2020 United States Senate election in Minnesota

The 2020 United States Senate election in Minnesota was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Minnesota, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the U.S. Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and other state and local elections. Some Republican pundits and strategists believed Minnesota to be a potential pickup opportunity due to its increasingly favorable demographics and unexpectedly close result in the 2016 presidential election, along with potential backlash from the 2020 George Floyd protests, originating after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. However, every poll showed incumbent Democratic Senator Tina Smith in the lead by varying degrees.

Smith was reelected to a full term in office by a margin of 5.2 points, making this the closest Senate election in Minnesota since 2008. The primary took place on August 11.

Nominee

 * Tina Smith, incumbent U.S. senator

Eliminated in primary

 * Steve Carlson, candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018 and write-in candidate for president in 2016
 * Ahmad Hassan
 * Paula Overby, Green Party nominee for U.S. Senate in 2018
 * Christopher Seymore, Sr.

Withdrawn

 * W.D. "Bill" Hamm
 * Alexandra Marie Holker

Results
[[File:2020 MN US Senate Democratic primary.svg|thumb|Results by county: Map legend

{{legend|#162d50|Smith—>90%}}

{{legend|#214478|Smith—80–90%}}

{{legend|#2c5aa0|Smith—70–80%}} ]]

Nominee

 * Jason Lewis, former U.S. representative for Minnesota's 2nd congressional district

Eliminated in primary

 * John L. Berman
 * Bob Carney Jr.
 * Cynthia Gail, art teacher
 * James Reibestein

Withdrawn

 * Rob Barrett Jr., assistant professor at North Central University
 * Christopher Chamberlin, candidate for governor, U.S. senator, and U.S. representative in 2018 and Libertarian activist
 * Forest Hyatt, Republican candidate for the 2018 United States Senate special election in Minnesota
 * Theron Preston Washington

Declined

 * Donna Bergstrom, nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota in 2018
 * Kurt Daudt, minority leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives
 * Bill Guidera, attorney and former 21st Century Fox executive
 * Karin Housley, state senator and Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in 2018
 * Mike Lindell, CEO of My Pillow
 * Doug Wardlow, former state representative and Republican nominee for Attorney General of Minnesota in 2018

Results
[[File:2020 MN US Senate Republican primary.svg|thumb|Results by county: Map legend

{{legend|#782121|Lewis—80–90%}}

{{legend|#a02c2c|Lewis—70–80%}}

{{legend|#c83737|Lewis—60–70%}}

{{legend|#d35f5f|Lewis—50–60%}} ]]

Nominee

 * Oliver Steinberg

Nominee

 * Kevin O'Connor

Primary results
[[File:Minnesota Senatorial Election Results 2020 (LMN Party).svg|thumb|County Results for Kevin O'Connor:Map legend

{{legend|#004f00|8%}}

{{legend|#006d00|7%}}

{{legend|#009c00|6%}}

{{legend|#5fd35f|5%}}

{{legend|#9ee99f|4%}}

{{legend|#bef7c0|3%}}]]

Declared

 * George Dennis Jr.
 * Josh D. Ondich, perennial candidate

Debate
Two general election debates were held. The first, on October 2, 2020, was hosted by Minnesota Public Radio and was attended by Smith and Lewis. The second debate was hosted by Twin Cities PBS on October 23, 2020, and attended only by Lewis.

Polling

 * with Generic Democrat and Generic Republican

Results

 * Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
 * Beltrami (largest municipality: Bemidji)
 * Kittson (largest municipality: Hallock)
 * Koochiching (largest municipality: International Falls)
 * Mower (largest municipality: Austin)
 * Norman (largest municipality: Ada)

By congressional district
Smith and Lewis each won 4 congressional districts.