The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 to elect the eight

U.S. 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from the state of Minnesota. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

and an election to the U.S. Senate.

Primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

s were held on August 14, 2012.

Overview

Redistricting

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

plan was proposed by

Republicans 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 ...

in the

Minnesota Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decennia ...

on May 9, 2011. The plan was passed by the Minnesota House of Representatives on May 13 and the Minnesota Senate on May 18, but was vetoed by Democratic Governor Mark Dayton on May 19. In February 2012, a state court panel redrew Minnesota's congressional boundaries with the effect of enacting a "least-change" map.

District 1

Democrat Tim Walz, who has 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 2007, sought re-election. In redistricting, Murray County,

Pipestone County Pipestone County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,424. Its county seat is Pipestone. History The county was formed on May 23, 1857, by act of the territorial legislature, but was not orga ...

and half of Cottonwood County were moved from the 1st district to the

7th 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...

and Wabasha County was moved from the 1st district to the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...

; while Le Sueur County and most of Rice County were moved from the 2nd district to the 1st. The 1st district was expected to continue to slightly favor Republicans.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Tim Walz, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

Allen Quist Allen J. Quist (born October 14, 1944) is a Minnesota politician, a former state representative, and a two-time candidate for governor of the state. State representative A Republican, Quist was first elected to the Minnesota House of Represent ...

, former

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

from legislative district 23B (1983-1989)

=Eliminated in primary

= * Mike Parry,

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

from senate district 26 since 2010

=Declined

= *

Randy Demmer Randy L. Demmer (born January 3, 1957) is a Minnesota politician and a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives who represented District 29A, which includes portions of Dodge and Olmsted counties in the southeastern part of the st ...

, former state representative nominee for this seat in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, *

Steve Drazkowski Steve Drazkowski (born November 27, 1964) is an American politician serving as a member of the Minnesota Senate from District 20, representing all of Wabasha County, large parts of Olmsted County, Goodhue County, and Winona County, and a small ...

, state representative *

Julie Rosen Julie A. Rosen (born August 9, 1957) is an American politician serving as a member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, she represents District 23, which includes all or portions of Blue Earth, Faribault, Jack ...

state senator

Results

General election

Endorsements

Results

Walz handily dispatched Quist in the election, garnering 58% of the vote.

District 2

Republican John Kline, who has represented Minnesota's 2nd congressional district since 2003, sought re-election. In redistricting, Le Sueur County and Rice County were moved from the 2nd district to the 1st and Carver County was moved from the 2nd district to the

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

and

6th 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

; while West St. Paul and parts of South St. Paul were moved from the

4th district Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

to the 2nd. The 2nd district was made slightly more favorable to Democrats, but continues to favor Republicans.

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * John Kline, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= * David Gerson

Results

Democratic primary

Patrick Ganey, a member of the

Northfield Northfield may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Northfield, Aberdeen, Scotland * Northfield, Edinburgh, Scotland * Northfield, Birmingham, England * Northfield (Kettering BC Ward), Northamptonshire, England United States * Northfield, Connec ...

City Council; Kathleen Gaylord, a member of the

Dakota County Dakota County may refer to: *Dakota County, Minnesota in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of east-central Minnesota *Dakota County, Nebraska Dakota County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of th2020 United States Census the populati ...

Commission; former

state Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

Mike Obermueller Michael Edward Obermueller (born April 21, 1973) is a Minnesota lawyer and politician, a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. He represented District 38B in the southeastern Twin Cities metropolitan area from 2009 to 2011. In 2 ...

; and Dan Powers, a former small business owner who unsuccessfully sought the DFL nomination in the 2nd district in

, sought the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party nomination to challenge Kline. At the congressional district convention, the party endorsed

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

, former State Representative from legislative district 38B (2009-2011)

=Withdrawn

= * Patrick Ganey,

City Council member * Kathleen Gaylord,

Commission member * Dan Powers, former small business owner candidate for this seat in

Results

General election

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

Despite a strong challenge from Obermueller, Kline prevailed.

District 3

Republican Erik Paulsen, who has represented

Minnesota's 3rd congressional district Minnesota's 3rd congressional district encompasses the suburbs of Hennepin, Carver, and Anoka counties to the west, south, and north of Minneapolis. The district, which is mostly suburban in character, includes a few farming communities on ...

since 2009 sought re-election. In redistricting, the 3rd district was expanded to include eastern Carver County, while part of the northeastern Minneapolis–Saint Paul

metro area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually co ...

was moved to the

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

. The district was made more favorable to Republicans.

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Erik Paulsen, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= * John W. Howard III

Results

Democratic primary

Brian Barnes, an

Edina EDINA is a centre for digital expertise, based at the University of Edinburgh as a division of the Information Services Group. Services EDINA front-end services (those accessed directly by the user) are available free at the point of use for ...

businessman and former Navy Reserve officer and Sharon Sund, a

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

scientist and small-business owner sought the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party nomination to challenge Paulsen. In the third district Democratic convention, Barnes won the party endorsement and Sund backed his candidacy. Sund was subsequently elected Chair of the Hennepin County Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Brian Barnes, businessman and former Navy Reserve officer

=Withdrawn

= * Sharon Sund,

scientist and small-business owner

Results

General election

Endorsements

Results

Paulsen received 58% of the vote, defeating Barnes who received 42%.

District 4

Democrat Betty McCollum, who has represented

Minnesota's 4th congressional district Minnesota's 4th congressional district covers nearly all of Ramsey County, and part of Washington County. It includes all of St. Paul, and most of its suburbs. The district is solidly Democratic, with a CPVI of D+14. It is currently repres ...

since 2001, sought re-election. In redistricting, the 4th district was made slightly more favorable to Republicans, but continues to strongly favor Democrats. The home of Republican U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann, who has represented

Minnesota's 6th congressional district Minnesota's 6th congressional district includes most or all of Benton County, Minnesota, Benton, Carver County, Minnesota, Carver, Sherburne County, Minnesota, Sherburne, Stearns County, Minnesota, Stearns, Wright County, Minnesota, Wright, A ...

since 2007, was drawn into the 4th district in redistricting; however Bachmann sought re-election in the 6th district. McCollum retained her seat, defeating Hernandez.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Betty McCollum, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= * Diana Longrie, former Mayor of Maplewood (2005-2009) * Brian Stalboerger

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Tony Hernandez, businessman and candidate for Senate in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

=Eliminated in primary

= * Ron Seiford,

adjunct Adjunct may refer to: * Adjunct (grammar), words used as modifiers * Adjunct professor, a rank of university professor * Adjuncts, sources of sugar used in brewing * Adjunct therapy used to complement another main therapeutic agent, either to impr ...

business instructor at

Globe College Globe University and Minnesota School of Business (Globe/MSB) was a private for-profit education network based out of Washington County, Minnesota, providing specialized training programs in business, accounting, medical, legal, information tech ...

=Withdrawn

= * Dan Flood, retired Navy officer

=Declined

= * Michele Bachmann, incumbent U.S. Representative for the 6th district

Results

Independence primary

Candidates

* Steve Carlson

Results

General election

Endorsements

Results

District 5

Minnesota's 5th congressional district has been represented by Democrat

Keith Ellison Keith Maurice Ellison (born August 4, 1963) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 30th attorney general of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Ellison was the U.S. representative for from 2007 to ...

since 2007. Gary Boisclair, an

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

activist, and Gregg Iverson unsuccessfully challenged Ellison in the Democratic primary. In redistricting, the 5th district was expanded to include parts of Brooklyn Center,

and Minnetonka, and continues to strongly favor Democrats.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= * Gary Boisclair, anti-abortion activist * Gregg A. Iverson

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Chris Fields, retired U.S. Marine

Results

General election

Endorsements

Results

Ellison easily defeated Fields, carrying about 75% of the vote.

District 6

Michele Bachmann, who has represented

since 2007 and unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, sought re-election. In redistricting, the 6th district was expanded to include Carver County and was made more favorable to Republicans.

Republican primary

Ron Seiford, an

business instructor at

Woodbury Woodbury may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Woodbury Glacier, a glacier on Graham Land, British Antarctic Territory Australia * Woodbury, Tasmania, a locality in Australia England * Woodbury, Bournemouth, an area in Dorset *Woodbury, East Devo ...

, and Aubrey Immelman unsuccessfully challenged her in the Republican nomination, though Bachmann won by the lowest margin of any incumbent Republican congressional candidate in 50 years.

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Michele Bachmann, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= * Aubrey Immelman, candidate for this seat in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

* Stephen Thompson

=Withdrawn

= * Ron Seiford,

business instructor at

Results

Democratic primary

Jim Graves, a hotel executive, won the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party nomination at the party's convention in April 2012.

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Jim Graves, hotel executive

=Withdrawn

= *Brian McGoldrick, businessman *Anne Nolan, attorney and business consultant *Mike Starr,

substitute teacher A substitute teacher is a person who teaches a school class when the regular teacher is absent or unavailable; e.g., because of illness, personal leave, maternal leave and so on. "Substitute teacher" (usually abbreviated as "sub") is the most co ...

Results

General election

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

Bachmann narrowly retained the seat, receiving 4,298 more votes than Graves.

District 7

Democrat Collin Peterson, who has represented Minnesota's 7th congressional district since 1991, sought re-election. In redistricting, the 7th district was expanded to include rural counties in southern Minnesota, while cities were moved from the

and

8th 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

districts into the 7th.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Collin Peterson, incumbent U.S. Representative

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *Lee Byberg, business executive and nominee for this seat in

and state senator

Gretchen Hoffman Gretchen M. Hoffman (born April 1957) is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota Senate who represents District 10, which included all or parts of Becker, Otter Tail, and Wadena Counties in the northwestern part of the state ...

=Withdrawn

= *

, state senator

General election

Endorsements

Predictions

Results

District 8

Republican Chip Cravaack, who was first elected to represent Minnesota's 8th congressional district in 2010, sought re-election. In redistricting, the 8th district was not significantly changed and remained competitive.

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Chip Cravaack, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Richard Nolan, former U.S. Representative from Minnesota's 6th congressional district (1975-1981)

=Eliminated in primary

= * Jeff Anderson, former Duluth City Councilor (2007-2011) * Tarryl Clark, former State Senator from senate district 15 (2006-2011) and nominee for the 6th district in

=Withdrawn

= *Daniel Fanning, former deputy state director for Senator Al Franken

=Declined

= *

Tom Bakk Thomas M. Bakk ( ; born June 8, 1954) is a Minnesota politician and member of the Minnesota Senate. Currently independent and a former member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, Bakk represents District 3, which includes portions ...

, State senate minority leader *

Carly Melin Carly Melin (born August 13, 1985) 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 6A, which included portions of ...

State representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

Don Ness Don Ness (born January 9, 1974) is an American politician who served as the 38th Mayor of Duluth, Minnesota from 2008 to 2016. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Early life and education Ness was born in Duluth to Don ...

, Mayor of Duluth * Roger Reinert, state senator *

Tom Rukavina Thomas Rukavina (August 23, 1950 – January 7, 2019) was an Americans, American politician and a Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1987 to 2013. ...

, state representative *

Tony Sertich Anthony 'Tony' Sertich (born January 2, 1976) is a Minnesota politician and a former commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board. A Democrat, he served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2001 to 2011, representi ...

, former state house majority leader * Yvonne Prettner Solon, incumbent

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Campaign

Nolan was victorious in a February 2012

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

, receiving 1,537 votes to Anderson's 1,008 and Clark's 408. 269 uncommitted votes were cast. Delegates to a

convention Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law * Convention (meeting), meeting of a (usually large) group of individuals and/or companies in a ...

held in May 2012 could endorse one candidate, but candidates who did not receive the party's endorsement were nonetheless able to run in the August 2012

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

Endorsements

Results

General election

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

Nolan triumphed over Cravaack, receiving about 55% of the vote.

References

External links

Elections & Voting
from the ''Minnesota Secretary of State''
Official candidate list

2012 elections results

2012 Candidate filingsUnited States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, 2012
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Minnesota U.S. House
from OurCampaigns.com
Campaign contributions for Minnesota congressional races
from OpenSecrets
Outside spending
at the

Sunlight Foundation The Sunlight Foundation was an American 501(c)(3) nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocated for open government. The organization was founded in April 2006 with the goal of increasing transparency and accountability in the United States ...

Campaign 2012
at Minnesota Public Radio News {{United States elections, 2012 Minnesota

United States House of Representatives