2014 Minnesota Secretary of State election

2014 Minnesota Secretary of State election

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Nominee Steve Simon Dan Severson Party Democratic (DFL) Republican Popular vote 901,450 879,022 Percentage 47.04% 45.87%

County results Congressional district results Precinct results Simon:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Severson:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Tie:     20–30%     30–40%     40–50%     50%      No votes

Secretary of State before election Mark Ritchie Democratic (DFL) Elected Secretary of State Steve Simon Democratic (DFL)

The 2014 Minnesota Secretary of State election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the Minnesota Secretary of State.

Incumbent Democratic–Farmer–Labor Secretary of State Mark Ritchie did not run for re-election to a third term in office. ^[1] Primary elections were held on August 12, 2014. The Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) nominated State Representative Steve Simon, the Republican Party nominated State Representative Dan Severson and the Independence Party nominated business process analyst Bob Helland.

Simon narrowly defeated Severson in the general election.

Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary

The Democratic–Farmer–Labor endorsement was made on May 31, 2014. State Representative Steve Simon was endorsed by acclamation over fellow State Representative Debra Hilstrom, who conceded before the results of the first ballot were announced and withdrew from the race. ^[2]

Candidates

Declared

• Dick Franson, perennial candidate ^[3]
• Gregg Iverson ^[4]
• Steve Simon, state representative (party endorsed) ^[5]

Withdrew

• Rachel Bohman, former Hennepin County elections manager ^[6]
• Debra Hilstrom, state representative ^[7]
• Jeremy Kalin, former state representative ^[8]

Declined

• Roger Reinert, state senator ^[9]
• Mark Ritchie, incumbent secretary of state ^[1]
• Ryan Winkler, state representative ^[10]

Results

Democratic primary election results ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Steve Simon	65,634	42.67
	Democratic (DFL)	Dick Franson	44,700	29.06
	Democratic (DFL)	Gregg Iverson	43,478	28.27
Total votes			153,812	100

Republican primary

The Republican endorsement was made on May 30, 2014. Former state representative Dan Severson, the Republican nominee for secretary of state in 2010, was endorsed after one ballot when former state senator John Howe withdrew his name from consideration. ^[12]

Candidates

Declared

• Dan Severson, former state representative, nominee for secretary of state in 2010 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012 ^[13]

Withdrew

• John Howe, former state senator ^[14]
• Dennis Nguyen, investment executive ^{[15] [16]}

Declined

• Ted Daley, former state senator ^[15]
• Pat Garofalo, state representative ^[1]
• Kent Kaiser, professor at Northwestern College ^[1]
• Mary Kiffmeyer, state senator and former secretary of State ^[17]
• Joyce Peppin, state representative ^[1]

Results

Republican primary election results ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Severson	152,754	100
Total votes			152,754	100

Independence primary

The Independence Party endorsement was made on May 17, 2014. Bob Helland won the endorsement. ^[18]

Candidates

• Bob Helland, business process analyst (party endorsed) ^[18]
• David Singleton ^[4]

Results

Independence primary election results ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independence	Bob Helland	3,059	51.52
	Independence	David Singleton	2,879	48.48
Total votes			5,938	100

General election

Candidates

• Steve Simon (DFL), state representative
• Dan Severson (Republican), former state representative, nominee for secretary of state in 2010 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012
• Bob Helland (Independence), business process analyst
• Bob Odden (Libertarian) ^[4]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Steve Simon (DFL)	Dan Severson (R)	Bob Helland (IP)
Gravis Marketing [19]	July 2–3, 2014	879	± 3%	46%	41%	14%

Results

Minnesota Secretary of State election, 2014 ^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic (DFL)	Steve Simon	901,450	47.04%	−2.06%
	Republican	Dan Severson	879,022	45.87%	+0.23%
	Independence	Bob Helland	94,065	4.91%	−0.28%
	Libertarian	Bob Odden	40,729	2.13%	N/A
	Write-in		1,134	0.06%	-0.01%
Total votes			1,916,400	100.0%
	Democratic (DFL) hold

Results by congressional district

Despite losing the state, Severson won five of eight congressional districts, including two that elected Democrats. ^[21]

District	Simon	Severson	Representative
1st	42%	50%	Tim Walz
2nd	43%	50%	John Kline
3rd	43%	51%	Erik Paulsen
4th	56%	37%	Betty McCollum
5th	69%	24%	Keith Ellison
6th	36%	57%	Tom Emmer
7th	40%	52%	Collin Peterson
8th	48%	45%	Rick Nolan

See also

• 2014 Minnesota elections

References

1. Stassen-Berger, Rachel E. (June 4, 2013). "Secretary of State Ritchie won't run again". Star Tribune . Retrieved June 24, 2013.
2. "DFLers endorse Dayton, Franken for 2nd terms". Associated Press. June 2, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
3. Salibsury, Bill and Doug Belden (June 3, 2014). "15 minutes before deadline, Entenza jumps into state auditor race". Pioneer Press . Retrieved June 26, 2014.
4. "2014 State General Election Candidate Filings, Executive Offices". Minnesota Secretary of State. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
5. Scheck, Tom (August 6, 2013). "Democrat Simon says he's running for secretary of state". Minnesota Public Radio . Retrieved August 8, 2013.
6. Stassen-Berger, Rachel E. (August 2, 2013). "First in, first out. DFL Secretary of State candidate ends her campaign". Star Tribune . Retrieved August 3, 2013.
7. "DFLers endorse Dayton, Franken for 2nd terms". Post-Bulletin . Associated Press. June 2, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
8. Kimball, Joe (October 7, 2013). "Former state Rep. Jeremy Kalin withdraws from secretary of state race". MinnPost . Retrieved October 9, 2013.
9. "Reinert out, Kalin in for Minnesota secretary of state race". Duluth News Tribune . July 9, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
10. Brooks, Jennifer and Rachel E. Stassen-Berger (June 25, 2013). "Minnesota DFL Rep. Ryan Winkler tweets, deletes "Uncle Thomas" reference to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas". Star Tribune. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
11. "Statewide Results for Secretary of State, Primary Election". Minnesota Secretary of State . Retrieved January 8, 2015.
12. Bierschbach, Briana (May 30, 2014). "Dan Severson wins secretary of state endorsement at Minnesota Republican convention". MinnPost . Retrieved July 14, 2014.
13. Sommerhauser, Mark (March 27, 2014). "Severson plans second run at Secretary of State seat". St. Cloud Times. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
14. Salisbury, Bill (June 5, 2014). "John Howe withdraws from Minnesota secretary of state race". Pioneer Press . Retrieved June 26, 2014.
15. Brucato, Cyndy (March 10, 2014). "Republican Dennis Nguyen withdraws from secretary of state race". MinnPost . Retrieved March 10, 2014.
16. Carlson, Heather J. (March 10, 2014). "Candidate drops out of race after alleged strip club visit with Rochester lawmaker". Post-Bulletin . Retrieved March 10, 2014.
17. Mullen, Mike (October 7, 2013). "Kalin withdraws Secretary of State candidacy". Politics in Minnesota. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
18. Kimball, Joe (May 19, 2014). "Independence Party endorses Nicollet for governor; Terrell for U.S. Senate". MinnPost . Retrieved June 26, 2014.
19. Gravis Marketing
20. "Statewide Results for Secretary of State". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
21. "Home - Election Results".

External links

• Elections & Voting - Minnesota Secretary of State