The 2014 Minnesota House of Representatives election was held in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

on November 4, 2014, to elect members to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

of the 89th Minnesota Legislature. A primary election was held in several districts on August 12, 2014. 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 ...

won a majority of seats, defeating the majority of the

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is the Minnesota affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party. As of 2022, it controls four of Minnesota's eight U.S. House seats, both of its U.S. Senate seats, the Minnesota House of Represen ...

(DFL). This was the first election for the DFL since it won a majority of seats in the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

, after losing a majority to the Republicans in the 2010 election. The new Legislature convened on January 6, 2015.

Retiring members

DFL

* John Benson, 44B *

Kathy Brynaert Kathleen A. "Kathy" Brynaert (born July 15, 1944) is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represented District 19B, which includ ...

, 19B *

Tom Huntley Thomas E. Huntley (born February 10, 1938) is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represented District 7A, which includes portio ...

, 7A * Michael Paymar, 64B *

Steve Simon Steve Simon (born December 12, 1969) is an American politician from the state of Minnesota serving as the 22nd Minnesota Secretary of State. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he previously represented District 46B ...

, 46B

Republican

Jim Abeler James J. Abeler II ( ; born May 18, 1954) is a Minnesota politician and member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represents District 35 in the northern Twin Cities metropolitan area. He formerly represente ...

, 35A * Mike Beard, 55A * Mike Benson, 26B *

David FitzSimmons David Fitzsimmons (14 February 1875 – 1931) was a Scottish footballer. His regular position was as a half back. Born in Annbank, Ayrshire, he played for Annbank, Fairfield Athletic, Wigan County and two spells at Manchester United (then know ...

, 30B *

Mary Liz Holberg Mary Liz Holberg (born November 13, 1959) is a Minnesota politician, member of the Dakota County, Minnesota Board of Commissioners, and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, she re ...

, 58A *

Andrea Kieffer Andrea L. Kieffer (born January 1964) is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, she represented District 53B, which includes the cities of Woodbury and Lan ...

, 53B *

Ernie Leidiger Ernest Gilbert "Ernie" Leidiger (born August 7, 1953) is from Wisconsin. He entered the U.S. Navy in 1971 and was stationed at several facilities and ships throughout his career. He retired as a Naval Officer and established businesses in Califo ...

, 47A *

Pam Myhra Pamela J. Myhra (born 1957) is an American politician and served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives during the 87th and 88th legislative sessions. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, she represented portions of Dakota ...

, 56A * Kelby Woodard, 20A *

Kurt Zellers Kurt Zellers (born October 16, 1969) is an American politician who served as speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013 and minority leader from 2009 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represente ...

, 34B

Competitive districts

According to an analysis by the ''

Star Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

'', based on past election results, fundraising, and other factors, 16 seats were vulnerable to switching parties. 14 were held by the DFL and two by the Republicans. According to ''

MinnPost ''MinnPost'' is a nonprofit online newspaper in Minneapolis, founded in 2007, with a focus on Minnesota news. Funding ''MinnPosts initial funding of $850,000 came from four families: John and Sage Cowles, Lee Lynch and Terry Saario, Joel and ...

'', 15 seats had the best chance of switching parties, based on the district's political lean (as calculated by ''MinnPost''), previous election results, and the strength of the respective candidates. 13 were held by the DFL and two by the Republicans.

Primary election results

General election

Opinion polling

Results

Districts won.

District results

: : : :''The following sought election but later withdrew and did not file an affidavit of candidacy.''

Seats changing parties

Seat gains and holds by party. :

Analysis

The Republicans made most of their gains in rural districts, continuing a trend of rural districts leaning more towards the Republicans and suburban districts leaning more towards the DFL. Of the 11 districts they gained from the DFL, 10 are outside of the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

metropolitan area. Seven rural DFL incumbents who voted for legalizing same-sex marriage lost their seats, despite their districts having supported a proposed constitutional amendment in 2012 to ban it. Yet two rural DFL incumbents who voted against legalizing same-sex marriage also lost their seats. Split-ticket voters determined the outcome of several key races. Nearly 450,000 voters chose one party's candidate for a House seat, but then switched to pick a different party's candidate for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. Eight of the 11 districts the DFL lost featured at least some ticket splitting between DFL candidate for governor

Mark Dayton Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He was a United States Senator for Minnesota from 2001 to 2007, and the Minnesota State Auditor from 1991 to 1 ...

and/or U.S. Senate candidate

Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...

and the Republican House candidate. Nearly all of the DFL candidates who lost came from districts in which many voters supported Republicans in previous elections, including candidates for governor Republican

Tom Emmer Thomas Earl Emmer Jr.Helgeson, Baird, ''Star Tribune'', July 11, 2010. (born March 3, 1961) is an American attorney and politician who has been the U.S. representative for since 2015. The district includes most of the Twin Cities' far northern s ...

over Democrat Mark Dayton in 2010 and presidential candidates Republican

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

over Democratic President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

in 2012. Outside and party spending reached large levels in several House districts compared to what has been spent in the past as Republican groups focused their attention on the House rather than statewide races. In some races, spending reached $500,000. Turnout was the lowest in more than 20 years, with slightly over 50 percent of eligible voters having voted. Turnout across the state was lower compared to 2010. It was slightly lower in the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs, helping suburban DFL candidates win in those areas. In rural Minnesota, turnout was down by about 10 percentage points since 2010. Much of the drop-off was among DFL voters, while those who did vote in those districts were likely over the age of 45.

References

External links

Elections & Voting - Minnesota Secretary of State
{{Minnesota elections 2014 Minnesota elections Minnesota House of Representatives elections

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Pa ...