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Businesswoman Angie Craig (D) defeated U.S. Rep. Jason Lewis (R) in the general election on November 6, 2018, to represent Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District.
The race was a rematch of the 2016 election, where Lewis defeated Craig by two percentage points. At that time, the seat was open after the retirement of incumbent John Kline (R). The district backed Barack Obama (D) in 2012 by one-tenth of a percentage point and Donald Trump (R) in 2016 by 1 percentage point. Prior to the election, election forecasters said the race slightly favored Democrats.
All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives were up for election in 2018. The Democratic Party gained a net total of 40 seats, winning control of the chamber. This race was identified as a 2018 battleground that might have affected partisan control of the U.S. House in the 116th Congress. Heading into the election, the Republican Party was in the majority holding 235 seats to Democrats' 193 seats, with seven vacant seats. Democrats needed to win 23 GOP-held seats in 2018 to win control of the House. From 1918 to 2016, the president’s party lost an average of 29 seats in midterm elections.
Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District covers the south Twin Cities metro area and includes Dakota, Goodhue, Scott, and Wabasha counties and portions of Rice and Washington counties.
Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District election, 2018
| Poll | Poll sponsor | Jason Lewis (R) | Angie Craig (D) | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global Strategy Group October 9-14, 2018 | Giffords PAC | 43% | 52% | 5% | +/-4.9 | 400 |
| Siena College September 30-October 2, 2018 | New York Times | 39% | 51% | 9% | +/-5.0 | 487 |
| WPAi September 29-October 1, 2018 | National Republican Congressional Committee/Lewis campaign | 46% | 43% | 11% | +/-4.9 | 412 |
| SurveyUSA September 17-23, 2018 | KSTP-TV | 45% | 48% | 7% | +/-4.5 | 569 |
| Public Policy Polling September 17-18, 2018 | N/A | 45% | 48% | 7% | +/-4.0 | 531 |
| WPA Intelligence August 18-21, 2018 | Lewis campaign | 46% | 45% | 9% | +/-4.9 | 400 |
| AVERAGES | 44% | 47.83% | 8% | +/-4.7 | 466.5 |
The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angie Craig | Democratic Party | $5,625,311 | $5,550,422 | $87,391 | As of December 31, 2018 |
| Jason Lewis | Republican Party | $2,925,836 | $2,928,310 | $7,363 | As of December 31, 2018 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018.
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Minnesota from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Minnesota Secretary of State.
This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Minnesota every year from 2000 to 2016.
Election results (President of the United States), Minnesota 2000-2016
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 |  Hillary Clinton |
46.4% |  Donald Trump |
44.9% | 1.5% |
| 2012 | Barack Obama |
52.7% | Mitt Romney |
45.0% | 7.7% |
| 2008 | Barack Obama |
54.1% | John McCain |
43.8% | 10.3% |
| 2004 | John Kerry |
51.1% | George W. Bush |
47.6% | 3.5% |
| 2000 | Al Gore |
47.9% | George W. Bush |
45.5% | 2.4% |
This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Minnesota from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.
Election results (U.S. Senator), Minnesota 2000-2016
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Al Franken |
53.2% | Mike McFadden |
42.9% | 10.3% |
| 2012 | Amy Klobuchar |
65.2% | Kurt Bills |
30.5% | 34.7% |
| 2008 | Al Franken |
41.99% | Norm Coleman |
41.98% | 0.01% |
| 2006 | Amy Klobuchar |
58.1% | Mark Kennedy |
37.9% | 20.2% |
| 2002 | Norm Coleman |
49.5% | Walter Mondale |
47.3% | 2.2% |
| 2000 | Mark Dayton |
48.8% | Rod Grams |
43.3% | 5.5% |
This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Minnesota.
Election results (Governor), Minnesota 2000-2016
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Mark Dayton |
50.1% | Jeff Johnson |
44.5% | 5.6% |
| 2010 | Mark Dayton |
43.6% | Tom Emmer |
43.2% | 0.4% |
| 2006 | Tim Pawlenty |
46.7% | Mike Hatch |
45.7% | 1.0% |
| 2002 | Tim Pawlenty |
44.4% | Roger Moe |
36.5% | 7.9% |
This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Minnesota in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.
Congressional delegation, Minnesota 2000-2016
| Year | Republicans | Republicans (%) | Democrats | Democrats (%) | Balance of power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 |
37.5% | 5 |
62.5% | D+2 |
| 2014 | 3 |
37.5% | 5 |
62.5% | D+2 |
| 2012 | 3 |
37.5% | 5 |
62.5% | D+2 |
| 2010 | 4 |
50.0% | 4 |
50.0% | Even |
| 2008 | 3 |
37.5% | 5 |
62.5% | D+2 |
| 2006 | 3 |
37.5% | 5 |
62.5% | D+2 |
| 2004 | 4 |
50.0% | 4 |
50.0% | Even |
| 2002 | 4 |
50.0% | 4 |
50.0% | Even |
| 2000 | 3 |
37.5% | 5 |
62.5% | D+2 |
A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.
Minnesota Party Control: 1992-2019
Two years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | I | I | I | I | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | R |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | R | D |
Demographic data for Minnesota
| Minnesota | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|
| Total population: | 5,482,435 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 79,627 | 3,531,905 |
| Gender | ||
| Female: | 50.3% | 50.8% |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 84.8% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 5.5% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 4.4% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 1% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.7% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 5% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 92.4% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 33.7% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $61,492 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 12.2% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Minnesota. | ||
As of July 2016, Minnesota's three largest cities were Minneapolis (pop. est. 422,000), St. Paul (pop. est. 307,000), and Rochester (pop. est. 116,000).
