Minnesota elections, 2010
Encyclopedia
Elections were held in Minnesota
on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Primary election
s took place on August 10, 2010.
are up for election in 2010. All eight incumbents will be seeking re-election.
. Tim Pawlenty
, a Republican, is retiring from office after two terms. Candidates seeking to replace Pawlenty include State Rep. Tom Emmer
, R
-Delano
; ; Former Sen. Mark Dayton
, DFL
-Minnesota
; and activists Tom Horner
for the Independence Party
.
Mark Ritchie
is seeking re-election after an eventful first term in office, in which he oversaw the very tight election and subsequent recount in the 2008 U.S. Senate race
between Al Franken
and Norm Coleman
.
Ritchie is being challenged by State Rep. Dan Severson
, R
-Sauk Rapids
, who has been challenged for attempting to be listed on the ballot as Dan "Doc" Severson, in an apparent attempt to tie himself to former Tonight Show bandleader Doc Severinsen
. Also running is Independence Party candidate Jual Carlson.
is seeking re-election after her first term in office. She is being challenged by Republican attorney and psychologist R. Christopher Barden
and Independence Party candidate Bill Dahn.
Rebecca Otto
is seeking re-election after her first term in office. She is being challenged by former Republican State Auditor
Patricia Anderson
, who lost her position to Otto in 2006.
are up for election in 2010. The DFL currently holds 46 seats in the body, compared with 21 for the Republicans. Republicans have not held control of the body since the end of the nonpartisan legislative era in 1973.
are up for election in 2010. The DFL currently holds 87 seats in the body, compared to 47 for the GOP. Republicans most recently held the House from 1999 through 2007.
Finance
Media'
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
s took place on August 10, 2010.
United States House
All eight seats in the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
are up for election in 2010. All eight incumbents will be seeking re-election.
United States Senate
Minnesota's two senators are not up for election in 2010.State
Statewide offices in Minnesota, including Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and Auditor are up for election in 2010.Governor
Incumbent GovGovernor of Minnesota
The Governor of Minnesota is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty different people have been governors of the state, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. Alexander Ramsey, the first territorial...
. Tim Pawlenty
Tim Pawlenty
Timothy James "Tim" Pawlenty , also known affectionately among supporters as T-Paw, is an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Minnesota . He was a Republican candidate for President of the United States in the 2012 election from May to August 2011...
, a Republican, is retiring from office after two terms. Candidates seeking to replace Pawlenty include State Rep. Tom Emmer
Tom Emmer
Thomas Earl "Tom" Emmer, Jr. was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2005 until 2011 and the Republican nominee for governor in the 2010 election. He represented District 19B, which includes portions of Wright and Hennepin Counties and the cities of Otsego, Albertville, St....
, R
Republican Party of Minnesota
The Republican Party of Minnesota is the Minnesota branch of the United States Republican Party. Elected by the party’s state central committee in June 2009, its chairman is Tony Sutton, and its deputy-chairman is Michael Brodkorb.-Early history:...
-Delano
Delano, Minnesota
Delano is a city in Wright County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,464 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
; ; Former Sen. Mark Dayton
Mark Dayton
Mark Brandt Dayton is an American politician, the 40th and current Governor of the state of Minnesota. Dayton previously served as United States Senator from Minnesota from 2001 to 2007 in the 107th, 108th, and 109th Congresses...
, DFL
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party is a major political party in the state of Minnesota and the state affiliate of the Democratic Party. It was created on April 15, 1944, with the merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party...
-Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
; and activists Tom Horner
Tom Horner
Tom Horner is a Minnesota politician and a member of the Independence Party of Minnesota. He was a candidate in the 2010 election for Governor of Minnesota....
for the Independence Party
Independence Party of Minnesota
The Independence Party of Minnesota , formerly the Reform Party of Minnesota, is the third largest political party in Minnesota, behind the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and Republican Party . It is the political party of former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura , and endorsed former U.S...
.
Secretary of State
Incumbent DFL Secretary of StateMinnesota Secretary of State
The Minnesota Secretary of State is the state secretary of state of the state of Minnesota.The Secretary of State is the keeper of the Great Seal of the State of Minnesota and files and certifies the authenticity of a wide variety of official documents...
Mark Ritchie
Mark Ritchie
Donald Mark Ritchie was elected the 21st Minnesota Secretary of State on November 7, 2006. He was re-elected in 2010. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. He grew up in Iowa, and graduated from Iowa State University in 1971...
is seeking re-election after an eventful first term in office, in which he oversaw the very tight election and subsequent recount in the 2008 U.S. Senate race
United States Senate election in Minnesota, 2008
The 2008 United States Senate election in Minnesota took place on November 4, 2008. After a legal battle lasting over eight months, Al Franken from the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party defeated Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in one of the closest elections in the history of the Senate...
between Al Franken
Al Franken
Alan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....
and Norm Coleman
Norm Coleman
Norman Bertram Coleman, Jr. is an American attorney and politician. He was a United States senator from Minnesota from 2003 to 2009. Coleman was elected in 2002 and served in the 108th, 109th, and 110th Congresses. Before becoming a senator, he was mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota, from 1994 to 2002...
.
Ritchie is being challenged by State Rep. Dan Severson
Dan Severson
Daniel Mark "Dan" Severson is an American politician. He is a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives who represented District 14A, which includes portions of Benton and Stearns counties in the north central part of the state. He was also a candidate for Minnesota Secretary of...
, R
Republican Party of Minnesota
The Republican Party of Minnesota is the Minnesota branch of the United States Republican Party. Elected by the party’s state central committee in June 2009, its chairman is Tony Sutton, and its deputy-chairman is Michael Brodkorb.-Early history:...
-Sauk Rapids
Sauk Rapids, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 10,213 people, 3,921 households, and 2,599 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,234.1 people per square mile . There were 4,017 housing units at an average density of 878.7 per square mile...
, who has been challenged for attempting to be listed on the ballot as Dan "Doc" Severson, in an apparent attempt to tie himself to former Tonight Show bandleader Doc Severinsen
Doc Severinsen
Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen is an American pop and jazz trumpeter. He is best known for leading the NBC Orchestra on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.-Early life:...
. Also running is Independence Party candidate Jual Carlson.
Attorney General
Incumbent DFL Attorney General Lori SwansonLori Swanson
Lori Swanson is the Attorney General of the US state of Minnesota. She was elected on November 7, 2006, and took office on January 2, 2007, succeeding Mike Hatch, who declined to run for re-election in order to run for governor...
is seeking re-election after her first term in office. She is being challenged by Republican attorney and psychologist R. Christopher Barden
Christopher Barden
R. Christopher Barden Ph.D., J.D., L.P. is a psychologist and attorney who lives in Edina, Minnesota. He served as the director of the National Association for Consumer Protection In Mental Health Practices from 1995-2005...
and Independence Party candidate Bill Dahn.
State Auditor
Incumbent DFL State AuditorMinnesota State Auditor
The Minnesota State Auditor is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. State of Minnesota. The State Auditor is charged with overseeing more than $20 billion spent annually by local governments in Minnesota...
Rebecca Otto
Rebecca Otto
Rebecca Otto is the State Auditor of the U.S. state of Minnesota. She is affiliated with the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party . She also served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2003 – 2005 and on the Forest Lake School Board. Before entering politics, she was a science...
is seeking re-election after her first term in office. She is being challenged by former Republican State Auditor
Minnesota State Auditor
The Minnesota State Auditor is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. State of Minnesota. The State Auditor is charged with overseeing more than $20 billion spent annually by local governments in Minnesota...
Patricia Anderson
Patricia Anderson
Patricia "Pat" Anderson is a Minnesota politician and current national committeewoman for Minnesota to the Republican National Committee. She served as the 17th State Auditor of Minnesota, from 2003 to 2007. Prior to this, she was mayor of Eagan, Minnesota for four years after serving as a city...
, who lost her position to Otto in 2006.
State Senate
All 67 seats in the Minnesota SenateMinnesota Senate
The Minnesota Senate is the upper house in the Minnesota Legislature. There are 67 members, half as many as are in the Minnesota House of Representatives. In terms of membership, it is the largest upper house of any state legislature. Each Senate district in the state includes an A and B House...
are up for election in 2010. The DFL currently holds 46 seats in the body, compared with 21 for the Republicans. Republicans have not held control of the body since the end of the nonpartisan legislative era in 1973.
State House of Representatives
All 134 seats in the Minnesota House of RepresentativesMinnesota House of Representatives
The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house in the Minnesota State Legislature. There are 134 members elected to two-year terms, twice the number of members in the Minnesota Senate. Each senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B...
are up for election in 2010. The DFL currently holds 87 seats in the body, compared to 47 for the GOP. Republicans most recently held the House from 1999 through 2007.
External links
- Elections & Voting at the Minnesota Secretary of State office
- Candidates for Minnesota State Offices at Project Vote SmartProject Vote SmartProject Vote Smart is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States...
- Minnesota at BallotpediaSam Adams AllianceSam Adams Alliance is a non-profit organization based in Richmond, Virginia. Founded in Chicago in 2006, the group describes itself as a "fiercely independent organization dedicated to inspiring and encouraging grass-roots citizen activism."...
- Minnesota Election Guide at Congress.orgCongress.orgCongress.org is a website run by the CQ-Roll Call Group which provides information on Congress and news about federal advocacy and activism. One tool on the site helps users find their elected officials and send e-mail to them.-Overview:...
- Minnesota at OurCampaigns.com
- Minnesota Polls at Pollster.com
Finance
- 2010 House and Senate Campaign Finance for Minnesota at the Federal Election CommissionFederal Election CommissionThe Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
- Minnesota Congressional Races in 2010 campaign finance data from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
- Minnesota 2010 campaign finance data from Follow the Money
Media'
- Campaign 2010 at Minnesota Public RadioMinnesota Public RadioMinnesota Public Radio , is the flagship National Public Radio member network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, Classical Music and The Current, MPR operates a 42-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest serving over 8 million people...
News