Update: The primary election held in August drew a historic turnout: more than 1.1 million people, or about 25% of eligible voters in the state. The previous record was set in 2018 with about 925,550 ballots. See Early Voting for General Election opens Sept. 18.

By Jake Spitzack | Staff Writer | August 2026

Election season is heating up and it’s time to get candidates on your radar. The primary election, held Tuesday, Aug. 11, will narrow down candidates to one from each party for each race. Early voting is underway; begins September 18 for the general election. A list of candidates on the ballot for the St. Paul Voice distribution area is below. Candidate profiles for those who pass the primaries will be included in our Election Guide published before the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Most candidates have websites to learn more information. To register to vote, find your polling location and for other details, visit sos.mn.gov.

Races with a primary
U.S. Senate District 2

• Angie Craig (DFL)
• Peggy Flanagan (DFL)
• Kurt Anderson (DFL)
• George Kalberer (DFL)
• Peter Murgic (DFL)
• Billy Nord (DFL)
• Michele Tafoya (Rep.)
• Adam Schwarze (Rep.)
• Tom Weiler (Rep.)
• Bob “Again” Carney Jr. (Rep.)
• Cynthia Gail (Rep.)
• Ahmad Hassan (Rep.)
• Joyce Lacey (Rep.)
• Patrick Munro (Rep.)
• Mohamed Muse (Rep.)
• Royce White (Rep.)
• Candidates Marisa Simonetti (Independent) and Rebecca Whiting (Libertarian) will not be in the primary but will be in the general election.

Governor & Lt. Governor

• Loner Blue and Andrew Maass (Rep.)
• Lisa Demuth and Ryan Wilson (Rep.)
• Raul Estrada and Joe Kincaid (Rep.)
• John Krhin and Dennis Conn (Rep.)
• Mike Lindell and Phillip Parrish (Rep.)
• Ross Nova and Kerry Busby (Rep.)
• Kendall Qualls and Brian Nicholson (Rep.)
• Thomas Evenstad and Jason Haarsager (DFL)
• Bill Gates and Leah Harris (DFL)
• Amy Klobuchar and Ben Schierer (DFL)
• Kobey Layne and Paul Ference (DFL)
• Ole “Viking” Savior and Ashley “Skol” Johnson (DFL)
• Po Vang and Mark Frascone (DFL)
• Mohammad Wazwaz and Murad Alshlool (DFL)
• Candidates Steven Young (Green) and Jane Kirby (Green) will not be in the primary but will be in the general election.

Secretary of State

• Tad Jude (Rep.)
• Wendy Phillips (Rep.)
• Candidates Seth Kuhl-Stennes (Green), George “Chip” Tangen (Libertarian) and Steve Simon (DFL) will not be in the primary but will be in the general election.

State Auditor

• Will Finn (Rep.)
• Nate George (Rep.)
• Scott Jensen (Rep.)
• Candidates Jay Reeves (Forward Independence) and Zack Filipovich (DFL) will not be in the primary but will be in the general election.

Attorney General

• Keith Ellison (DFL)
• David Madgett (DFL)
• Candidate Ronald Schutz (Rep.) will not be in the primary but will be in the general election.

U.S. Representative District 2

• Abdi Abdulle (DFL)
• Kaela Berg (DFL)
• Matthew Klein (DFL)
• Matt Little (DFL)
• Hugh McTavish (DFL)
• Christopher Mosel (DFL)
• Candidate Eric Pratt (Rep.) will not be in the primary but will be in the general election.

U.S. Representative District 4

• Gene Rechtzigel (Rep.)
• Paul Wikstrom (Rep.)
• Paul Xiong (Rep.)
• Betty McCollum (DFL)
• Aswar Rahman (DFL)

State Senator District 65

• Natasha Bennett (DFL)
• Robyn Gulley (DFL)
• The candidate identified as Rocco will not be in the primary but will be in the general election.

State Representative District 65B

• Sebastian Ellefson (DFL)
• Elena Mena (DFL)

Ramsey County Commissioner District 5

• Charles Barklind
• Rebecca Noecker
• Maria Perez-Vega

South St. Paul City Council (elect 3)

• Gusta Carr
• Joseph Kaliszewski
• Tyler Fehrman
• Matthew Thompson
• Daniel Nundahl
• Margaret Durenberger
• Brian Ducklinsky

Races without a primary
Candidates as of press time. Municipal and school district candidates have through July 28 to file.

State Senator District 52

• Brady O’Neil (Rep.)
• Liz Reyer (DFL)

State Senator District 53

• Todd Podgorski (Rep.)
• Paul Cumings (DFL)

State Representative District 53A

• AJ Gubash (Rep.)
• Mary Frances Clardy (DFL)

Ramsey County Sheriff

• Bob Fletcher

Ramsey County Attorney

• John Choi

State Senator District 53

• Todd Podgorski (Rep.)
• Paul Cumings (DFL)

State Representative District 53B

• Patti Mikulski (Rep.)
• Rick Hansen (DFL)

Dakota County Commissioner District 2

• Joe Atkins

Dakota County Sheriff

• Bobby Lambert
• Joe Leko

Dakota County Attorney

• Kathy Keena
• Jeffrey Sheridan

West St. Paul Mayor

• Dave Napier

West St. Paul City Council Member Ward 1

• Pat Armon

West St. Paul City Council Member Ward 2

• John Justen

West St. Paul City Council Member Ward 3

• Wendy Berry

Mendota Heights Mayor

• Stephanie Levine
• John Maczko

Mendota Heights City Council Member (elect 2)

• Neil Garlock
• John Larrive
• Sally Lorberbaum
• Jerome Mulvihill
• Michael Oxley
• Will Stein

Special School District 625 Board Member At Large
(elect 3)

• Stephanie Anderson
• Teresa Glass
• Tamara Mattison
• Michael Schell
• Omar Syed
• Kris Taylor
• Uriah Ward

Independent School District 197 School Board (elect 3)

• Jon Vaupel
• Marcus Hill
• Sarah Larsen
• Dwight Larson

Special School District 6 Board Member (elect 4)

• Anne Claflin
• Ann Schultz Counihan
• Sanderia Davis
• Christine Estee
• Timothy Felton
• Wendy Woods Felton
• Andrew Hoffman
• Kim Humann
• Lisa Moore
• Nicholas Schaefer

Special School District 6 Board Member at Large

• Amy Wardell

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