Minnesota's 5th congressional district is a geographically small urban and suburban

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional body. Countries with congressional districts includ ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. It covers eastern

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,281,565, and was estimated to be 1,273,334 in 2024, making it the List of counties in ...

, including the entire city of

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, along with parts of Anoka and Ramsey counties. Besides Minneapolis, major cities in the district include Brooklyn Center, St. Louis Park, Richfield,

Crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

, Robbinsdale, Golden Valley, New Hope, Fridley, and a small portion of

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. It was created in 1883, and was nicknamed the "Bloody Fifth" on account of its first election. The contest between

Knute Nelson Knute Nelson (born Knud Evanger; February 2, 1843 – April 28, 1923) was a Norway, Norwegian-born United States, American attorney and politician active in Wisconsin and Minnesota. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he served in sta ...

and Charles F. Kindred involved graft, intimidation, and election fraud at every turn. The Republican convention on July 12 in Detroit Lakes was compared to the historic

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...

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. One hundred and fifty delegates fought over eighty seats. After a scuffle in the main conference center, the Kindred and Nelson campaigns nominated each of their candidates. The district is strongly Democratic, with a

Cook Partisan Voting Index The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated PVI or CPVI, is a measurement of how partisan a U.S. congressional district or U.S. state is. This partisanship is indicated as lean towards either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, com ...

(CPVI) of D+32 — by far the most Democratic district in the state. The 5th is also the most Democratic district in the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a northern subregion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed upon, the region is usually defined to include the states of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wi ...

. The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) has held the seat without interruption since 1963, and the Republicans have not tallied more than 40 percent of the vote in almost half a century. The 5th district is one of the most diverse in Minnesota; 16% of the district's residents are immigrants, the highest of any district in Minnesota, with the largest countries of origin being

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Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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, and

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. The district also has the largest population of Somali Americans in the country, with Somalis making up 3% of the district's population. The district is represented by Ilhan Omar, who is the first Somali–American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the first woman of color to represent Minnesota in that chamber. Omar, also an American Muslim, succeeded Keith Ellison, the first American Muslim to serve in Congress, after he was elected Minnesota Attorney General.

Recent election results from statewide races

Composition

For the 118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties, townships, and municipalities: Anoka County (4) : Columbia Heights, Fridley, Hilltop, Spring Lake Park (part; also 4th; shared with Ramsey County) Hennepin County (10) : Brooklyn Center,

(part; also 3rd), Golden Valley,

, New Hope, Richfield, Robbinsdale, St. Anthony (shared with Ramsey County), St. Louis Park Ramsey County (1) : St. Anthony (shared with Hennepin County)

List of members representing the district

Recent election results

2002

2004

2006

Congressman Martin Sabo, DFL, retired after 26 years in the House. Keith Ellison, also a DFLer, replaced him. Although Ellison was endorsed by the DFL convention, four non-endorsed candidates ran strong campaigns against him in the DFL primary: Gail Dorfman, Mike Erlandson,

Ember Reichgott Junge Ember Reichgott Junge (born August 22, 1953) is an attorney, radio personality, and former state senator from Minnesota, representing New Hope and surrounding communities. A Democrat, she was elected to the Senate at age 29 and served for 18 y ...

, and Jack Nelson Pallmeyer. Ellison won the primary with 41% of the vote. In the general election, he won with 56% of the vote against Jay Pond of the Green Party, Tammy Lee of the Independence Party, and Alan Fine of the Republican Party. Ellison was the first

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member of the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

2008

2010

•

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

2024

References

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