesota from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Minnesota Secretary of State.
Historical elections
Presidential elections, 2000-2016
This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Minnesota every year from 2000 to 2016.
| Election results (President of the United States), Minnesota 2000-2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
| 2016 | 46.4% | 44.9% | 1.5% | ||
| 2012 | 52.7% | 45.0% | 7.7% | ||
| 2008 | 54.1% | 43.8% | 10.3% | ||
| 2004 | 51.1% | 47.6% | 3.5% | ||
| 2000 | 47.9% | 45.5% | 2.4% | ||
U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016
This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Minnesota from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.
| Election results (U.S. Senator), Minnesota 2000-2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
| 2014 | 53.2% | 42.9% | 10.3% | ||
| 2012 | 65.2% | 30.5% | 34.7% | ||
| 2008 | 41.99% | 41.98% | 0.01% | ||
| 2006 | 58.1% | 37.9% | 20.2% | ||
| 2002 | 49.5% | 47.3% | 2.2% | ||
| 2000 | 48.8% | 43.3% | 5.5% | ||
Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016
This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Minnesota.
| Election results (Governor), Minnesota 2000-2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
| 2014 | 50.1% | 44.5% | 5.6% | ||
| 2010 | 43.6% | 43.2% | 0.4% | ||
| 2006 | 46.7% | 45.7% | 1.0% | ||
| 2002 | 44.4% | 36.5% | 7.9% | ||
Congressional delegation, 2000-2016
This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Minnesota in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.
| Congressional delegation, Minnesota 2000-2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Republicans | Republicans (%) | Democrats | Democrats (%) | Balance of power |
| 2016 | 37.5% | 62.5% | D+2 | ||
| 2014 | 37.5% | 62.5% | D+2 | ||
| 2012 | 37.5% | 62.5% | D+2 | ||
| 2010 | 50.0% | 50.0% | Even | ||
| 2008 | 37.5% | 62.5% | D+2 | ||
| 2006 | 37.5% | 62.5% | D+2 | ||
| 2004 | 50.0% | 50.0% | Even | ||
| 2002 | 50.0% | 50.0% | Even | ||
| 2000 | 37.5% | 62.5% | D+2 | ||
Trifectas, 1992-2017
A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.
Minnesota Party Control: 1992-2024
Four years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | I | I | I | I | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D |
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, 2018
- United States Senate elections, 2018
- Amy Klobuchar
- United States Senate election in Minnesota (August 14, 2018 Democratic primary)
- United States Senate election in Minnesota (August 14, 2018 Republican primary)
Footnotes
- ↑ Amy Klobuchar's campaign website, “Main page,” accessed October 17, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Jim Newberger’s campaign website, “Issues,” accessed October 17, 2018
- ↑ Paula Overby's campaign website, “Policies,” accessed October 17, 2018
- ↑ Dennis Schuller's campaign website, “Issues,” accessed October 17, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment with an Amendment)," December 18, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Conference Report (Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 2)," December 11, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Nomination (Confirmation Brett M. Kavanaugh, of Maryland, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States)," October 6, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture Re: Brett M. Kavanaugh to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States)," October 5, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 2, As Amended)," June 28, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on Amdt. No. 1959)," February 15, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on Amdt. No. 1958 As Modified)," February 15, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on Amdt. No. 1948)," February 15, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on Amdt. No. 1955)," February 15, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to the Consideration of S. 2311)," January 29, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Amendment (McConnell Amdt. No. 667)," July 28, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Amendment (Paul Amdt. No. 271 )," July 26, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion (Motion to Waive All Applicable Budgetary Discipline Re: Amdt. No. 270)," July 25, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion to Proceed (Motion to Proceed to H.R. 1628)," July 25, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Senate, "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Neil M. Gorsuch, of Colorado, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States)," April 7, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Senate, "On the Cloture Motion (Upon Reconsideration, Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Nomination of Neil M. Gorsuch of Colorado, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States)," April 6, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Senate, "On the Decision of the Chair (Shall the Decision of the Chair Stand as the Judgment of the Senate?)," April 6, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Senate, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Nomination of Neil M. Gorsuch, of Colorado, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States)," April 6, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Conference Report (Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 6157)," September 18, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Conference Report (Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 5895)," September 12, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Passage of the Bill (H. R. 6157 As Amended)," August 23, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 5895 As Amended)," June 25, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1625)," March 23, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1892 with an Amendment (SA 1930))," February 9, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 695)," February 8, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment with Further Amendment)," January 22, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 195)," January 22, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 195)," January 19, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1370)," December 21, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion to Recede from the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1 and Concur with Further Amendment ," December 20, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Joint Resolution (H.J. Res. 123)," December 7, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 1 As Amended )," December 2, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Concurrent Resolution (H. Con. Res. 71 As Amended)," October 19, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amdt. to the Senate Amdt. with an Amdt. No. 808 to H.R. 601)," September 7, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Senate, "On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 244)," May 4, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Joint Resolution (S.J. Res. 54, As Amended), December 13, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 2810 As Amended)," September 18, 2017
- ↑ The Hill, "Senate sends $692B defense policy bill to Trump's desk," November 15, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 3364)," July 27, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Passage of the Bill (S. 722 As Amended)," June 15, 2017
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
- ↑ New York Times, "Kavanaugh Is Sworn In After Close Confirmation Vote in Senate Video," October 6, 2018
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "Sen. Amy Klobuchar says Brett Kavanaugh is 'not the person for the Supreme Court,'" September 29, 2018
- ↑ Jim Newberger for Senate, "Senate Cloture Vote, Friday, 10/5/18, Kavanaugh Nomination," October 5, 2018
- ↑ Denotes the party that had more seats in the U.S. House following the election.
- ↑ Calvin Coolidge's (R) first term began in August 1923 after the death of President Warren Harding (R), who was first elected in 1920. Before he had his first midterm in 1926, Coolidge was re-elected as president in 1924.
- ↑ Minnesota Demographics, "Minnesota Cities by Population," accessed September 4, 2018
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