2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota

The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the eight U.S. representatives from the state of Minnesota, one from each of the state's eight congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on August 9.

2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota

← 2014 November 8, 2016 (2016-11-08) 2018 →
All 8 Minnesota seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic (DFL) Republican Last election 5 3 Seats won 5 3 Seat change Popular vote 1,434,590 1,334,686 Percentage 50.23% 46.73% Swing 0.03% 0.20%
Results by district Results by county Democratic   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Republican   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%

This is the last cycle where the Democrat candidate would win either the 1st or 8th district and the last cycle Republicans candidate would win either the 2nd or 3rd district.

Overview

Statewide

United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, 2016[1]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats before	Seats after	+/–
	Democratic (DFL)	1,434,559	50.20%	5	5	-
	Republican	1,334,679	46.70%	3	3	-
	Legal Marijuana Now	57,911	2.02%	0	0	-
	Independence	28,870	1.01%	0	0	-
	Others	4,370	0.15%	0	0	-
Totals		2,860,389	100.00%	8	8	—

District

Results of the 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota by district:

District	Democratic		Republican		Others		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	169,074	50.34%	166,526	49.58%	277	0.08%	335,600	100.00%	Democratic hold
District 2	167,315	45.16%	173,970	46.95%	29,229	7.89%	370,514	100.00%	Republican hold
District 3	169,243	43.01%	223,077	56.70%	1,144	0.29%	393,464	100.00%	Republican hold
District 4	203,299	57.76%	121,032	34.39%	27,613	7.85%	351,944	100.00%	Democratic hold
District 5	249,964	69.07%	80,660	22.29%	31,258	8.64%	361,882	100.00%	Democratic hold
District 6	123,008	34.27%	235,380	65.58%	536	0.15%	358,924	100.00%	Republican hold
District 7	173,589	52.47%	156,952	47.44%	307	0.09%	330,848	100.00%	Democratic hold
District 8	179,098	50.17%	177,089	49.61%	792	0.22%	356,979	100.00%	Democratic hold
Total	1,434,559	50.15%	1,334,679	46.66%	91,151	3.19%	2,860,389	100.00%

District 1

2016 Minnesota's 1st congressional district election

← 2014 2018 →

Nominee Tim Walz Jim Hagedorn Party Democratic (DFL) Republican Popular vote 169,074 166,526 Percentage 50.3% 49.6%

Walz:      50–60% Hagedorn:      50–60%      60–70% County results Walz:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Hagedorn:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      40–50%      50%      No votesPrecinct results

U.S. Representative before election Tim Walz Democratic (DFL) Elected U.S. Representative Tim Walz Democratic (DFL)

See also: Minnesota's 1st congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Tim Walz, who had represented the district since 2007, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 54% of the vote in 2014. The district had a PVI of R+1.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Tim Walz, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Democratic primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Tim Walz (incumbent)	13,538	100.0
Total votes			13,538	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jim Hagedorn, blogger, candidate for this seat in 2010 and nominee in 2014

Eliminated in primary

• Steve Williams

Results

Republican primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Hagedorn	10,851	76.5
	Republican	Steve Williams	3,330	23.5
Total votes			14,181	100.0

General election

Endorsements

Tim Walz (D)

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO^[3]
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees^[4]
• International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers^[5]

Results

Minnesota's 1st congressional district, 2016^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Tim Walz (incumbent)	169,074	50.3
	Republican	Jim Hagedorn	166,526	49.6
	Write-in		277	0.1
Total votes			335,877	100.0
	Democratic (DFL) hold

District 2

2016 Minnesota's 2nd congressional district election

← 2014 2018 →

Nominee Jason Lewis Angie Craig Paula Overby Party Republican Democratic (DFL) Independence Popular vote 173,970 167,315 28,869 Percentage 46.9% 45.2% 7.8%

Precinct results Lewis:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Craig:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      40–50%

U.S. Representative before election John Kline Republican Elected U.S. Representative Jason Lewis Republican

See also: Minnesota's 2nd congressional district

Incumbent Republican John Kline, who had represented the district since 2003, announced that he would not seek re-election.^[7] He was re-elected with 56% of the vote in 2014. The district had a PVI of R+2.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jason Lewis, political commentator, former talk radio host, and nominee for Colorado's 2nd district in 1990^[8]

Eliminated in primary

• Matthew Erickson, Minnesota spokesperson for Donald Trump^[9]
• John Howe, former state senator, former mayor of Red Wing and candidate for Minnesota Secretary of State in 2014^[10]
• Darlene Miller, president and CEO of Permac Industries and member of the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness^[11]

Withdrawn

• David Benson-Staebler, political consultant, former Democratic congressional aide, and real estate agent^[12][13]
• David Gerson, engineer and candidate in 2012 and 2014^[14][15]
• Pam Myhra, former state representative and candidate for lieutenant governor in 2014^[16]

Declined

• Tony Albright, state representative^[17]
• Ted Daley, former state senator^[18][19]
• Steve Drazkowski, state representative^[20]
• Pat Garofalo, state representative^[21]
• John Kline, incumbent U.S. Representative^[7]
• John Kriesel, former state representative^[22]
• Mike McFadden, businessman and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2014^[23]
• Mary Pawlenty, former Dakota County District Court Judge and former First Lady of Minnesota^[24]
• Roz Peterson, state representative^[25]
• Eric Pratt, state senator^[26]
• Steve Sviggum, former Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives^[27]
• Dave Thompson, state senator and candidate for governor in 2014^[28]

Endorsements

David Gerson (withdrawn)

Organizations

• Madison Project^[29]

John Howe

Organizations

• NRA Political Victory Fund^[30]

Jason Lewis

State legislators

• Steve Drazkowski, state representative^[31]
• Dan Hall, state senator^[31]
• Dave Thompson, state senator and candidate for governor in 2014^[31]

Organizations

• Republican Party of Minnesota^[31]

Individuals

• Bill Cooper, former chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota^[31]

Darlene Miller

Organizations

• Maggie's List^[32]

Debate

2016 Minnesota's 2nd congressional district republican primary debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Republican	Republican	Republican	Republican
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					David Benson-Staebler	David Gerson	John Howe	Jason Lewis	Pam Myhra
1[33]	Nov. 19, 2015	Republicans in Senate District 52		[34]	P	P	P	P	P

Results

Republican primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jason Lewis	11,641	48.9
	Republican	Darlene Miller	7,305	30.7
	Republican	John Howe	3,244	13.6
	Republican	Matthew D. Erickson	1,612	6.8
Total votes			23,802	100.0

Democratic primary

Democrat Angela Craig, who served as vice president of global human resources for St. Jude Medical, resigned from her position in January 2015 to challenge Lewis.^[35] Mary Lawrence, a doctor, also ran as a Democrat,^[36] but dropped out before the primary.

Candidates

Nominee

• Angie Craig, former St. Jude Medical executive^[37][38]

Withdrawn

• Roger Kittelson, dairy marketing specialist, nominee for WI-06 in 2008 and candidate for Minnesota House of Representatives in 1982 and 2014^[39][40]
• Mary Lawrence, ophthalmologist^[41][42][43]

Declined

• Joe Atkins, state representative^[44]
• Rick Hansen, state representative^[45]
• Mike Obermueller, former state representative and nominee in 2012 and 2014^[37]

Results

Democratic primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Angie Craig	15,155	100.0
Total votes			15,155	100.0

Independence primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Paula Overby, quality assurance analyst and nominee for this seat in 2014

General election

Campaign

Commentators wrote that the election was "likely to be one of the most-watched congressional races in the country," (MinnPost^[46]), "expected to be one of the most competitive in the country", according to Roll Call newspaper,^[47] and "seen as a prime target for Democrats to flip" according to The Atlantic.^[48]

Area left-wing weekly City Pages described the campaign as resembling the 2016 presidential campaign, calling Lewis "an entrepreneur and media personality, whose blunt rhetoric is refreshingly honest to some, simply offensive to others", and describing Craig as "a tough female leader with moderate positions, ties to big business, and a penchant for pantsuits".^[49]

In May 2016, the Rothenberg and Gonzales Political Report changed its rating of the race from "pure tossup" to "tossup/tilt Democratic,"^[50] with political analyst Nathan Gonzales writing that Craig "is probably to the left of the district in her ideology, but she has a good story to tell, is raising considerable money (she had $1.3 million in the bank at the end of March) and is solid as a candidate."^[50] Other political prognosticators rated the race "Republican Toss-up" (Charlie Cook), and "pure" toss-up (Larry Sabato's "Crystal Ball"), according to MinnPost.^[50]

Endorsements

Jason Lewis (R)

State legislators

• Steve Drazkowski, state representative^[31]
• Dan Hall, state senator^[31]
• Dave Thompson, state senator and candidate for governor in 2014^[31]

Organizations

• National Republican Congressional Committee "Young Guns" Program^[51]
• Republican Party of Minnesota^[31]

Individuals

• Bill Cooper, former chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota^[31]

Angie Craig (D)

U.S. Senators

• Al Franken, U.S. Senator (D-MN)

U.S. Representatives

• Keith Ellison, U.S. Representative (MN-05)
• Jared Polis, U.S. Representative (CO-02)^[52]
• Mark Takano, U.S. Representative (CA-41)^[52]
• Tim Walz, U.S. Representative (MN-01)

State legislators

• Jim Carlson, state senator^[53]
• Greg Clausen, state senator^[54]
• Scott Dibble, state senator^[55]
• Laurie Halverson, state representative^[53]
• Sandra Masin, state representative^[53]
• Will Morgan, former state representative^[56]
• Erin Murphy, state representative^[55]
• Sandy Pappas, President of the Minnesota Senate
• Mike Obermueller, former state representative and nominee in 2012 and 2014^[53]
• Dan Schoen, state representative^[57]
• Katie Sieben, state senator^[57]

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO^[3]
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees^[4]
• International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers^[5]
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters
• International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 82^[58]
• United Steelworkers^[59]

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program^[60]
• EMILY's List^[61]
• Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund^[53]
• Human Rights Campaign
• NARAL Pro-Choice America^[62]
• Stonewall DFL Caucus^[63]
• WomenWinning^[64]

Local officials

• Ann Counihan, South St. Paul School Board member^[56]
• Mike Engel, Mayor of Kenyon^[56]
• Debbie Goettel, Mayor of Richfield^[63]
• Matt Klein, ISD 197 School Board member^[56]

Debates

• Complete video of debate, October 30, 2016

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jason Lewis (R)	Angie Craig (D)	Paula Overby (I)	Undecided
SurveyUSA[65]	October 13–16, 2016	600	± 4.1%	41%	46%	—	12%
WPA Opinion Research (R-NRCC)[66]	October 9–10, 2016	400	± 4.9%	36%	33%	—	26%
Gerstein Bocian Agne Strategies (D-Craig)[67]	August 13–16, 2016	500	± 4.4%	42%	43%	9%	6%
WPA Opinion Research (R-Lewis/NRCC)[68]	August 14–15, 2016	400	± 4.9%	39%	27%	7%	25%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[69]	Tossup	November 7, 2016
Daily Kos Elections[70]	Tossup	November 7, 2016
Rothenberg[71]	Tilt D (flip)	November 3, 2016
Sabato's Crystal Ball[72]	Lean D (flip)	November 7, 2016
RCP[73]	Lean D (flip)	October 31, 2016

Results

Lewis ended up defeating Craig by several thousand votes.^[74]

Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, 2016 ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jason Lewis	173,970	46.9
	Democratic (DFL)	Angie Craig	167,315	45.2
	Independence	Paula Overby	28,869	7.8
	Write-in		360	0.1
Total votes			370,514	100.0
	Republican hold

District 3

2016 Minnesota's 3rd congressional district election

← 2014 2018 →

Nominee Erik Paulsen Terri Bonoff Party Republican Democratic (DFL) Popular vote 223,077 169,243 Percentage 56.7% 43.0%

Precinct results Paulsen:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Bonoff:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      No votes

U.S. Representative before election Erik Paulsen Republican Elected U.S. Representative Erik Paulsen Republican

See also: Minnesota's 3rd congressional district

Incumbent Republican Erik Paulsen, who had represented the district since 2009, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 62% of the vote in 2014. The district had a PVI of R+2.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Erik Paulsen, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Terri Bonoff, state senator^[75]

Withdrawn

• Jon Tollefson, former U.S. diplomat, lobbyist for the Minnesota Nurses Association and candidate for state representative in 2014^[76]

General election

Endorsements

Terri Bonoff (D)

U.S. Presidents

• Barack Obama, President of the United States^[77]

Labor unions

• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees^[4]
• International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers^[5]

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program^[60]
• EMILY's List^[61]

Debates

• Complete video of debate, October 30, 2016

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Erik Paulsen (R)	Terri Bonoff (D)	Undecided
SurveyUSA[78]	October 10–13, 2016	579	± 4.2%	49%	38%	13%
Clarity Campaign Lab (D-House Majority PAC)[79]	September 11–13, 2016	353	± 4.34%	45%	42%	13%
DCCC (D)[80]	September 12, 2016	353	± 5.2%	38%	40%	22%
Newton Heath LLC (R-AAN)[81]	August 9–11, 2016	402	± 4.9%	57%	31%	12%
Victoria Research & Consulting (D-Bonoff)[82]	June 27–30, 2016	400	± 4.9%	45%	45%	10%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[69]	Lean R	November 7, 2016
Daily Kos Elections[70]	Lean R	November 7, 2016
Rothenberg[71]	Likely R	November 3, 2016
Sabato's Crystal Ball[72]	Lean R	November 7, 2016
RCP[73]	Lean R	October 31, 2016

Results

Minnesota's 3rd congressional district, 2016 ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Erik Paulsen (incumbent)	223,077	56.7
	Democratic (DFL)	Terri Bonoff	169,243	43.0
	Write-in		1,144	0.3
Total votes			393,464	100.0
	Republican hold

District 4

2016 Minnesota's 4th congressional district election

← 2014 2018 →

Nominee Betty McCollum Greg Ryan Susan Pendergast Sindt Party Democratic (DFL) Republican Legal Marijuana Now Popular vote 203,299 121,032 27,152 Percentage 57.8% 34.4% 7.7%

Precinct results McCollum:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Ryan:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      No votes

U.S. Representative before election Betty McCollum Democratic (DFL) Elected U.S. Representative Betty McCollum Democratic (DFL)

See also: Minnesota's 4th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Betty McCollum, who had represented the district since 2001, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 61% of the vote in 2014. The district had a PVI of D+11.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Betty McCollum, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Steve Carlson

Results

Democratic primary election ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Betty McCollum (incumbent)	33,336	94.0
	Democratic (DFL)	Steve Carlson	2,128	6.0
Total votes			35,464	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Greg Ryan, businessman

Eliminated in primary

• Gene Rechtzigel
• Nikolay Nikolayevich Bey

Results

Republican primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Greg Ryan	5,618	82.0
	Republican	Gene Rechtzigel	845	12.3
	Republican	Nikolay Nikolayevich Bey	390	5.7
Total votes			6,853	100.0

General election

Endorsements

Betty McCollum (D)

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO^[3]
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees^[4]
• International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers^[5]

Results

Minnesota's 4th congressional district, 2016 ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Betty McCollum (incumbent)	203,299	57.8
	Republican	Greg Ryan	121,032	34.4
	Legal Marijuana Now	Susan Pendergast Sindt	27,152	7.7
	Write-in		461	0.1
Total votes			351,944	100.0
	Democratic (DFL) hold

District 5

2016 Minnesota's 5th congressional district election

← 2014 2018 →

Nominee Keith Ellison Frank Nelson Drake Dennis Schuller Party Democratic (DFL) Republican Legal Marijuana Now Popular vote 249,964 80,660 30,759 Percentage 69.1% 22.3% 8.5%

Precinct results Ellison:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Drake:      40–50%      50–60%      No votes

U.S. Representative before election Keith Ellison Democratic (DFL) Elected U.S. Representative Keith Ellison Democratic (DFL)

See also: Minnesota's 5th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Keith Ellison, who had represented the district since 2007, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 71% of the vote in 2014. The district had a PVI of D+71.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Keith Ellison, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Lee Bauer
• Gregg Iverson, perennial candidate

Results

Democratic primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Keith Ellison (incumbent)	40,380	91.7
	Democratic (DFL)	Gregg Iverson	1,887	4.3
	Democratic (DFL)	Lee Bauer	1,757	4.0
Total votes			44,024	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Frank Nelson Drake, real estate investor

Results

Republican primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Frank Nelson Drake	4,177	100.0
Total votes			4,177	100.0

Legal Marijuana Now primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Dennis Schuller

General election

Endorsements

Keith Ellison (D)

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO^[3]
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees^[4]
• International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers^[5]

Results

Minnesota's 5th congressional district, 2016 ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Keith Ellison (incumbent)	249,964	69.1
	Republican	Frank Nelson Drake	80,660	22.3
	Legal Marijuana Now	Dennis Schuller	30,759	8.5
	Write-in		499	0.1
Total votes			361,875	100.0
	Democratic (DFL) hold

District 6

2016 Minnesota's 6th congressional district election

← 2014 2018 →

Nominee Tom Emmer David Snyder Party Republican Democratic (DFL) Popular vote 235,380 123,008 Percentage 65.6% 34.3%

Precinct results Emmer:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Snyder:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      >90%      No votes

U.S. Representative before election Tom Emmer Republican Elected U.S. Representative Tom Emmer Republican

See also: Minnesota's 6th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Tom Emmer, who had represented the district since 2015, ran for re-election. He was elected with 56% of the vote in 2014. The district had a PVI of R+10.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Tom Emmer, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• A.J. Kern
• Patrick Munro

Endorsements

Tom Emmer

Organizations

• NRA Political Victory Fund^[30]

Results

Republican primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Emmer (incumbent)	13,590	68.7
	Republican	A. J. Kern	5,219	26.4
	Republican	Patrick Munro	962	4.9
Total votes			19,771	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• David Snyder, Army veteran

Eliminated in primary

• Judy Evelyn Adams
• Bob Helland, business process analyst and Independence nominee for secretary of state in 2014

Results

Democratic primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	David Snyder	4,402	46.0
	Democratic (DFL)	Judy Evelyn Adams	3,569	37.3
	Democratic (DFL)	Bob Helland	1,595	16.7
Total votes			9,566	100.0

General election

Endorsements

David Snyder (D)

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO^[3]
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees^[4]
• International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers^[5]

Results

Minnesota's 6th congressional district election, 2016 ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Emmer (incumbent)	235,380	65.6
	Democratic (DFL)	David Snyder	123,008	34.3
	Write-in		536	0.1
Total votes			358,924	100.0
	Republican hold

District 7

2016 Minnesota's 7th congressional district election

← 2014 2018 →

Nominee Collin Peterson David Hughes Party Democratic (DFL) Republican Popular vote 173,589 156,952 Percentage 52.5% 47.4%

Peterson:      50–60%      60–70%      70-80% Hughes:      50-60%      60–70% County results Peterson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Hughes:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      40–50%      50%      No votesPrecinct results

U.S. Representative before election Collin Peterson Democratic (DFL) Elected U.S. Representative Collin Peterson Democratic (DFL)

See also: Minnesota's 7th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Collin Peterson, who had represented the district since 1991, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 54% of the vote in 2014. The district had a PVI of R+6.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Collin Peterson, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Democratic primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Collin Peterson (incumbent)	16,253	100.0
Total votes			16,253	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Dave Hughes, U.S. Air Force veteran

Eliminated in primary

• Amanda Lynn Hinson, entrepreneur, writer, and former pastor

Results

Republican primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dave Hughes	8,769	59.0
	Republican	Amanda Lynn Hinson	6,104	41.0
Total votes			14,873	100.0

General election

Endorsements

Collin Peterson (D)

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO^[3]
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees^[4]
• International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers^[5]

Results

Minnesota's 7th congressional district, 2016 ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Collin Peterson (incumbent)	173,589	52.5
	Republican	Dave Hughes	156,952	47.4
	Write-in		307	0.1
Total votes			330,848	100.0
	Democratic (DFL) hold

District 8

2016 Minnesota's 8th congressional district election

← 2014 2018 →

Nominee Rick Nolan Stewart Mills Party Democratic (DFL) Republican Popular vote 179,098 177,089 Percentage 50.2% 49.6%

Nolan:      50–60%      60–70% Mills:      50-60%      60-70% County results Nolan:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Mills:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      40–50%      50%      No votesPrecinct results

U.S. Representative before election Rick Nolan Democratic (DFL) Elected U.S. Representative Rick Nolan Democratic (DFL)

See also: Minnesota's 8th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Rick Nolan, who had represented the district since 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 49% of the vote in 2014. The district had a PVI of D+1.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Rick Nolan, incumbent U.S. Representative

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Stewart Mills III, Mills Fleet Farm executive and nominee for this seat in 2014

General election

Endorsements

Rick Nolan (D)

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO^[3]
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees^[4]
• International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers^[5]

Stewart Mills (R)

Organizations

• Minnesota Farm Bureau^[83]
• National Federation of Independent Business^[84]
• National Republican Congressional Committee "Young Guns" Program^[51]

Newspapers

• ECM Newspapers^[85]
• St. Paul Pioneer Press^[86]

Debate

2016 Minnesota's 8th congressional district debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Democratic	Republican
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Rick Nolan	Stewart Mills
1	Oct. 23, 2016	KSTP-TV	Leah McLean	[87]	P	P

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Rick Nolan (D)	Stewart Mills (R)	Undecided
SurveyUSA[88]	October 16–19, 2016	595	± 4.1%	41%	45%	14%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[69]	Tossup	November 7, 2016
Daily Kos Elections[70]	Tossup	November 7, 2016
Rothenberg[71]	Lean D	November 3, 2016
Sabato's Crystal Ball[72]	Lean D	November 7, 2016
RCP[73]	Tossup D	October 31, 2016

Results

Though Nolan's margin of victory (2,009 votes) was too large to trigger a publicly funded automatic recount, Mills, as of late November 2016, said that he planned to request and pay for a hand recount of all votes cast in the eighth district, as is his right under law. Mills planned to cover the cost of the recount—just over $100,000— himself. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota had not seen a recount in a race for the House of Representatives since 2000, when election day totals in Minnesota's 2nd congressional district fell within the half percentage point threshold, thus triggering a state-funded recount. It is not known if Mills's request for a privately funded recount has precedent in Minnesota's electoral history, at least as it pertains to elections for the House of Representatives.^[89]

Minnesota's 8th congressional district, 2016^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Rick Nolan (incumbent)	179,098	50.2
	Republican	Stewart Mills	177,089	49.6
	Write-in		792	0.2
Total votes			356,979	100.0
	Democratic (DFL) hold

References

1. "Home - Election Results".
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76. Simone Pathé (January 28, 2016). "Democratic Recruit Challenges Minnesota's Erik Paulsen". rollcall.com. Roll Call. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
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81. Newton Heath LLC (R-AAN)
82. Victoria Research & Consulting (D-Bonoff)
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84. "MILLS LANDS SMALL BUSINESS ENDORSEMENT". Mesabi Daily News. August 5, 2016.
85. "ECM Editorial: On the issues, Mills shines in the 8th". Princeton Union-Eagle. October 14, 2016.
86. "Editorial: First day of Tribune endorsements for U.S. House seats in Illinois". Chicago Tribune. October 7, 2016.
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External links

• U.S. House elections in Minnesota, 2016 at Ballotpedia
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets