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.
This is the last cycle where the Democratic candidate would win either the 1st or 8th district and the last cycle Republicans candidate would win either the 2nd or 3rd district.
Results of the 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota by 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.
Incumbent Republican John Kline, who had represented the district since 2003, announced that he would not seek re-election. He was re-elected with 56% of the vote in 2014. The district had a PVI of R+2.
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. Mary Lawrence, a doctor, also ran as a Democrat, but dropped out before the primary.
Commentators wrote that the election was "likely to be one of the most-watched congressional races in the country," (MinnPost), "expected to be one of the most competitive in the country", according to Roll Call newspaper, and "seen as a prime target for Democrats to flip" according to The Atlantic.
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".
In May 2016, the Rothenberg and Gonzales Political Report changed its rating of the race from "pure tossup" to "tossup/tilt Democratic," 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." Other political prognosticators rated the race "Republican Toss-up" (Charlie Cook), and "pure" toss-up (Larry Sabato's "Crystal Ball"), according to MinnPost.
Lewis ended up defeating Craig by several thousand votes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Emmer was challenged from the right by AJ Kern, who criticized his positions on immigration, education and trade. Particularly his vote for Every Student Succeeds Act and his support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. She also objected to Muslims serving in elected office.
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.
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.
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 recountâÂÂjust over $100,000â 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.