10 September 2008

Minnesota Primary Finalizes Ballot for November Races

Voters select party nominees for U.S. Senate, House of Representatives

Confetti falls around Al Franken after he accepted the Democratic endorsement for Senate June 7. (©AP Images)

By Kathryn McConnell
Staff Writer

Washington — Even though the presidential nominating contests were finished long ago, voters across the United States still are determining which candidates will face off for seats in the U.S. Senate, House of Representative, governor races, state legislatures and local offices.

In Minnesota, a September 9 primary determined that Al Franken, who soundly defeated his leading Democratic opponent, will be the Democratic candidate who faces incumbent Senator Norm Coleman, a Republican.

Franken, a comedian and writer, beat attorney Priscilla Lord Faris with 65 percent of the vote to her 30 percent. The remaining votes were split among five other Democratic challengers. Faris had said when she entered the race that she was disappointed that Franken, whose past comedy she called degrading, won her party's endorsement.

Coleman easily beat Republican challenger Jack Shepard, with 91 percent of the vote to Shepard’s 9 percent.

In Minnesota's 1st Congressional District, physician and political race newcomer Brian Davis beat challenger Dick Day, a longtime state senator, 67 percent to 33 percent in the Republican primary. In the November 4 election, Davis will face Democratic incumbent Tim Walz, a teacher and retired National Guardsman, who won the seat in 2006.

The district generally is considered conservative but in conversations with America.gov in August, several voters said the district is becoming more moderate. (See “Republican Area in Minnesota Could Go Democratic in November.”)

Republican Brian Davis stops in his campaign office between meetings with Minnesota's 1st District voters.

SENATE RACE A THREE-WAY CONTEST

With Dean Barkley winning the Independence Party primary, the Senate race will be a three-way contest that is predicted to be one of the costliest and hardest fought in the country.

Barkley briefly served in the Senate as an appointee of former Governor Jesse Ventura after Democrat Paul Wellstone was killed in an airplane accident while campaigning for re-election in 2002. Coleman easily won the 2002 race after Democrats drafted former Vice President Walter Mondale as a last-minute replacement candidate.

A University of Minnesota opinion poll projects Barkley could receive 8 percent of the vote, votes that likely would hurt Franken more than Coleman. The same poll puts Franken at 41 percent and Coleman at 40 percent among likely voters, according to the Star Tribune, the state's largest newspaper.

Of Minnesota's eight congressional districts, five currently are held by Democrats and three by Republicans. One Republican and one Democrat comprise Minnesota's Senate delegation.

In Minnesota's February caucuses, the state's Democrats favored Barak Obama for president while Republicans went for Mitt Romney, now campaigning for candidate John McCain.

High voter turnout is expected in November in Minnesota, which many consider a swing state, also known as a battleground state. (See “Electoral College System Affects U.S. Campaign Strategies.”) 

This article is part of America.gov’s continuing coverage of seven of the 435 U.S. congressional districts during the 2008 campaign. Each offers a different prism from which to view U.S. politics. For more information, see U.S Elections - State and Local.