Where the November Ballot Stands
Riley Barnhardt, LSAR Government Affairs Director
The August primary is behind us, and the November ballot is nearly set across our region. Here’s what came out of it, with particular attention to the races that will shape housing, property taxes, and land use in the Northwoods over the next two years.
One note before the numbers. These are unofficial results. Minnesota county canvass boards met the week of August 14, and Wisconsin results are canvassed county by county before the Wisconsin Elections Commission certifies them. Totals can move slightly.
Minnesota Statewide Elections
Governor: Amy Klobuchar and Ben Schierer took the DFL primary with roughly 90 percent of the vote, clearing a seven-candidate field. On the Republican side, Lisa Demuth and Ryan Wilson won with 43 percent, ahead of Mike Lindell at 32 percent and Kendall Qualls at 21 percent. Klobuchar and Demuth face off in November.
U.S. Senate: This is an open seat with Sen. Tina Smith retiring. Peggy Flanagan won the DFL primary with 59 percent, over Angie Craig at 39 percent. Michele Tafoya won the Republican primary with 52 percent, over Adam Schwarze and Royce White. Flanagan faces Tafoya.
Congressional District 8: Incumbent Pete Stauber won his Republican primary with 86 percent. Trina Swanson won the DFL primary with 77 percent over multiple challengers. Stauber and Swanson advance.
Constitutional offices: Attorney General Keith Ellison advances against Ronald J. Schutz. Secretary of State Steve Simon advances against Tad Jude. Zack Filipovich faces Scott Jensen for State Auditor.
Wisconsin Statewide Elections
Governor: The Democratic primary was the closest race of the night anywhere in the region. David Crowley finished at roughly 39.8 percent to Francesca Hong’s 39.4 percent, a margin of just over 3,200 votes with 98 percent of ballots counted. The Associated Press called it early August 12th after Hong conceded1. Tom Tiffany won the Republican primary with 467,830 votes, about 95 percent. Crowley and Tiffany will meet in November.
Congressional District 7: This district covers all five of our Wisconsin counties and opened when Tiffany ran for governor. Michael Alfonso won the Republican primary with about 49 percent, ahead of Kevin Hermening and Jessi Ebben. Fred Clark won the Democratic primary with about 38 percent in a tight three-way race against Ginger Murray and Chris Armstrong. Alfonso faces Clark.
State legislative races in our footprint
Minnesota Senate: Grant Hauschild (DFL) faces Andrea Zupancich (R) in SD-03. Jen McEwen (DFL) faces Darrick Law (R) in SD-08. Jason Rarick (R) faces Mary Carlson (DFL) in SD-11.
Minnesota House: Roger Skraba (R) faces Aaron Kania (DFL) in 3A, Natalie Zeleznikar (R) faces Aaron Schweiger (DFL) in 3B, and Alicia Kozlowski (DFL) faces Shawn Savela (R) in 8B. Spencer Igo (R) faces Erin Ningen (DFL) in 7A; Cal Warwas (R) vs Dan Horoshak (DFL) in 7B; Pete Johnson (DFL) vs Allan Kehr (R) in 8A. Jeff Dotseth (R) faces Chris Swanson (DFL) in 11A.
Wisconsin Senate District 25: An open seat after Sen. Romaine Quinn opted to run in the redrawn SD-23. Erik Severson won the Republican primary over Angie Sapik of Lake Nebagamon. Charly Ray, a Bayfield County Board supervisor, was unopposed on the Democratic side. Severson faces Ray.
Wisconsin Assembly: In AD-74, Republican incumbent Chanz Green won his primary with 63 percent over Scott Harbridge and will face Paul Johnson (D) of Spooner. Angela Stroud (D) faces Frank Kostka (R) in AD-73. Duke Tucker (R) faces Keith Mogel (D) in AD-75.
County and Municipal Races
Confirmed as of 8/14/26
St. Louis County Commissioner, District 1: Kris Eilers led with just under 50 percent, and incumbent Annie Harala advanced with 39 percent. John Socha was eliminated.
St. Louis County Commissioner, District 6: Incumbent Keith Nelson did not refile after 23 years on the board. Chris Johnson and Timothy Mattson were the only filers, so no primary was needed, and both go to November.
Cook County Commissioner, District 1: Incumbent Debra White led with 53 percent, and Matt Kelm followed. Christine Childs was eliminated.
Carlton County Sheriff: An open race with Sheriff Kelly Lake retiring after 20 years. Chief Deputy Dan Danielson took 76 percent, and Chad Walsh followed at 14 percent. Jason Syrett was eliminated.
Cloquet Mayor: Open seat with Roger Maki retiring. Sheila Lamb led with 47 percent, and Dave Hallback advanced with 32 percent. Peter Erickson was eliminated. In the Ward 2 council race, one of the three filers withdrew, so no primary was held, and Erik Abrahamson and Robert Peacock both advanced.
Voter Turnout
Minnesota set a record. More than 1,103,000 ballots were cast statewide, about 25 percent of eligible voters, the first time a Minnesota primary has cleared a million votes and well past the previous high of 925,554 in 2018.
Why we’re tracking this
Elections shape the environment REALTORS® work in. The people elected this November, from the governor’s office down to county boards and city councils, will make decisions on housing supply, property taxes, and land use that affect our region for years to come.
LSAR follows these races so our members have a clear, factual picture of who’s on the ballot and what’s at stake, without having to piece it together themselves. That’s especially true this cycle, with open seats at the state and county level and several closely contested statewide races still to be decided in November.
We’ll continue to provide that visibility as the general election approaches.
- https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-primary-governor-hong-socialist-acd872f6cf113e741291b9b47f9d9111# ↩︎