The 2000 congressional elections in Minnesota were held on November 7, 2000 to determine who would represent the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. Minnesota had eight seats in the House, apportioned according to the 1990 United States Census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected served in the

107th Congress 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

from January 3, 2001 until January 3, 2003. The election coincided with the 2000 presidential election and the 2000 U.S. Senate election. Except for DFLer David Minge of the 2nd congressional district, all other House incumbents from Minnesota who stood for reelection were reelected. Minge's seat came under the control of the

Republican Party of Minnesota The Republican Party of Minnesota is the oldest active political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Republican Party’s platform is relatively moderate. The party’s main issues are economic growth, education, healthcare, civi ...

as a result of the 2000 election. DFL incumbent

Bruce Vento Bruce Frank Vento (October 7, 1940 – October 10, 2000) was an American politician, a Democratic-Farmer-Labor member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 until his death in 2000, representing . Early life Vento was born in ...

of the 4th congressional district died in office less than a month prior to the election; however, he was not seeking reelection, and the DFL nominee running for election to replace him,

Betty McCollum Betty Louise McCollum (born July 12, 1954) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for , serving since 2001. She is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). McCollum's district centers on St. Paul, Minnesota's ...

, was able to keep the seat in the DFL's hands.

Overview

District 1

Incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Gil Gutknecht Gilbert William Gutknecht Jr. (born March 20, 1951) is an American politician. Gutknecht was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives first elected in 1994 to represent Minnesota's 1st congressional district. Gutknec ...

, who had represented

Minnesota's 1st congressional district Minnesota's 1st congressional district extends across southern Minnesota from the border with South Dakota to the border with Wisconsin. It is a primarily rural district built on a strong history of agriculture, though this is changing rapidly d ...

since 1994, ran against Mary Rieder of the DFL and Rich Osness of the

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

. Gutknecht won a fourth term, defeating second-place Rieder by a landslide margin of nearly 15 percent, as Osness placed at a very distant third.

DFL primary

Candidates

* Mary Rieder

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

, incumbent U.S. Representative since 1994

Results

General election

Results

District 2

Incumbent DFLer David Minge, who was first elected in

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, ran against Mark Kennedy of the Republican Party, Gerald W. Brekke of the

Independence Party Independence Party may refer to: Active parties Outside United States * Independence Party (Egypt) * Estonian Independence Party * Independence Party (Finland) * Independence Party (Iceland) * Independence Party (Mauritius) * Independence Part ...

, Ron Helwig of the

, and Dennis A. Burda of the Constitution Party. Kennedy dashed Minge's hopes for a fifth term, defeating the incumbent by a razor-thin margin of six one hundredths of one percent of the vote, while Brekke finished a very distant third, and Helwig and Burda, respectively, finished an even more distant fourth and fifth.

Constitution Party primary

Candidates

* Dennis A. Burda

Results

DFL primary

Candidates

* David Minge, incumbent U.S. Representative since 1993

Results

Independence primary

Candidates

* Stan Bentz * Gerald W. Brekke

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

* Mark Kennedy, business executive * Joe Wagner

Results

General election

Results

District 3

Incumbent

Jim Ramstad James Marvin Ramstad (May 6, 1946 – November 5, 2020) was an American lawyer and politician who represented Minnesota's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2009. A member of the Republican Par ...

, who was first elected in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, faced off against Sue Shuff of the DFL, Bob Odden of the

, and Arne Niska of the Constitution Party. Ramstad had no difficulty winning a sixth term in Congress, as he defeated Shuff by a 37.79 percent margin, while Odden finished a distant third and Niska finished slightly behind Odden.

Constitution Party primary

Candidates

* Arne Niska

Results

DFL primary

Candidates

* Sue Shuff * Darryl Tyree Stanton

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

, incumbent U.S. Representative since 1991

Results

General election

Results

District 4

Incumbent DFLer

died in office on October 10, 2000, less than a month before the election. However, as Vento was not seeking reelection, it was not necessary for any special election to be held or for the DFL to select another candidate.

had been selected in the DFL primary to seek election to replace Vento. Opposing McCollum were

Linda Runbeck Linda Runbeck (born June 11, 1946) is an American politician who served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1989 to 1993 and again from 2011 to 2021. She was also a member of the Minnesota Senate from 1993 to 2001. Early ...

of the Republican Party, Tom Foley of the

, and Nicholas Skrivanek of the Constitution Party. McCollum did not face any great difficulty keeping the seat (which represented a very liberal population centered around

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

) in DFL hands. McCollum defeated Runbeck by a margin of more than 17 percent of the vote. Due to a surprisingly strong showing by Foley (who finished about 10 percent behind Runbeck), McCollum was able to win by such a large margin while simultaneously failing to secure a majority of the vote.

Constitution Party primary

Candidates

* Nicholas Skrivanek

Results

DFL primary

Candidates

* Chris Coleman, St. Paul City Councilor since 1997 * Cathie Hartnett *

, State Representative from district 55B since 1993 * Steven G. Novak, State Senator from district 52 since 1983

Results

Independence primary

Candidates

* Pam (Pamela Joy) Ellison * Tom Foley

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

* Patricia Reagan *

, State Senator from district 53 since 1993

Results

General election

Results

District 5

Incumbent DFLer

Martin Sabo Martin Olav Sabo (February 28, 1938 – March 13, 2016) was an American politician who served as United States Representative for , which includes Minneapolis; the district is one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota. Early life and e ...

, who was first elected in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

, faced absolutely no difficulty in winning his 12th term as the representative of the very liberal 5th congressional district, which was centered around

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. Although he was faced, in the general election, with a very crowded field of challengers, Sabo was able to win over 69 percent of the vote, and defeated second-place

Frank Taylor by an overwhelming 46.42 percent margin.

Constitution Party primary

Candidates

* Renee Lavoi

Results

DFL primary

Candidates

Martin Olav Sabo Martin Olav Sabo (February 28, 1938 – March 13, 2016) was an American politician who served as United States Representative for , which includes Minneapolis; the district is one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota. Early life and e ...

, incumbent U.S. Representative since 1979

Results

Independence primary

Candidates

* Rob Tomich

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

* Chris Flynn * Frank Taylor

Results

General election

Results

District 6

Incumbent

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Bill Luther William Paul Luther (born June 27, 1945) is an American politician and lawyer from Minnesota. Luther was a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) member of the United States House of Representatives representing Minnes ...

, who was first elected as the U.S. representative from the 6th congressional district in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, faced an extremely close challenge in 2000. Luther won reelection for his fourth term in Congress by a razor-thin margin, defeating

challenger John Kline by a margin of just 1.53 percent of the vote.

Constitution Party primary

Candidates

* Ralph A. Hubbard

Results

DFL primary

Candidates

, incumbent U.S. Representative since 1995

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

* John Kline, retired

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

(

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

)

Results

General election

Results

District 7

Incumbent DFLer

Collin Peterson Collin Clark Peterson (born June 29, 1944) is an American accountant and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1991 to 2021. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, or the DFL. he was chairman of the Hous ...

, who was first elected in

, faced no difficulty winning his eighth term in Congress, defeating

challenger Glen Menze by a landslide 39.41 percent margin.

Constitution Party primary

Candidates

* Owen Sivertson

Results

DFL primary

Candidates

* Collin C. Peterson, incumbent U.S. Representative since 1991

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

* Aleta Edin * Glen Menze

Results

General election

Results

District 8

Incumbent DFLer

Jim Oberstar James Louis Oberstar (September 10, 1934 – May 3, 2014) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2011. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, he represented nor ...

, who was first elected in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

, had no difficulty winning his 14th term in Congress, defeating

challenger Bob Lemen by a margin of more than 42 percent.

DFL primary

Candidates

* James L. Oberstar, incumbent U.S. Representative since 1975

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

* Bob Lemen * Warren L. Nelson

Results

General election

Results

References

{{United States elections, 2000

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2000 Minnesota elections