Minnesota Making Women’s Political History: The First State to Have Just Women as Nominees of Major Political Parties in Gubernatorial and U.S. Senate Elections in Same Election Cycle

By: Miriam Edelman

Minnesota just became the first state in U.S. history whose two major political parties (meaning Democratic and Republican parties) nominated women for both Governor and a U.S. Senate seat in the same election cycle. On Minnesota’s primary election day on August 11, 2026, Democrat U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and Republican Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth were nominated for Governor and Democrat Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan and Republican Michele Tafoya were nominated for the U.S. Senate. Each of the four nominees would make history if she wins in the general election in November 2026. As the Democratic-Farmer Labor Party (DFL) is the Democratic political party in Minnesota, this piece uses both DFL and Democrat.

Both the Minnesota gubernatorial and U.S. Senate elections in 2026 are open-seat elections (meaning that incumbents are not currently running for re-election). In January 2026, two-term Governor Tim Walz (Democrat), the Democrats’ Vice Presidential nominee in 2024, dropped out of the gubernatorial race. In 2025, U.S. Senator Tina Smith announced that she was not running for reelection.

If Klobuchar and Flanagan win in November 2026, Minnesota would become another state with a female Governor and at least one female U.S. Senator at the same time. If Klobuchar wins her November 2026 election, she would also have been elected both Governor and Senator. The only three women who have accomplished this feet are New Hampshire’s current Governor (Kelly Ayotte) and New Hampshire’s current U.S. Senators (Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan).

Strong Record of Female Leadership in Minnesota

Minnesota has elected females to top offices. According to a governing.com article that was about Minnesota electing its first female Governor, females have held almost every other major office in Minnesota.

Minnesota has had only female Lieutenant Governors since Marlene Johnson (DFL) was the first female to have this position in Minnesota in 1983. Flanagan is the ninth consecutive female Lieutenant Governor of the state. This streak will end as both Klobuchar and Demuth chose a male running mate. Of the current 45 Lieutenant Governors (Arizona is not included, as it is electing its first Lieutenant Governor in 2026.), Flanagan is one of the 21 females to have this role.

Women hold some of the top positions in the state legislature: House (Speaker Demuth) and Senate [President Pro Tempore Ann Rest (DFL) and Majority Leader Erin Murphy (DFL)]. Demuth is Minnesota’s fourth female Speaker. In 1992, Dee Smith (DFL) became Minnesota’s first female Speaker. Murphy is Minnesota’s second female Senate Majority Leader. In 2010, Amy Koch (Republican) was elected to be Minnesota’s first Senate Majority Leader.

Minnesota’s Congressional delegation is majority female. Minnesota is one of just four states currently represented by two female U.S. Senators. Five of Minnesota’s eight U.S. Representatives are female. At least two of the female U.S. Representatives made history. In 2018, Angie Craig (Democrat) became the first openly LGBTQ mother elected to Congress. In 2019, she became Minnesota’s first openly LGBTQ Member of Congress. She also became Congress’ first openly LGBTQ grandmother and the first female and the first openly LGBTQ Ranking Member of the U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee. In 2018, Ilhan Omar (Democrat), who was born in Somalia, was one of the first two Muslim women and the first Somali-American elected to Congress. In January 2019, Omar became Congress’ first African refugee Member of Congress and Minnesota’s first women of color Member of Congress. Some of Minnesota’s female U.S. Representatives are their district’s first female U.S. Representative.

Voter Turnout

On August 11, 2026, the largest number of people voted in Minnesota’s primary elections in history. More than 1.1 people, representing approximately a quarter of Minnesota’s eligible voters, voted. The previous primary election voter turnout record from 2018 was broken by almost 200,000 votes. Reasons for the record turnout include key races (such as the Democratic U.S. Senate primary), close polls, Operation Metro Surge, and an increase in participation from younger people. The Democratic U.S. Senate primary showed a division “in the Democratic party between the more establishment versus the progressives.” While Craig represented the more establishment wing, Flanagan represented progressives. Operation Metro Surge was the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) major immigration initiative that tried to identify people “subject to removal under US immigration law.” Operation Metro Surge began in December 2025 in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area before expanding to other parts of the state.

David Schultz, a political analyst, expects the voting momentum to continue, saying “I have every reason to believe that the momentum that we saw right now, culminating in the primary, is not going to dissipate.” Thus, it is conceivable that the Minnesota’s voter turnout record for general elections, which more people typically vote in (Almost 3.3 million people voted in Minnesota in the November 2024 general elections), could also be broken.

Governor Race

The victor in Minnesota’s general election in November 2026 will become Minnesota’s first female Governor. According to The Washington Post, Minnesota is one of 17 states that has not elected a female Governor. Until 2026, no female had been a gubernatorial nominee of a major party in Minnesota. Twice before 2026, DFL convention delegates endorsed a woman, but she did not secure the nomination. In 2026, Klobuchar became the first woman to be endorsed by DFL convention delegates for Governor and then to be nominated. If Demuth is elected, she would also be Minnesota’s first Governor of color.

Klobuchar won the Democratic primary with a resounding majority (majority meaning 50 percent plus one) (approximately 89.7 percent of the vote). The Democratic candidate with the second largest percent (approximately 5.8 percent) was Kobey Layne.

In contrast, Demuth won the Republican primary with a plurality (plurality meaning the top vote-getter but not a majority) (approximately 43.4 percent of the vote). The Republican candidate with the second largest percent (approximately 32.5 percent) was Mike Lindell. Lindell, who during his gubernatorial campaign acknowledged that he was registered to vote in Texas (not Minnesota), founded MyPillow and promoted President Donald Trump’s 2020 election lies.

Trump endorsed Lindell in this race:

“Mike Lindell, the “Pillow Man,” and one of America’s greatest and most hard working Patriots, is running to be GOVERNOR OF MINNESOTA, replacing one of the worst and most incompetent governors in the history of the U.S.A. Early Primary Voting has begun and, if given the chance, Mike will be SPECTACULAR!!! He truly loves Minnesota, as do I, and wants to bring it back from oblivion and embarrassment. He can do it! Nobody has sacrificed more than Mike Lindell in fighting for our country, especially when it comes to Election Integrity. He truly deserves everything he gets - He will MAKE MINNESOTA GREAT AGAIN!!! MIKE LINDELL HAS MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT - HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN. Good Luck Mike!!! President DONALD J. TRUMP”

Trump’s endorsement, considered to be the “gold standard” in Republican politics, did not sway Republican primary voters.

Klobuchar was born in Plymouth, Minnesota, in 1960. After attending public school, she earned degrees from Yale University (college) and the University of Chicago (law school). She practiced law and was Hennepin County’s attorney. In 2006, she was the first female elected to the U.S. Senate from Minnesota. Since 2007, she has been a U.S. Senator, serving as Minnesota’s second female U.S. Senator. Minnesota’s first female U.S. Senator was Muriel Humphrey who was appointed to replace her late husband Hubert Humphrey. Hubert Humphrey was U.S. Senator before and after he was the Vice President of the United States, serving with President Lyndon B. Johnson between 1965 and 1969. Klobuchar unsuccessfully ran for President in the 2020 presidential election cycle before suspending her campaign on March 2, 2020.

Demuth was born in Paynesville, Minnesota in 1967.She is biracial, saying “Because of being biracial, I was never Black enough for the Black kids, and I was never white enough for the white kids.” Deluth does not have a college degree. She co-owned a business and served on the ROCORI School Board. In 2018, Demuth was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives, where she was elected Minority Leader in 2022. In 2025, Demuth became the first African-American and first Republican female to be Minnesota’s House Speaker.

U.S. Senate Race

Whoever wins the U.S. Senate race will be Minnesota’s first female U.S. Senator to replace a female U.S. Senator. If Flanagan wins, she would be the first Native American woman elected to the U.S. Senate and Minnesota’s first U.S. Senator of color. She would be the first female U.S. Senator (who was just a Lieutenant Governor) to replace another U.S. Senator (who was had been a Lieutenant Governor right before becoming U.S. Senator) in U.S. history. However, unlike Flanagan who would initially become a U.S. Senator by winning an election, Tina Smith was appointed to replace Al Franken in the U.S. Senate. If Tafoya wins, she would be Minnesota’s first female Republican U.S. Senator.

Both Flanagan and Tafoya won their primaries with majorities of the vote. While Flanagan won with approximately 59.0 percent of the vote, Tafoya won with around 52.1  percent of the vote. Trump did not make an endorsement in the Republican primary race.

Flanagan was born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, in 1979. She is part of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and daughter of an Irish Catholic careworker. She attended public schools and graduated from college at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She served on and was the youngest member of the Minneapolis Board of Education. She worked for Wellstone Action, which continued the work of the late Senator Paul Wellstone (whose seat Flanagan is running for), and at the Children’s Defense Fund – Minnesota. In 2015, Flanagan was elected to the Minnesota House, where she served until 2019. In 2017, she assisted in the formation of the People of Color and Indigenous Caucus in the Minnesota House of Representatives. In 2018, when she was Governor Tim Walz’s running mate to be Lieutenant Governor, Flanagan became the first Native American elected to executive office in Minnesota and the first Native American female elected to a statewide executive office in the United States. She is the first Native American woman Lieutenant Governor in the United States. Flanagan is the highest-ranking Native American woman elected to executive office in the United States. Flanagan said, “My hope is that we don't have to continue to say the ‘first this’ and the ‘second that.’ It's just the expectation that leaders look like us and come from the community, and that when we have Indigenous folks at the table, we are changing those systems for the better.”

Tafoya is the only non-native Minnesotan of the top four candidates for Governor and Senator, having been born in Manhattan Beach, California, in 1964. She is a sports journalist, covering the National Football League and the Olympics. She has won multiple Emmy Awards and other awards. She has the Michele Tafoya Podcast. 

Final Thoughts

Who will win these races? Klobuchar and Flanagan could, as Republicans have not won a statewide election in 20 years. The Cook Political Report’s latest Senate race rankings from August 5, 2026 (albeit before Minnesota’s recent primary election) show Minnesota’s Senate race as “Likely” Democrat. Its Governor race ranking from July 10, 2026, shows Minnesota’s Governor race as “Solid” Democrat.