In these elections, Minnesotans elected their oldest U.S. House delegation across the 80 cycles since statehood, at an average age of 58.8 years: Rick Nolan (age 70), Collin Peterson (70), John Kline (67), Betty McCollum (60), Keith Ellison (51), Tom Emmer (53), Tim Walz (50) and Erik Paulsen (49).[1]
Incumbent Democrat Tim Walz, who had represented the district since 2007, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 58% of the vote in 2012, and the district had a PVI of R+1.
Republican State Representative Mike Benson,[5]Jim Hagedorn of Blue Earth and U.S. Army veteran Aaron Miller of Byron all sought the nomination to challenge Walz. Hagedorn and Miller had pledged to abide by the Republican endorsement while Benson did not.[6] On April 5, 2014, Aaron Miller won the GOP endorsement.[7] Benson and Hagedorn then withdrew, though Hagedorn re-entered the race on May 18, expressing concerns that Miller was not dedicating enough time to the race.[8]
Incumbent Republican John Kline, who had represented the district since 2003, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 54% of the vote in 2012, and the district had a PVI of R+2.
Mike Obermueller, who lost to Kline in 2012, had decided to run again.[18] He won the DFL endorsement on April 26, 2014.[21]
Sona Mehring, the founder of CaringBridge, declared her candidacy, but dropped out of the race three weeks later.[22] Thomas Craft, who volunteered for Obermueller in the 2012 race, declared his candidacy in July 2013 and positioned himself as a fiscally conservative, socially liberal alternative to Kline and Obermueller.[23] Craft ceased his campaign after Obermueller won the DFL endorsement.[21] Eagan quality assurance analyst Paula Overby initially sought the DFL endorsement but withdrew after Obermueller won it and instead became the Independence Party nominee.[21][24]
The 2014 election in the 2nd district was expected to be one of the tightest congressional races in the country. Kline's district was one of 17 Republican congressional districts to vote for PresidentBarack Obama in 2012, and polling data suggested a Democratic challenger could unseat Kline.[27]
Incumbent Republican Erik Paulsen, who had represented the district since, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 58% of the vote in 2012, and the district had a PVI of R+2.
Paulsen considered running for governor or the United States Senate in 2014 before announcing he would seek re-election to the U.S. House instead.[30]
Incumbent Democrat Betty McCollum, who had represented the district since 2001, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 62% of the vote in 2012, and 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 75% of the vote in 2012, and the district had a PVI of D+22.
Incumbent Republican Michele Bachmann, who had represented the district since 2007, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 51% of the vote in 2012, and the district had a PVI of R+10.
Bachmann had won re-election to a fourth term in 2012, defeating DFL nominee Jim Graves by approximately 1.2 points, despite Mitt Romney receiving 56% of the vote in this district in the 2012 presidential election. Facing a rematch with Graves, Bachmann announced on May 29, 2013, that she would not seek re-election.[34]
Republican primary
Former state representative and 2010 gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer and Anoka County Commissioner Rhonda Sivarajah sought the Republican nomination.[35][36][37]Allan Levene, a Kennesaw, Georgia, resident who sought the Republican nomination in four congressional districts in four separate states, including Minnesota, ultimately did not file an affidavit of candidacy.[38]
Jim Graves, who had previously said he would run again, said he would continue to run after Bachmann retired.[42] However, on May 31, 2013, Graves announced that he was suspending his campaign.[43]
The 7th district covers almost the entire western side of Minnesota. It is the largest district in the state and one of the largest in the country and includes the cities of Moorhead, Willmar, Alexandria, and Fergus Falls. Incumbent Democrat Collin Peterson, who had represented the district since 1991, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 60% of the vote in 2012 and the district had a PVI of R+6.
Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary
In 2013, Republicans began pressuring Peterson, in hopes of convincing him to retire. His seat was one of only a handful that was represented by a Democrat but was carried by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in the 2012 election and was seen as a top pick-up opportunity had Peterson retired. Their tactics included airing television advertisements, hiring a press staffer to give opposition research to reporters, hiring a tracker to follow him around his district and record him, and sending mobile billboards with critical statements on them to drive around his hometown. Peterson responded by saying "They don't have anybody else to go after. It's kind of ridiculous, but whatever."[49][50] After Republicans spread rumors that Peterson was planning to buy a house in Florida and retire there, he said: "I went from neutral on running again to 90 percent just because of this stupid stuff they're doing. You can't let these people be in charge of anything, in my opinion."[51] On March 17, 2014, Peterson officially announced that he was running for re-election, saying, "I still have a lot of work to do."[52]
Incumbent Democrat Rick Nolan, who had represented the district since 2013, ran for re-election. He was elected with 54% of the vote in 2012, and the district had a PVI of D+1.
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