2026 United States Senate election in Minnesota

Last updated

2026 United States Senate election in Minnesota
Flag of Minnesota.svg
  2020 November 3, 20262032 
 
Party Democratic (DFL) Republican

Incumbent U.S. senator

Tina Smith
Democratic (DFL)



The 2026 United States Senate election in Minnesota will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Minnesota, concurrently with other elections to the U.S. Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and other state and local elections. Primary elections will be held on August 11, 2026. Incumbent Democratic Senator Tina Smith is not seeking election to a second full term. Smith was elected to her first full term with 48.74% of the vote in 2020 after winning a special election in 2018 to complete the term of former Senator Al Franken, who resigned amid sexual harassment allegations. [1] [2]

Contents

This will be the first U.S. Senate election in Minnesota without an incumbent since 2006. [3]

Background

Minnesota is considered a slightly to moderately blue state at the federal and state levels. Kamala Harris won it by four percentage points in the 2024 presidential election, and the last time a Republican won a statewide race was in 2006, when Tim Pawlenty was narrowly reelected governor over DFL nominee Mike Hatch. The most recent Senate election, in 2024, saw DFL incumbent Amy Klobuchar defeat Republican Royce White by nearly 16 points. [4] The most recent election for this seat, held in 2020, saw Smith defeat Republican nominee Jason Lewis by five points. [5] Governor Mark Dayton originally nominated Smith to the seat after incumbent Al Franken resigned; she had been Dayton's lieutenant governor. [6] Smith won the special election to serve the rest of Franken's term in 2018. [7]

Democrats have had considerably more success in the state in recent years.[ citation needed ] They control all statewide offices, both U.S. Senate seats, and the minimum majority in the Minnesota Senate, while the Minnesota House of Representatives and the U.S. House delegation are both evenly split. [8] [9]

Abou Amara, a DFL lawyer and political analyst, told Axios that the "once in a generation" opportunity to win an open U.S. Senate seat will likely fuel a competitive and damaging DFL primary battle between "A-level talent across the ideological spectrum" of the Democratic party. [10]

Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary

Candidates

Declared

Filed paperwork

Withdrawn

Declined

Endorsements

Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is reported to be backing Craig but hasn't endorsed her. [27]

Peggy Flanagan
Executive branch officials
U.S. senators
Statewide officials
State senators
State representatives
Local officials
Labor unions
Organizations
Declined to endorse
U.S. senators
U.S. representatives
Statewide officials

Fundraising

Italics indicate a withdrawn candidate.

Campaign finance reports for Q3 Tooltip Fiscal quarter, 2025
CandidateRaisedSpentCash on hand
Angie Craig (DFL)$4,688,414$1,735,015$2,953,399
Peggy Flanagan (DFL)$2,283,671$1,447,978$835,693
Melisa López Franzen (DFL)$299,376$299,376$0
Source: Federal Election Commission [54]

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size [a]
Margin
of error
Angie
Craig
Peggy
Flanagan
Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D) [55] February 14–15, 2025668 (LV)22%52%27%

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Filed paperwork

Potential

  • Jim Nash, state representative from district 48A (2015–present) [61]
  • Kathleen Fowke, real estate agent, wife of Xcel Energy CEO Ben Fowke, and nominee for Minnesota's 45th Senate district in 2022 and 2024 [61]
  • Ryan Wilson, attorney and nominee for state auditor in 2022 [62]

Declined

Endorsements

Royce White
Individuals

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports for Q3 Tooltip Fiscal quarter, 2025
CandidateRaisedSpentCash on hand
Ray Petersen (R)$104$104$0
Adam Schwarze (R)$480,698$312,783$167,915
Tom Weiler (R)$52,778$242$54,297
Royce White (R)$393,143$426,798$105,170
Source: Federal Election Commission [54]

Independents

Declared

General election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
Inside Elections [72] Likely DAugust 12, 2025
The Cook Political Report [73] Likely DOctober 14, 2025
Sabato's Crystal Ball [74] Likely DOctober 23, 2025
Race To The WH [75] Lean DSeptember 4, 2025

Polling

Hypothetical polling

Angie Craig vs. Generic Republican

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size [a]
Margin
of error
Angie
Craig (DFL)
Generic
Republican
Undecided
Public Policy Polling [76] September 15–16, 20251,015 (V)47%43%10%

Peggy Flanagan vs. Generic Republican

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size [a]
Margin
of error
Peggy
Flanagan (DFL)
Generic
Republican
Undecided
Public Policy Polling [76] September 15–16, 20251,015 (V)46%44%10%

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

References

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Official campaign websites