REGIONAL- Minnesota voters will select their party nominees for governor, U.S. Senate, Congress, and other state offices when they head to the polls for the state primary on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
Voters may cast a ballot in either the Republican or Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary, but cannot vote in both. Minnesota does not register voters by political party, leaving voters free to choose which party’s primary top participate in.
While the two parties formally endorsed candidates at conventions earlier this year, those endorsements have not consistently translated into commanding positions heading into the primary. Republican-endorsed candidates Kendall Qualls and Adam Schwarze trail badly in the races for governor and U.S. Senate, respectively, while DFL-endorsed Peggy Flanagan has gained ground but remains locked in an apparently tight battle with Angie Craig for the party’s Senate nomination.
The clear exception is DFL-endorsed Amy Klobuchar, who faces six little-known challengers in the race for governor.
The most recent statewide primary polling, conducted by SurveyUSA from July 15-20 for KSTP-TV, KAAL-TV, and WDIO-TV and released July 21, showed Mike Lindell and Michele Tafoya expanding their leads in their respective Republican contests while Flanagan pulled even with Craig.

Governor
Klobuchar, a four-term U.S. senator and former Hennepin County attorney, is seeking the DFL nomination for governor with former Fergus Falls Mayor Ben Schierer as her running mate. Klobuchar entered the race after Gov. Tim Walz decided not to seek a third term.
Six other teams are seeking the DFL nomination, although none of the candidates has anything approaching Klobuchar’s statewide name recognition. They are Mohammad Wazwaz and Murad Alshlool, Thomas Evenstad and Jason Haarsager, Po Vang and Mark Frascone, Bill E. Gates Jr. and Leah Harris, Ole “Viking” Savior and Ashley “Skol” Johnson, and Kobey J. Layne and Paul Ference.
The Republican race is considerably more competitive, with Mike Lindell, Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, and Qualls leading a seven-team field.
Lindell, the founder of MyPillow and a prominent ally of President Donald Trump, is running with Phillip C. Parrish. Lindell received Trump’s endorsement, while Qualls won the state Republican Party endorsement.
SurveyUSA found Lindell leading the Republican race with 35 percent support, an eight-point increase from the organization’s June poll.
Demuth, who became the first Black speaker of the Minnesota House in 2025, is running with Ryan Wilson. She gained four points in the latest poll to reach 26 percent, leaving her nine points behind Lindell.
Qualls, a businessman, Army veteran, and former candidate for Congress and governor, is running with Brian Nicholson. Despite winning the Republican endorsement, Qualls fell six points from the June poll and stood at 11 percent.
Twenty-two percent of likely Republican primary voters remained undecided, while five percent supported one of the other four teams.
The remaining Republican candidates are Ross Nova and Kerry Busby, Loner Blue and Andrew Maass, Raul J. Estrada and Joe Kincaid, and John Krhin and Dennis Conn.

U.S. Senate
Both parties have crowded fields seeking the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Tina Smith, who announced last year that she would not seek reelection.
The DFL contest has developed into a two-candidate race between Craig, a four-term congresswoman from Minnesota’s Second District, and Flanagan, who has served as lieutenant governor since 2019.
Craig has emphasized her experience in Congress and her success winning a competitive suburban district. Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Nation, would become the first Native American woman elected to the U.S. Senate.
Flanagan won the DFL endorsement but initially trailed Craig in the polls. SurveyUSA found Craig leading 41-36 percent in June, but the latest poll showed the two tied at 40 percent.
The poll found 16 percent of likely DFL primary voters still undecided, with another four percent supporting one of the other four candidates.
Also seeking the DFL nomination are Peter John Murgic, George H. Kalberer, Kurt Michael Anderson, and Billy Nord.
Former national sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya has opened a substantial lead in the Republican Senate primary despite not holding the party endorsement.
Tafoya received 41 percent support in the SurveyUSA poll, up five points from June.
Royce White, a former professional basketball player and the Republican nominee against Klobuchar in 2024, placed second with 10 percent.
Retired Navy officer Tom Weiler followed with seven percent, while Republican-endorsed Adam Schwarze, a retired Navy SEAL and former congressional candidate, received five percent. Schwarze’s support declined two points from June.
Twenty-eight percent of likely Republican voters remained undecided, leaving room for movement despite Tafoya’s commanding lead.
Eighth District
Voters in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District will choose between two Republicans and three DFL candidates seeking to represent the sprawling district that includes northeastern Minnesota, the Brainerd lakes region, and much of north-central Minnesota.
Republican-endorsed Rep. Pete Stauber is seeking a fifth term in Congress. A former Duluth police officer and St. Louis County commissioner, Stauber has made mining, domestic energy production, and critical-mineral development central to his work in Washington. He chairs the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
Stauber is being challenged in the Republican primary by Anthony Hamilton, a 43-year-old farmer from Mora. Hamilton has called for congressional term limits and portrays himself as a prospective citizen legislator rather than a career politician. He has also made reducing lobbyist influence and federal spending central themes of his campaign.
Hermantown attorney Trina Swanson holds the DFL endorsement after winning more than 70 percent of the convention vote in May. Swanson spent nearly 20 years with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, including work in international operations and national emergency response.
She has emphasized universal health care, federal support for rural hospitals, schools, and child care, and investment in industries capable of producing stable union jobs. She opposes mining within the Boundary Waters watershed while supporting responsible mining elsewhere on the Iron Range.
Luke Gulbranson, 42, is an Eveleth native, small-business owner, hockey coach, and former cast member of the Bravo television series “Summer House.” Gulbranson has focused his campaign on lowering household costs, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and supporting unions. He opposes mining near the Boundary Waters but supports copper-nickel development elsewhere if projects satisfy environmental regulations.
The third DFL candidate, John Munter, 77, is a retired author who lives on a hobby farm near Warba. Munter has also run in the past two DFL primaries, receiving about 14 percent of the vote in 2022 and nine percent in 2024. His campaign focuses on jobs, housing, and health care, and he opposes copper-nickel mining and large data-center developments.
Other statewide races
Secretary of State Steve Simon is unopposed for the DFL nomination for another term. Republicans Wendy Phillips and Tad Jude are competing for their party’s nomination.
In the race for state auditor, Zack Filipovich is unopposed on the DFL ballot. Republicans Scott Jensen, Will Finn, and Nate George are seeking their party’s nomination. Jensen was the Republican nominee for governor in 2022.
Attorney General Keith Ellison faces David J.S. Madgett in the DFL primary. Republican Ronald J. Schutz is unopposed for his party’s nomination.

Voting information and details
Primary Election Day is Tuesday, Aug. 11. Polling places will remain open until 8 p.m., and anyone in line by that time will be allowed to vote. Townships may opt to hold shorter voting hours, but must stay open until 8 p.m. Voters may also register at their polling place on Election Day.
To register on election day, visit https://www.sos.mn.gov/elections-voting/register-to-vote/register-on-election-day/ for the requirements. Generally, a photo ID with your current name and address, a photo ID plus a document with your current name and address, notice of a late registration, a registered voter who can confirm your address, including a staff person of a residential facility is required.
Polling locations, registration status, and sample ballots are available through the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office at mnvotes.gov.