2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota


The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota were held on November 3, 2020, to elect the eight U.S. representatives from the state of Minnesota, one from each of its congressional districts. Primary elections were held in six districts on August 11. The elections coincided with the 2020 United States presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and other state and local elections.
Due to changing political alignments, the Republican Party flipped the 7th district, which was held by 15-term incumbent Democrat Collin Peterson. This marked the first time since the 1944 election that Republicans won every district in Minnesota outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area, after Democrats had done the same just four years prior. This subsequently erased the slim Democratic majority in the state congressional delegation and gave both political parties a tied 4–4 delegation.

Overview

By district

Results of the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota by district:

District 1

The 1st district stretches across southern Minnesota from its borders with South Dakota to Wisconsin, and includes the cities of Rochester, Mankato, Winona, Austin, Owatonna, Albert Lea, New Ulm, and Worthington. The incumbent was Republican Jim Hagedorn, who flipped the district and was elected with 50.1% of the vote in 2018.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Grassroots–Legalize Cannabis

Candidates

Nominee
  • Bill Rood

General election

Polling

with Generic Republican and Generic Democrat

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Generic
Republican		Generic
Democrat		Other/
Undecided
Victoria Research & Consulting (D)July 19–23, 2020511 ± 4.4%44%49%8%

District 2

The 2nd district is based in the south Twin Cities area. The incumbent was Democrat Angie Craig, who defeated incumbent Republican Jason Lewis with 52.7% of the vote in 2018.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Campaign

After Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate Adam Charles Weeks died on September 21, 2020, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon announced that the votes in the November election would not be counted and that a special election would take place on February 9, 2021, due to an obscure state law which said that if a major-party candidate died within 79 days of an election, the election must be postponed. Craig challenged the law in court, arguing that Minnesota did not have the authority to delay a federal election; the judge agreed, ordering that the election be held on November 3 as originally planned. Although Republicans appealed the decision, it stood after the United States Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal.
A month after Weeks's death, and a week before the November 3 election, a friend of Weeks publicized a voicemail recording in which Weeks says that Republican donors offered him $15,000 to mount a campaign in order to siphon votes away from Craig. Jeff Schuette, Minnesota Republican Party chair for the Second District, denied involvement in the offer to fund Weeks's campaign.

Polling

Generic Democrat vs. generic Republican

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Generic
Democrat		Generic
Republican		Undecided
Harper Polling (R)July 6–8, 2020401 –44%44%–

District 3

The 3rd district encompasses the western suburbs of the Twin Cities, including Brooklyn Park, Coon Rapids to the northeast, Bloomington to the south, and Eden Prairie, Edina, Maple Grove, Plymouth, Minnetonka, and Wayzata to the west. The incumbent was Democrat Dean Phillips, who defeated incumbent Republican Erik Paulsen with 55.6% of the vote in 2018.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Dean Phillips, incumbent U.S. representative
    Eliminated in primary
  • Cole Young

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Kendall Qualls, businessman
    Eliminated in primary
  • Leslie Davis

District 4

The 4th district encompasses the Saint Paul half of the Twin Cities metro area, including Ramsey County and parts of Washington County. The incumbent was Democrat Betty McCollum, who was reelected with 66.0% of the vote in 2018.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Betty McCollum, incumbent U.S. representative
    Eliminated in primary
  • Tiffini Flynn Forslund
  • Alberder Gillespie
  • Reid Rossell
  • David Sandbeck, activist

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Gene Rechtzigel, farmer
    Eliminated in primary
  • Sia Lo, former deputy city attorney

Grassroots–Legalize Cannabis primary

Candidates

Nominee

District 5

The 5th district encompasses eastern Hennepin County, including all of Minneapolis and the cities of St. Louis Park, Richfield, Crystal, Robbinsdale, Golden Valley, New Hope, and Fridley. The incumbent was Democrat Ilhan Omar, who was elected with 78.0% of the vote in 2018.

Democratic primary

Omar defeated Melton-Meaux in the primary by a significant margin, a win which was seen as unsurprising, as the 5th has a reputation as being a strong base of progressivism.

Candidates

Nominee
  • Ilhan Omar, incumbent U.S. representative
    Eliminated in primary
  • Les Lester, author and teacher
  • John Mason, activist
  • Daniel Patrick McCarthy
  • Antone Melton-Meaux, attorney

Withdrawn

  • Leila Shukri Adan
  • Ervan Katari Miller
  • Haji Yussuf
    Endorsements
Polling
Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Lacy Johnson, former IT consultant
    Eliminated in primary
  • Dalia al-Aqidi, journalist
  • Danielle Stella, teacher

Legal Marijuana Now primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Michael Moore

District 6

The 6th district encompasses the northern suburbs and exurbs of Minneapolis, including all of Benton, Sherburne, and Wright counties and parts of Anoka, Carver, Stearns, and Washington counties. The incumbent was Republican Tom Emmer, who was reelected with 61.1% of the vote in 2018.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Tawnja Zahradka, broadcaster and former Ms. Minnesota-America

District 7

The 7th district covers all but the southern end of rural western Minnesota, and includes the cities of Moorhead, Willmar, Alexandria, and Fergus Falls. The incumbent was Democrat Collin Peterson, who was reelected with 52.1% of the vote in 2018.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Collin Peterson, incumbent U.S. representative
    Eliminated in primary
  • Stephen A. Emery, sales representative
  • Alycia Gruenhagen
    Endorsements

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Grassroots–Legalize Cannabis primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Rae Hart Anderson, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018
    Eliminated in primary
  • Kevin "NeNe" Shores

Legalize Marijuana Now primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Slater Johnson

Debates

  • , October 5, 2020

District 8

The 8th district is based in the Iron Range and home to the city of Duluth. The incumbent was Republican Pete Stauber, who flipped the district and was elected with 50.7% of the vote in 2018.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Pete Stauber, incumbent U.S. representative
    Eliminated in primary
  • Harry Welty, former teacher

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Grassroots–Legalize Cannabis primary

Candidates

Nominee