Primaries nail down who lands on Minnesota’s federal, state ballots 

Candidates who share party affiliations face off Tuesday for a spot on November’s ballot, with the intramural contests in some races effectively serving as the ticket to office.

Minnesota’s primary wasn’t as visible this year as in past cycles, but several contests have attracted attention for the pressure put on incumbents.

The primary set the stage for a fall campaign that will decide who fills a U.S. Senate seat, eight U.S. House spots, all 134 Minnesota House seats and a winner-take-all contest for the state Senate majority.

U.S. Senate

Democratic incumbent Amy Klobuchar is seeking a rare fourth term, something that hasn’t happened in modern times in Minnesota. To gain the DFL nomination, she must first get by four candidates running low-key campaigns: Steve Carlson, Ahmad Hassan, George Kalberer and Ole Savior.

Republicans were choosing among eight candidates to determine who would advance to a fall campaign against Klobuchar.

Two ran hard for the Republican state convention endorsement: former pro basketball player Royce White, who got the party nod, and retired Navy officer Joe Fraser, who continued his campaign despite falling short at the May party convention.

U.S. House

Six of eight sitting U.S. House members had candidates file against them from within the party. (Rep. Betty McCollum faced no opposition from a fellow Democrat and Rep. Dean Phillips is stepping away and leaving an open seat.)

But only two congressional members from Minnesota were pushed hard in primaries. 

Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minneapolis, who is in a rematch with former City Council member Don Samuels. Omar has the DFL endorsement in her bid for a fourth term.

In western Minnesota, U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach was in a primary race with businessman Steve Boyd. Neither won the Republican endorsement at the district convention.

The winner of the Omar-Samuels race and the Fischbach-Boyd race will be favored in the general election given the partisan voting patterns in each district.

Minnesota Senate

One state Senate seat is on November’s ballot due to the resignation of DFL Sen. Kelly Morrison, who resigned to seek the U.S. House seat Phillips has occupied.

The Senate district in the Lake Minnetonka area will determine which party has the majority in January because the chamber is split 33-33 between Republicans and Democrats. 

Three Democrats hope to snag their party nomination: Kyle Meinen, Emily Reitan and Ann Johnson Stewart. The winner will face Republican candidate Kathleen Fowke.

Minnesota House

There are 22 primaries to determine fall candidates for the Minnesota House, where Democrats currently hold the majority.

Six GOP incumbents have primary challengers and one DFL incumbent does. There are 22 primaries overall.