Minnesota's primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 11. Minnesota has an open U.S. Senate seat after Democrat Sen. Tina Smith opted not to run for another term.
Minnesota Senate primary election results
There are six Democratic candidates and nine Republican candidates running in the primary election for U.S. Senate.
Timeline:
Results will start coming in after polls close at 8 p.m. Find live results below.
Democratic primary election results
Dig deeper:
U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan are among the six candidates vying for the Democratic nomination in the U.S. Senate election.
Who is Rep. Angie Craig?
Background:
Craig has served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives since she flipped the seat from Republican in 2018.
According to Craig’s campaign website, she worked her way through college and became a news reporter. She eventually became the head of corporate relations for a "major Minnesota manufacturer."
Her official Congress webpage touts her as one of the most" bipartisan members" of Congress.
One of Craig's issues that she would address as Senator is rebuilding the middle class by protecting Social Security benefits and lowering the cost of health care, housing, childcare, groceries and education.
She is also looking to protect voting rights, reproductive rights, environmental rights, LGBTQ+ rights and wants comprehensive immigration reform.
Who is Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan?
Background:
Flanagan grew up in St. Louis Park and still lives there with her husband and daughter. She started her political career as a member of the Minneapolis School Board in 2004.
She then became the director of the Children's Defense Fund—Minnesota. In 2015, she was elected to the state legislature, where she formed the People of Color and Indigenous Caucus.
In 2018, she became Lieutenant Governor alongside Gov. Tim Walz.
One of Flanagan's issues she would like to address is ending corruption in Washington, which includes passing laws to protect free and fair elections and ban corporate money in elections.
Flanagan also wants to fight for Medicare for All, and ban prior authorization processes for care. She also is looking to raise the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour to keep it tied to inflation and increased costs of food and housing.
Flanagan is endorsed by the Minnesota DFL.
Republican primary election results
The Associated Press (AP) has called the U.S. Senate Republican primary for Michele Tafoya.
With 51.9% of the vote, Tafoya beat out Adam Schwarze, Royce Lewis and two other candidates.
Who is Michele Tafoya?
Dig deeper:
Michele Tafoya is a former NBC Sports sideline reporter and now a conservative commentator, running as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota. She is competing for the open seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Senator Tina Smith. Tafoya finished second in the state Republican convention in May, where Adam Schwarze won the party’s endorsement.
Tafoya has raised more than $2.6 million for her campaign, and received an endorsement from Tony Dungy, a Pro Football Hall of fame coach and former broadcast colleague. Tafoya’s key platform aligns with President Trump’s policies, focusing on government accountability, tackling fraud in Minnesota, inflation, crime and border security.
