With early in-person voting now in progress, the Minnesota primary officially arrives Tuesday, Aug. 11, and will decide which candidates advance to the November general election
With several statewide races on the primary ballot, the Aug. 11 primary will determine party nominees for the November general election in races where multiple candidates are seeking the endorsement of the same political party. Those candidates winning their party’s primary will then advance to the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election.
Starting with races close to home, legislative races in South Washington county are uncontested in the partisan primary, though they face competition in the November general election.
In Senate District 41, Republican Tom Dippel (www.DippelforMN.com) and DFL candidate Judy Seeberger (https://judyforsenate.com) will advance to the general election. Senate District 47 features Republican Brian Stalboerger (https://brianformn.com) and DFL candidate Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger (https://amandaformn.com).
For the Minnesota House, District 41A includes Republican Wayne A. Johnson (https://waynejohnsonformn.com) and DFL candidate Cole Birkeland (www.colebirkeland.com). District 41B features Republican William Beck (https://www.beckforhouse.com) and DFL candidate Jen Fox (www.jenfoxforhouse.com). District 53B includes Republican Patti Mikulski (www.mikulski4house.com) and DFL incumbent Rick Hansen (www.votehansen.com).
Shifting to contested statewide races in the Aug. 11 primary, the U.S. Senate includes several candidates, many with a campaign website.
Starting with Republicans, the primary ballot features Bob "Again" Carney Jr., Cynthia Gail, Ahmad R. (Raafat) Hassan (drahmadhassan.com), Joyce Lacey (joycelacey.com), Patrick Munro (gowithmunro.com), Adam Schwarze (SchwarzeForSenate.com), Michele Tafoya (micheletafoya.com), Tom Weiler (www.tomweiler2026.com) and Royce White (roycewhite.us).
For those voting the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) ticket, candidates to choose from for U.S. Senate include Kurt Michael Anderson (kurtmichaelanderson2026.org), Angie Craig (angiecraig.com), Peggy Flanagan (peggyflanagan.com), George H. Kalberer, Peter John Murgic and Billy Nord (billynordforminnesota.carrd.co).
Independent candidate Marisa Simonetti (marisasimonetti.com) and Libertarian Rebecca Whiting (whiting4senate.us) are also listed on the ballot for U.S. Senate.
The race for governor and lieutenant governor meanwhile also features crowded party contests.
The Republican primary includes seven candidates, among them Loner Blue and Anders Maass; Lisa DeMuth and Ryan Wilson (lisaformn.com); Raul J. Estrada and Joe Kincaid (raul2026-crushcommunism.com); John Krhin and Dennis Conn (krhin4gov.com); Mike Lindell and Philip C. Parrish (mikelindellgov.com); Ross Nova and Kerry Bushby (www.rossnovaforgovernor.com); and Kendall Qualis and Brian Nicholson (kqformn.com).
The DFL primary meanwhile includes Thomas Evenstad and Jason Haarsager (evenstadforgovernor.com); Bill E. Gates Jr. and Leah Harris (www.votebillgates.net); Amy Klobuchar and Ben Schierer (www.amyklobuchar.com); Kobey J. Layne and Paul Ference (www.kobey4governor.com); Ole "Viking" Savior and Ashley "Skol" Johnson; Po Vang and Mark Fasciae (povang4governor.com); and Mohammad Wazwaz and Murad Alshlool.
The Green Party primary ballot lists Steven Young and Jane Kirby (steveformngov.info) for governor and Lieutenant governor.
Two statewide offices feature contested primaries in only one major party.
In the attorney general race, Republicans will choose between Ronald J. Schutz (www.ronformnag.com), while DFL voters will decide between incumbent Keith Ellison (keithellison.org) and challenger David J.S. Madgett (www.madgettformn.com).
For secretary of state, Republican voters will select either Tad Jude (https://tadjude.com) or Wendy Phillips (wendyforsos.com). Steve Simon is the lone DFL candidate (stevesimonmn.com), while Seth Kuhl-Stennes is running on the Green Party ballot and George "Chip" Tangen is the Libertarian candidate.
The state auditor race includes a four-candidate Republican primary featuring Will Finn, Nate George (https://nategeorgeformnstateauditor.com), Scott Jensen (www.drscottjensen.com) and Zack Filipovich (www.zackformn.com). Jay Reeves (JayReevesforMN.com) is listed as the Forward Independence candidate.
Voters can review a sample ballot based on their address at the Minnesota Secretary of State website located at https://myballotmn.sos.mn.gov, or at ballotready.org. The winners of contested partisan primaries will advance to the Nov. 3 general election to face nominees from other political parties and independent candidates where applicable.
On the ballot come November meanwhile are several judicial posts, arranged by circuit and branch court. Judicial seats on the ballot this fall include seats 1, 2, and 4 of the Minnesota Supreme Court as well as beasts 1, 7, 13, 15, and 18 of the court of appeals. District judges may appear on the ballot as well, with Washington County in the 10th Judicial District.
More information is available at Ballotpedia and the Minnesota Secretary of State website.