2014 Minnesota Secretary of State election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2014 Minnesota Secretary of State election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the Minnesota Secretary of State.
 | |||||||||||||||||
November 4, 2014
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
   Simon: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Severson: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 20–30% 30–40% 40–50% 50% No votes | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Incumbent Democratic–Farmer–Labor Secretary of State Mark Ritchie did not run for re-election to a third term in office.[1] Primary elections were held on August 12, 2014. The Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) nominated State Representative Steve Simon, the Republican Party nominated State Representative Dan Severson and the Independence Party nominated business process analyst Bob Helland.
Simon narrowly defeated Severson in the general election.
Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary
The Democratic–Farmer–Labor endorsement was made on May 31, 2014. State Representative Steve Simon was endorsed by acclamation over fellow State Representative Debra Hilstrom, who conceded before the results of the first ballot were announced and withdrew from the race.[2]
Candidates
Declared
- Dick Franson, perennial candidate[3]
- Gregg Iverson[4]
- Steve Simon, state representative (party endorsed)[5]
Withdrew
- Rachel Bohman, former Hennepin County elections manager[6]
- Debra Hilstrom, state representative[7]
- Jeremy Kalin, former state representative[8]
Declined
- Roger Reinert, state senator[9]
- Mark Ritchie, incumbent secretary of state[1]
- Ryan Winkler, state representative[10]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Steve Simon | 65,634 | 42.67 | |
| Democratic (DFL) | Dick Franson | 44,700 | 29.06 | |
| Democratic (DFL) | Gregg Iverson | 43,478 | 28.27 | |
| Total votes | 153,812 | 100 | ||
Republican primary
The Republican endorsement was made on May 30, 2014. Former state representative Dan Severson, the Republican nominee for secretary of state in 2010, was endorsed after one ballot when former state senator John Howe withdrew his name from consideration.[12]
Candidates
Declared
- Dan Severson, former state representative, nominee for secretary of state in 2010 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012[13]
Withdrew
Declined
- Ted Daley, former state senator[15]
- Pat Garofalo, state representative[1]
- Kent Kaiser, professor at Northwestern College[1]
- Mary Kiffmeyer, state senator and former secretary of State[17]
- Joyce Peppin, state representative[1]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Severson | 152,754 | 100 | |
| Total votes | 152,754 | 100 | ||
Independence primary
The Independence Party endorsement was made on May 17, 2014. Bob Helland won the endorsement.[18]
Candidates
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independence | Bob Helland | 3,059 | 51.52 | |
| Independence | David Singleton | 2,879 | 48.48 | |
| Total votes | 5,938 | 100 | ||
General election
Candidates
- Steve Simon (DFL), state representative
- Dan Severson (Republican), former state representative, nominee for secretary of state in 2010 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012
- Bob Helland (Independence), business process analyst
- Bob Odden (Libertarian)[4]
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Steve Simon (DFL) |
Dan Severson (R) |
Bob Helland (IP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravis Marketing[19] | July 2–3, 2014 | 879 | ± 3% | 46% | 41% | 14% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Steve Simon | 901,450 | 47.04% | −2.06% | |
| Republican | Dan Severson | 879,022 | 45.87% | +0.23% | |
| Independence | Bob Helland | 94,065 | 4.91% | −0.28% | |
| Libertarian | Bob Odden | 40,729 | 2.13% | N/A | |
| Write-in | 1,134 | 0.06% | -0.01% | ||
| Total votes | 1,916,400 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratic (DFL) hold | |||||
Results by congressional district
Despite losing the state, Severson won five of eight congressional districts, including two that elected Democrats.[21]
| District | Simon | Severson | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 42% | 50% | Tim Walz |
| 2nd | 43% | 50% | John Kline |
| 3rd | 43% | 51% | Erik Paulsen |
| 4th | 56% | 37% | Betty McCollum |
| 5th | 69% | 24% | Keith Ellison |
| 6th | 36% | 57% | Tom Emmer |
| 7th | 40% | 52% | Collin Peterson |
| 8th | 48% | 45% | Rick Nolan |