Minnesota voters decided their party nominees for governor and U.S. Senate on August 11, with U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar winning the Democratic primary for governor and Republican state House Speaker Lisa Demuth claiming the GOP nomination in a crowded field.
Klobuchar secured the Democratic nomination with 89.1% of the vote, defeating six other candidates to become the heavy favorite to replace Governor Tim Walz in the November general election. Walz announced his withdrawal from the race in January 2026, citing the need to focus on addressing fraud scandals in state government rather than campaign distractions.
On the Republican side, Demuth emerged from a more competitive primary with 44% of the vote—38,440 votes—ahead of MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, who received 30.6% of the vote, and businessman Kendall Qualls with 20.8%. The Republican governor’s race had drawn nine candidates, making it a sharply contested battle for the party’s nomination.
In the U.S. Senate primary, Michele Tafoya won the Republican nomination, positioning her to face the Democratic winner in the general election. Minnesota’s lieutenant governor Peggy Flanagan was the leading Democratic candidate for the Senate seat.
Klobuchar’s dominance in the Democratic gubernatorial primary reflected her status as a four-term U.S. Senator with significant party support. According to reporting on the race, she quickly unified Democratic Party backing behind her gubernatorial campaign after Walz’s withdrawal, leaving her without serious challengers in the primary. The general election in November will pit the winners of these primaries against each other in races widely viewed as competitive for a state that has trended Democratic in recent presidential cycles.
The Minnesota primaries were part of a broader set of primary elections held across multiple states on August 11, testing voter engagement in midterm races and the relative strength of progressive and conservative wings within both parties heading toward the November general election.
Sources
- Washington Post — Live election results and candidate information for Minnesota governor and Senate primaries
- NBC News — Republican primary results showing Demuth’s vote total and Tafoya’s Senate nomination
- Fox 9 — Klobuchar’s 89.1% vote share in the Democratic gubernatorial primary
- NPR — Context on Klobuchar’s party support and Walz’s withdrawal
- Politico — Tim Walz’s January 2026 announcement that he would not seek reelection
- CBS News Minnesota — Details on Democratic and Republican Senate primary races
