Minnesota gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2014
2018→ ←2010 |
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August 12, 2014 |
November 4, 2014 |
Mark Dayton  Tina Smith |
Mark Dayton Yvonne Prettner Solon |
Governor • Lieutenant Governor •Secretary of State •Attorney General Down Ballot Auditor |
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TheMinnesota gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election took place onNovember 4, 2014. IncumbentMark Dayton (D) was running for re-election, while Lieutenant Gov.Yvonne Prettner Solon did not file for re-election.[1] Dayton and running mateTina Smithdefeated four tickets including the Republican ticket ofJeff Johnson andBill Kuisle. The gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates for each party were voted on as a single ticket rather than separate candidates in the general election. Dayton and Smith won election to concurrent four-year terms.
Recent gubernatorial elections in Minnesota featured narrow margins of victory, including a 0.4 percent margin for Dayton and Solon in 2010. Learn more about trends in this election in thepolls section below.
The gubernatorial race was not the only race on the November ballot that could have shifted the partisan balance of power in Minnesota. TheMinnesota House of Representatives was identified by Ballotpedia as one of the top 20 legislative chambers to watch in 2014. Both legislative chambers and the governor's office were held by a single party, making Minnesota astate government trifecta. The Minnesota House of Representatives flipped from Democratic to Republican control, thus ending the state's trifecta status. Learn more about the state's legislative races on thebattleground chambers page.
Aprimary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Minnesota utilizes anopen primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[2]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, seethis article.
Candidates
General election
Mark Dayton/Tina Smith -Incumbent
Jeff Johnson/Bill Kuisle
Chris Holbrook/Chris Dock
Grassroots Party candidatesChris Wright/David Daniels
Hannah Nicollet/Tim Gieseke
Defeated in the primary
Bill Dahn/James VigliottiLeslie Davis/Gregory K. SoderbergMerrill Anderson/Mark AndersonScott Honour/Karin HousleyMarty Seifert/Pam MyhraKurt Zellers/Dean Simpson
Results
General election
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Mark Dayton/Tina SmithIncumbent | 50.1% | 989,113 | |
| Republican | Jeff Johnson/Bill Kuisle | 44.5% | 879,257 | |
| Independence | Hannah Nicollet/Tim Gieseke | 2.9% | 56,900 | |
| Grassroots Party | Chris Wright/David Daniels | 1.6% | 31,259 | |
| Libertarian | Chris Holbrook/Chris Dock | 0.9% | 18,082 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.1% | 1,134 | |
| Total Votes | 1,975,745 | |||
| Election results viaMinnesota Secretary of State | ||||
Primary election
Democratic primary
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, Democratic Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Mark Dayton/Tina Smith | 93% | 177,849 | ||
| Leslie Davis/Gregory K. Soderberg | 4.5% | 8,530 | ||
| Bill Dahn/James Vigliotti | 2.6% | 4,880 | ||
| Total Votes | 191,259 | |||
| Election results viaMinnesota Secretary of State. | ||||
Republican primary
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Jeff Johnson/Bill Kuisle | 30.3% | 55,836 | ||
| Kurt Zellers/Dean Simpson | 23.9% | 44,046 | ||
| Marty Seifert/Pam Myhra | 21.1% | 38,851 | ||
| Scott Honour/Karin Housley | 20.8% | 38,377 | ||
| Merrill Anderson/Mark Anderson | 3.8% | 7,000 | ||
| Total Votes | 184,110 | |||
| Election results viaMinnesota Secretary of State. | ||||
Polls
General election
| Minnesota Governor's Race 2014 - All candidates | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Mark Dayton * (D) | Jeff Johnson (R) | Hannah Nicollet (I) | Chris Holbrook (L) | Chris Wright (Grassroots) | Undecided/Other | Margin of error | Sample size | |||||||||||
| KTSP/SurveyUSA (September 30-October 2, 2014) | 51% | 39% | 4% | 0% | 1% | 5% | +/-4.2 | 577 | |||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email toeditor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota Governor's Race 2014 - Dayton vs. Johnson | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Mark Dayton * (D) | Jeff Johnson (R) | Undecided/Other | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| New York Times/CBS News/YouGov (October 16-23, 2014) | 50% | 41% | 10% | +/-3 | 2,430 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports (September 29-30, 2014) | 50% | 40% | 10% | +/-4 | 750 | ||||||||||||||
| Star Tribune (September 8-10, 2014) | 45% | 33% | 22% | +/-3.5 | 800 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports (August 13-14, 2014) | 49% | 41% | 10% | +/-4 | 750 | ||||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 48.5% | 38.75% | 13% | +/-3.63 | 1,182.5 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email toeditor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Hypothetical match-ups
| Hypothetical match-ups for Governor of Minnesota | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julie Rosen | Scott Honour | Kurt Zellers | Marty Seifert | Dave Thompson | Jeff Johnson | ||||
| Percent of the vote | 36% | 38% | 38% | 37% | 37% | 37% | |||
| Mark Dayton's percent of the vote | 48% | 48% | 48% | 48% | 48% | 48% | |||
| Undecided | 16% | 15% | 14% | 16% | 15% | 15% | |||
| Between October 27-29, 2013, Public Policy Polling surveyed 895 Minnesota voters. The respondents were given a series of hypothetical match-ups betweenDemocratic incumbentMark Dayton and six potentialRepublican candidates, and asked for which of the two candidates they would vote in the 2014 gubernatorial election. The margin of error for this survey is +/-3.3%[3] | |||||||||
Note: An asterisk (*) denotes incumbent status.
Campaign media
Mark Dayton
Jeff Johnson
Hannah Nicollet
Ad spending
The Wesleyan Media Project published a report on September 30, 2014, highlighting spending on gubernatorial races from September 12-25. This report found that Democratic and Republican groups spent a total of $46.84 million on TV ads in 15 states with gubernatorial elections. The following chart details the group's findings, including spending amounts and number of ads:[4]
Note: Abolded number indicates the highest total for this category. A number initalics is the lowest total for this category.
| Spending on TV ads, September 12-25, 2014 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Total # of ads | % Democratic-leaning ads | % GOP-leaning ads | Total spending-Democratic leaning (in millions of $) | Total spending-GOP leaning (in millions of $) |
| Colorado | 2,460 | 83.1 | 16.9 | 1.35 | 0.39 |
| Connecticut | 2,312 | 61.7 | 38.3 | 1.48 | 0.89 |
| Florida | 20,111 | 38.5 | 61.5 | 4.07 | 6.64 |
| Georgia | 4,625 | 51.1 | 48.9 | 1.43 | 0.99 |
| Illinois | 7,793 | 63.5 | 36.5 | 4.17 | 3.5 |
| Iowa | 2,134 | 47.5 | 52.5 | 0.25 | 0.38 |
| Kansas | 5,024 | 45.7 | 54.3 | 0.85 | 1.17 |
| Maine | 3,281 | 42.3 | 57.7 | 0.46 | 0.32 |
| Michigan | 6,767 | 33.9 | 66.1 | 1.14 | 2.3 |
| Minnesota | 1,974 | 83.9 | 16.1 | 0.65 | 0.29 |
| New York | 4,926 | 61 | 39 | 2.18 | 0.88 |
| Pennsylvania | 3,263 | 50.9 | 49.1 | 1.58 | 1.23 |
| South Carolina | 2,883 | 39.1 | 60.9 | 0.33 | 0.38 |
| Texas | 10,330 | 33.4 | 66.6 | 2.24 | 2.93 |
| Wisconsin | 7,374 | 63.3 | 36.7 | 1.36 | 1.01 |
| TOTALS | 85,257 | 48.2 | 51.8 | 23.54 | 23.3 |
Past elections
2010
On November 2, 2010, Mark Dayton/Yvonne Prettner Solon won election to the office of Governor/Lt. Governor of Minnesota. They defeatedTom Emmer/Annette Meeks (R),Tom Horner/James A. Mulder (I),Chris Wright/Edwin H. Engelmann (Grassroots),Farheen Hakeem/Dan Dittmann (Green),Ken Pentel/Erin Wallace (Ecology Democracy) andLinda S. Eno/Howard B. Hanson (Resource) in the general election.
| Governor/Lt. Governor of Minnesota, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Mark Dayton/Yvonne Prettner Solon | 43.6% | 919,232 | |
| Republican | Tom Emmer/Annette Meeks | 43.2% | 910,462 | |
| Independence | Tom Horner/James A. Mulder | 11.9% | 251,487 | |
| Grassroots Party | Chris Wright/Edwin H. Engelmann | 0.4% | 7,516 | |
| Green | Farheen Hakeem/Dan Dittmann | 0.3% | 6,188 | |
| Ecology Democracy Party | Ken Pentel/Erin Wallace | 0.3% | 6,180 | |
| The Resource Party | Linda S. Eno/Howard B. Hanson | 0.2% | 4,092 | |
| Write-In | Various | 0.1% | 1,864 | |
| Total Votes | 2,107,021 | |||
| Election results viaMinnesota Secretary of State. | ||||
2006
| Governor of Minnesota, 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Tim Pawlenty and Carol MolnauIncumbent | 46.7% | 1,028,568 | |
| Democratic | Mike Hatch and Judi Dutcher | 45.8% | 1,007,460 | |
| Independence Party | Peter Hutchinson and Maureen Reed | 6.4% | 141,735 | |
| Green Party | Ken Pentel and Danene Provencher | 0.5% | 10,800 | |
| Quit Raising Taxes | Walt E. Brown and Wesley C. Nelson | 0.4% | 9,649 | |
| American Party | Leslie Davis and Gregory K. Soderberg | 0.2% | 3,776 | |
| Total Votes | 2,201,988 | |||
2002
| Governor of Minnesota, 2002 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Tim Pawlenty and Carol Molnau | 44.4% | 999,473 | |
| Democratic | Roger Moe and Julie Sabo | 36.5% | 821,268 | |
| Independence | Tim Penny and Martha Robertson | 16.2% | 364,534 | |
| Green | Ken Pentel and Rhoda Gilman | 2.2% | 50,589 | |
| Independent | Booker T. Hodges IV and Kamal Buchanan | 0.4% | 9,689 | |
| Socialist Workers | Kari Sachs and Samuel Farley | 0.1% | 3,026 | |
| Constitution | Lawrence Aeshliman and Tamara Ann Houle | 0.1% | 2,537 | |
| Write-in | Write-in candidates | 0.1% | 1,340 | |
| Total Votes | 2,252,456 | |||
Voter turnout
Political scientist Michael McDonald's United States Elections Project studied voter turnout in the 2014 election by looking at the percentage of eligible voters who headed to the polls. McDonald used voting-eligible population (VEP), or the number of eligible voters independent of their current registration status, to calculate turnout rates in each state on November 4. He also incorporated ballots cast for the highest office in each state into his calculation. He estimated that 81,687,059 ballots were cast in the 50 states plus theDistrict of Columbia, representing 35.9 percent of the VEP.[5] By comparison, 61.6 percent of VEP voted in the 2008 presidential election and 58.2 percent of VEP voted in the 2012 presidential election.[6]
Quick facts
- According toPBS Newshour, voter turnout in the 2014 midterms was the lowest since the 1942 midterms, which took place during the nation's involvement in World War II.[7]
- Forty-three states and the District of Columbia did not surpass 50 percent turnout in McDonald's analysis.
- The three states with the lowest turnout according to McDonald's analysis wereTexas (28.3 percent),Tennessee (28.6 percent), andIndiana (28.8 percent).
- Maine (58.5 percent),Wisconsin (56.5 percent), andColorado (54.5 percent) were the three states with the highest turnout.
- Twelve states increased voter turnout in 2014 compared to the 2010 midterm elections.[8]
| Voter turnout rates, 2014 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Total votes counted | % voter eligible population | Top statewide office up for election | Size of lead (Raw votes) | Size of lead (%) |
| Alabama | 1,191,274 | 33.2 | Governor | 320,319 | 27.2 |
| Alaska | 285,431 | 54.4 | Governor | 4,004 | 1.6 |
| Arizona | 1,537,671 | 34.1 | Governor | 143,951 | 12.5 |
| Arkansas | 852,642 | 40.1 | Governor | 118,664 | 14.0 |
| California | 7,513,972 | 30.8 | Governor | 1,065,748 | 17.8 |
| Colorado | 2,080,071 | 54.5 | Governor | 50,395 | 2.4 |
| Connecticut | 1,096,509 | 42.5 | Governor | 26,603 | 2.5 |
| Delaware | 234,038 | 34.4 | Attorney General | 31,155 | 13.6 |
| District of Columbia | 177,176 | 35.8 | Mayor | 27,934 | 19.0 |
| Florida | 6,026,802 | 43.3 | Governor | 66,127 | 1.1 |
| Georgia | 2,596,947 | 38.5 | Governor | 202,685 | 8.0 |
| Hawaii | 369,554 | 36.5 | Governor | 45,323 | 12.4 |
| Idaho | 445,307 | 39.6 | Governor | 65,852 | 14.9 |
| Illinois | 3,680,417 | 40.9 | Governor | 171,900 | 4.9 |
| Indiana | 1,387,622 | 28.8 | Secretary of State | 234,978 | 17.8 |
| Iowa | 1,142,284 | 50.2 | Governor | 245,548 | 21.8 |
| Kansas | 887,023 | 43.4 | Governor | 33,052 | 3.9 |
| Kentucky | 1,435,868 | 44.0 | U.S. Senate | 222,096 | 15.5 |
| Louisiana | 1,472,039 | 43.8 | U.S. Senate | 16,401 | 1.1 |
| Maine | 616,996 | 58.5 | Governor | 29,820 | 4.9 |
| Maryland | 1,733,177 | 41.5 | Governor | 88,648 | 6.1 |
| Massachusetts | 2,186,789 | 44.6 | Governor | 40,361 | 1.9 |
| Michigan | 3,188,956 | 43.2 | Governor | 129,547 | 4.3 |
| Minnesota | 1,992,613 | 50.5 | Governor | 109,776 | 5.6 |
| Mississippi | 631,858 | 28.9 | U.S. Senate | 141,234 | 33.0 |
| Missouri | 1,426,303 | 31.8 | Auditor | 684,074 | 53.6 |
| Montana | 373,831 | 47.3 | U.S. Senate | 65,262 | 17.9 |
| Nebraska | 552,115 | 41.5 | Governor | 97,678 | 18.7 |
| Nevada | 547,349 | 29.0 | Governor | 255,793 | 46.7 |
| New Hampshire | 495,565 | 48.4 | Governor | 24,924 | 5.2 |
| New Jersey | 1,955,042 | 32.5 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| New Mexico | 512,805 | 35.7 | Governor | 73,868 | 14.6 |
| New York | 3,930,310 | 29.0 | Governor | 476,252 | 13.4 |
| North Carolina | 2,939,767 | 41.2 | U.S. Senate | 48,511 | 1.7 |
| North Dakota | 255,128 | 45.0 | U.S. House At-large seat | 42,214 | 17.1 |
| Ohio | 3,149,876 | 36.2 | Governor | 933,235 | 30.9 |
| Oklahoma | 824,831 | 29.8 | Governor | 122,060 | 14.7 |
| Oregon | 1,541,782 | 53.5 | Governor | 59,029 | 4.5 |
| Pennsylvania | 3,495,866 | 36.0 | Governor | 339,261 | 9.8 |
| Rhode Island | 329,212 | 42.2 | Governor | 14,346 | 4.5 |
| South Carolina | 1,261,611 | 35.2 | Governor | 179,089 | 14.6 |
| South Dakota | 282,291 | 44.9 | Governor | 124,865 | 45.1 |
| Tennessee | 1,374,065 | 28.6 | Governor | 642,214 | 47.5 |
| Texas | 4,727,208 | 28.3 | Governor | 957,973 | 20.4 |
| Utah | 577,973 | 30.2 | Attorney General | 173,819 | 35.2 |
| Vermont | 193,087 | 38.8 | Governor | 2,095 | 1.1 |
| Virginia | 2,194,346 | 36.6 | U.S. Senate | 16,727 | 0.8 |
| Washington | 2,123,901 | 43.1 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| West Virginia | 451,498 | 31.2 | U.S. Senate | 124,667 | 27.6 |
| Wisconsin | 2,410,314 | 56.5 | Governor | 137,607 | 5.7 |
| Wyoming | 168,390 | 39.3 | Governor | 52,703 | 33.6 |
Note: Information from the United States Elections Project was last updated on December 16, 2014.
Campaign finance
Comprehensive donor information for this election has been collected by Follow the Money. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of$6,473,517 during the election. This information was last updated on May 22, 2015.[9]
| Campaign Contribution Totals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Office | Result | Contributions | |
| Mark Dayton/Tina Smith | Minnesota Governor/Lt. Governor |  | $2,940,013 | |
| Jeff Johnson/Bill Kuisle | Minnesota Governor/Lt. Governor |  | $1,596,588 | |
| Scott Honour/Karin Housley | Minnesota Governor/Lt. Governor | | $1,022,046 | |
| Kurt Zellers/Dean Simpson | Minnesota Governor/Lt. Governor | | $599,879 | |
| Marty Seifert/Pam Myhra | Minnesota Governor/Lt. Governor | | $278,881 | |
| Chris Holbrook/Chris Dock | Minnesota Governor/Lt. Governor | | $19,763 | |
| Merrill Anderson/Mark Anderson | Minnesota Governor/Lt. Governor | | $10,000 | |
Hannah Nicollet/Tim Gieseke | Minnesota Governor/Lt. Governor | | $4,194 | |
| Chris Wright/David Daniels | Minnesota Governor/Lt. Governor | | $1,853 | |
| Leslie Davis/Gregory K. Soderberg | Minnesota Governor/Lt. Governor | | $300 | |
| Bill Dahn/James Vigliotti | Minnesota Governor/Lt. Governor | | $0 | |
| Grand Total Raised | $6,473,517 | |||
Key deadlines
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| May 20, 2014 | First day of candidate filing period |
| June 3, 2014 | Last day of candidate filing period |
| August 12, 2014 | Primary election |
| November 4, 2014 | General election |
| November 25, 2014 | State Canvassing Board meeting to certify election results |
| January 5, 2015 | Inauguration day for state executive officials in general election[10] |
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Minnesota + Governor + election"
See also
- Governor of Minnesota
- Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota
- Minnesota state executive official elections, 2014
- State executive official elections, 2014
External links
Footnotes
- ↑The Associated Press, "Amid turbulent session, Gov. Mark Dayton looks to re-election," March 31, 2013
- ↑Minnesota Legislature, "Minn. Stat. § 204D.08," accessed November 17, 2025
- ↑Public Policy Polling, "Franken and Dayton ahead of opponents heading into 2014 re-elections," October 31, 2013
- ↑Wesleyan Media Project, "GOP Groups Keeping Senate Contests Close," September 30, 2014
- ↑United States Elections Project, "2014 November General Election Turnout Rates," November 7, 2014
- ↑TIME, "Voter Turnout in Midterm Elections Hits 72-Year Low," November 10, 2014
- ↑PBS, "2014 midterm election turnout lowest in 70 years," November 10, 2014
- ↑U.S. News & World Report, "Midterm Turnout Down in 2014," November 5, 2014
- ↑Follow the Money, "Overview of Minnesota 2014 elections," accessed May 25, 2015
- ↑Minnesota Secretary of State, "Election Calendar," accessed August 26, 2014
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