The 2012 United States Senate election in Minnesota took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to 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 ...

and

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 ...

as well as various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic–Farmer–Labor U.S. Senator

Amy Klobuchar Amy Jean Klobuchar ( ; born May 25, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Minnesota, a seat she has held since 2007. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Minne ...

was reelected to a second term, defeating the

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 ...

nominee, State Representative

Kurt Bills Kurt P. Bills (born January 8, 1970) is an American educator and former politician. He has taught and coached high school since 1994. He served on the Rosemount City Council from 2008 to 2010. He then served in the Minnesota House of Representativ ...

, by almost one million votes and carrying all but two of the state's 87 counties by double digits.

Background

Incumbent

was first elected in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

to succeed the retiring DFL incumbent

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 ...

. She beat Republican nominee Mark Kennedy, 58% to 38%. Klobuchar served as Minnesota's only senator between January 3 and July 7, 2009, due to the contested results of Minnesota's senatorial election held the previous year, finally decided in favor of DFLer

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 ...

DFL primary

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 ...

held its Senate primary on August 14, 2012.

Candidates

Declared

* Dick Franson, perennial candidate *

, incumbent U.S. Senator * Jack Shepard, dentist, convicted felon, fugitive and perennial candidate * Darryl Stanton

Results

Republican primary

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 ...

held its nominating convention in May 2012 and held its Senate primary on August 14, 2012.

Candidates

Declared

, state representative; won May 2012 convention nomination * David Carlson, former Marine Corps sergeant; candidate in August 2012 primary * Bob Carney Jr., inventor, independent businessman; finished 2nd in 2010 GOP primary for Governor of Minnesota, candidate in August 2012 primary

Withdrew

* Joe Arwood, St. Bonifacius city councilman; withdrew before May 2012 convention *

Pete Hegseth Peter Brian Hegseth (born June 6, 1980) is an American television host and author. Hegseth is an Army National Guard officer and former executive director of political advocacy groups Vets For Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America. The la ...

, executive director of Vets for Freedom; withdrew after May 2012 convention * Anthony Hernandez, former state senate candidate; withdrew before May 2012 convention to run for Congress against

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 ...

Dan Severson Daniel Mark "Doc" Severson (born August 31, 1954) is an American Republican Party of Minnesota, Republican politician. He is a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives who represented District 14A, which includes portions of Bento ...

, former state representative; withdrew after May 2012 convention

Results

Independence primary

Campaign

The

Independence Party of Minnesota The Independence Party of Minnesota (often abbreviated IPM, MNIP or IP), formerly the Reform Party of Minnesota, is a political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was the party of former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura (1999–2003). ...

did not plan to run a candidate in the general election. Party chairman Mark Jenkins said in November 2011 that he saw the Senate election as "a distraction from having our best and brightest engaged in state legislative races". At the party's convention in June 2012, neither candidate was endorsed. Williams won a majority of the votes and came within two votes of the required 60% needed for the party's endorsement. He proceeded with his run for the Senate but the party focused its attention on state legislative races.

Candidates

* Stephen Williams, farmer and Independence Party endorsed candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2008 * Glen R. Anderson Menze, accountant and Republican nominee 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; ...

and Independence Party nominee 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 ...

for the 7th congressional district

Results

General election

Candidates

(DFL), incumbent U.S. Senator *

(Republican), State Representative
Stephen Williams
(Independence), Farmer *

Michael Cavlan Michael Cavlan (born 1959) is a Minnesota political activist and registered nurse living in Minneapolis. Personal life Cavlan was born in San Jose, California, but spent most of his childhood and adolescence in Northern Ireland with his Roman Cat ...

, (Minnesota Open Progressives) Registered Nurse * Tim Davis, (Grassroots), Environmental Activist

Debates

On August 29 Klobuchar and Bills held their second debate at the State Fair, sponsored by MPR News. Their third debate, on September 16 in Duluth, was about the nation's struggle with deficit spending and unemployment. The audience was assembled by the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce and Duluth News Tribune. ;External links
Complete video
at Minnesota Public Radio, second debate, August 29, 2012
Audio
from Minnesota Public Radio, third debate, September 18, 2012

Fundraising

Top contributors

This section lists the top contributors by employer. These organizations themselves didn't donate, but these numbers include donations from their PACs, members, employees, owners, and their immediate families.

Top industries

Predictions

Polling

;Republican primary ;General election

Results

References

External links

Election Center
from the Minnesota Secretary of State
Campaign contributions
at

OpenSecrets.org OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

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 ...

Candidate issue positions
at On the Issues
U.S. Senate election coverage
at

Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, YourClassical MPR and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest. MPR ha ...

;Official campaign websites (Archived)
Kurt Bills for U.S. Senate

Amy Klobuchar for U.S. Senate

Stephen Williams for U.S. Senate
{{2012 United States elections

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 ...

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 ...

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Amy Klobuchar

Background

DFL primary

Candidates

Declared

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Results

Independence primary

Campaign

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Debates

Fundraising

Top contributors

Top industries

Predictions

Polling

Results

See also

References

External links