# List of special elections to the Minnesota Senate

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vte :
This is a list of special elections to the Minnesota Senate. Such elections are called by the governor of Minnesota to fill vacancies that occur when a member of the Minnesota Senate dies or resigns before the next general election. Winners of these elections serve the remainder of the term and are usually candidates in the next election for their districts.
General elections are held in November of the second year following the decennial United States Census and every four years thereafter. New Legislatures convene on the first Tuesday following the first Monday of the following year.
The first special election to the Minnesota Senate occurred in 1861 after the resignation of George Watson.

## List of special elections

| District | Legislature | Date | Predecessor | Winner | Cause |
| 64 | 69th | November 5, 1974 | Edward G. Novak (DFL) | Peter P. Stumpf Jr. (DFL) | Resigned to accept appointment as Commissioner of Public Safety |
| 47 | 69th | November 5, 1974 | Stan Thorup (DFL) | Eugene Merriam (DFL) | Resigned to become a district court judge |
| 36 | 69th | December 14, 1974 | Jim Lord (DFL) | Robert Schmitz (DFL) | Resigned after election as state treasurer. |
| 33 | 69th | February 1, 1975 | Harold Krieger (I-R) | Nancy Brataas (I-R) | Resigned to become a district court judge |
| 21 | 70th | November 1, 1977 | Alec Olson | Alvin Setzepfandt | Resigned to accept appointment as lieutenant governor |
| 49 | 70th | December 3, 1977 | John Milton (DFL) | Delores Knaak (I-R) | Resigned effective November 1, 1977 |
| 13 | 70th | December 19, 1978 | Win Borden (DFL) | David E. Rued (I-R) | Resigned to work for the Minnesota Association of Commerce and Industry |
| 41 | 71st | June 19, 1979 | Robert Lewis (DFL) | Irving Stern (DFL) | Death (heart attack) |
| 55 | 71st | November 6, 1979 | Eugene Stokowski (DFL) | Anne Stokowski (DFL) | Death (heart attack) |
| 66 | 71st | January 8, 1980 | John Chenoweth (DFL) | Emery Barrette (I-R) | Retired to become the director of the Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund (MERF) |
| 16 | 71st | February 22, 1980 | Ed Schrom (DFL) | Ben Omann (I-R) | Death |
| 20 | 72nd | May 12, 1981 | James Nichols (DFL) | Randy Kamrath (I-R) | Resigned to focus on his family and farm |
| 8 | 74th | February 5, 1985 | James Ulland (I-R) | James Gustafson (I-R) | Resigned on January 9, 1985 to become the Senior Vice President for First Bank System |
| 4 | 75th | November 3, 1987 | Gerald Willet (DFL) | Bob Decker (I-R} | Resigned to accept appointment as commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency |
| 37 | 76th | November 8, 1988 | Darril Wegscheid (DFL) | Patricia Pariseau (I-R) | Resigned to devote time to his career at 3M |
| 48 | 76th | December 20, 1988 | Tad Jude (I-R) | Pat McGowan (I-R) | Resigned after election to the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners |
| 24 | 76th | February 3, 1990 | Glen Taylor (I-R) | Mark Piepho (I-R) | Retired with plans to run for governor; did not end up running |
| 61 | 76th | February 10, 1990 | Donna Peterson (DFL) | Carol Flynn (DFL) | Resigned to become a lobbyist for the University of Minnesota |
| 42 | 77th | January 4, 1992 | Don Storm (I-R) | Roy Terwilliger (I-R) | Resigned to accept appointment to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. |
| 31 | 79th | November 8, 1994 | Duane Benson (I-R) | Kenric Scheevel (I-R) | Retired to become executive director for the Minnesota Business Partnership |
| 19 | 79th | November 8, 1994 | Betty Adkins (DFL) | Mark Ourada (I-R) | Resigned after injuries sustained in a car crash |
| 47 | 79th | December 29, 1994 | Bill Luther (DFL) | Don Kramer (I-R) | Resigned after election to Minnesota's 6th congressional district |
| 16 | 79th | December 29, 1994 | Joanne Benson (I-R) | Dave Kleis (I-R) | Resigned upon election as Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota |
| 33 | 79th | February 2, 1995 | Pat McGowan (I-R) | Warren Limmer (R) | Resigned after upon election to be Hennepin County Sheriff |
| 14 | 79th | February 6, 1996 | Joe Bertram (DFL) | Michelle Fischbach (R) | Resigned amidst expulsion procedures after pleading guilty to bribery and threats after shoplifting a leather vest |
| 26 | 81st | March 30, 1999 | Tracy Beckman (DFL) | Donald Ziegler (R) | Resigned to accept appointment as Minnesota State Director of the Farm Service Agency |
| 32 | 81st | April 13, 1999 | Steven Morse (DFL) | Bob Kierlin (R) | Resigned to accept appointment as Deputy Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. |
| 18 | 81st | November 2, 1999 | Janet Johnson (DFL) | Twyla Ring (DFL) | Death (brain tumor) |
| 4 | 81st | December 14, 1999 | David Ten Eyck (DFL) | Tony Kinkel (DFL) | Resigned to accept appointment to the Crow Wing County District Court |
| 7 | 82nd | January 29, 2002 | Sam Solon (DFL) | Yvonne Prettner Solon (DFL) | Death (malignant melanoma) |
| 67 | 82nd | January 29, 2002 | Randy Kelly (DFL) | Mee Moua (DFL) | Resigned upon election to the mayoralty of Saint Paul |
| 37 | 83rd | July 13, 2004 | David Knutson (R) | Chris Gerlach (R) | Resigned to accept appointment to the Minnesota 1st Judicial District Court |
| 19 | 84th | November 22, 2005 | Mark Ourada (R) | Amy Koch (R) | Resigned to take a position with non-profit Center for Energy and Economic Development |
| 43 | 84th | November 22, 2005 | David Gaither (R) | Terri Bonoff (DFL) | Resigned to accept appointment as Chief of Staff to Governor Tim Pawlenty |
| 15 | 84th | December 27, 2005 | Dave Kleis (R) | Tarryl Clark (DFL) | Resigned upon election to the mayoralty of Saint Cloud |
| 25 | 85th | January 3, 2008 | Tom Neuville (R) | Kevin Dahle (DFL) | Resigned to accept appointment to the Minnesota 3rd Judicial District Court |
| 63 | 86th | November 4, 2008 | Dan Larson (DFL) | Ken Kelash (DFL) | Resigned to become a lobbyist |
| 16 | 86th | November 4, 2008 | Betsy Wergin (R) | Lisa Fobbe (DFL) | Resigned to serve on the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission |
| 26 | 86th | January 26, 2010 | Dick Day (R) | Mike Parry (R) | Resign to become a full-time lobbyist for the state's two horse-racing tracks |
| 66 | 87th | April 10, 2011 | Ellen Anderson (DFL) | Mary Jo McGuire (DFL) | Resigned to accept a position as chair of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission |
| 61 | 87th | October 10, 2011 | Linda Berglin (DFL) | Jeff Hayden (DFL) | Resigned to accept a job as a Hennepin County health policy program manager |
| 46 | 87th | October 10, 2011 | Linda Scheid (DFL) | Chris Eaton (DFL) | Death (ovarian cancer) |
| 59 | 87th | January 10, 2012 | Larry Pogemiller (DFL) | Kari Dziedzic (DFL) | Resigned to accept appointment as Director of Higher Education |
| 20 | 87th | April 10, 2012 | Gary Kubly (DFL) | Lyle Koenen (DFL) | Death (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) |
| 35 | 89th | February 9, 2016 | Branden Petersen (R) | Jim Abeler (R) | Resigned effective October 31, 2015 |
| 54 | 90th | February 12, 2018 | Dan Schoen (DFL) | Karla Bigham (DFL) | Resigned due to allegations of sexual harassment |
| 13 | 90th | November 6, 2018 | Michelle Fischbach (R) | Jeff Howe (R) | Resigned to accept appointment as lieutenant governor |
| 11 | 91st | February 5, 2019 | Tony Lourey (DFL) | Jason Rarick (R) | Resigned to accept appointment as Commissioner of Human Services |
| 45 | 93rd | November 5, 2024 | Kelly Morrison (DFL) | Ann Johnson Stewart (DFL) | Resigned to run for Minnesota's 3rd congressional district |
| 60 | 94th | January 28, 2025 | Kari Dziedzic (DFL) | Doron Clark (DFL) | Death (ovarian cancer) |
| Source: Minnesota Legislature ||||||

## Results
### District 67 (2002)

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Mee Moua | 3,055 | 51.19 |
| | Republican | Greg Copeland | 1,738 | 29.12 |
| | Independence | Jack Tomczak | 1,055 | 17.68 |
| | Green | Jeff Davis | 105 | 1.76 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 15 | 0.25 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,968 | 100 |

### District 25 (2008)

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Kevin Dahle | 6,802 | 55.15 |
| | Republican | Ray Cox | 5,225 | 42.37 |
| | Independence | Vance Norgaard | 296 | 2.40 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 10 | 0.08 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 12,333 | 100 |

### District 66 (2011)

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Mary Jo McGuire | 4,059 | 80.25 |
| | Republican | Greg Copeland | 991 | 19.59 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 8 | 0.16 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,058 | 100 |
| | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold |

### District 46 (2011)

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Chris Eaton | 3,374 | 61.85 |
| | Republican | Cory Jensen | 1,782 | 32.67 |
| | Independence | Matt Brillhart | 292 | 5.35 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 7 | 0.13 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,455 | 100 |
| | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold |

### District 61 (2011)

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Jeff Hayden | 1,856 | 68.24 |
| | Green | Farheen Hakeem | 595 | 21.88 |
| | Republican | Bruce Lundeen | 221 | 8.13 |
| | Independence | Matt Brillhart | 44 | 1.62 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 4 | 0.15 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,720 | 100 |
| | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold |

### District 59 (2012)

DFL primary election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Kari Dziedzic | 1,965 | 32.11 |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Mohamud Noor | 1,626 | 26.57 |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Peter Wagenius | 1,089 | 17.80 |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Paul Ostrow | 792 | 12.94 |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Jacob Frey | 473 | 7.73 |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Alicia Frosch | 36 | 0.59 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,981 | 100 |
General election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Kari Dziedzic | 3,393 | 79.41 |
| | Republican | Ben Schwanke | 824 | 19.28 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 56 | 1.31 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 3,381 | 100 |
| | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold |

### District 20 (2012)

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Lyle Koenen | 3,914 | 54.41 |
| | Republican | Kathleen Fowke | 2,912 | 40.48 |
| | Independence | Leon Greenslit | 364 | 5.06 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 3 | 0.04 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 3,381 | 100 |
| | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold |

### District 35 (2016)

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Jim Abeler | 3,914 | 73.69 |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Roger Johnson | 947 | 21.56 |
| | Legal Marijuana Now | Zach Phelps | 180 | 4.10 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 29 | 0.66 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 4,393 | 100 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 54 (2018)

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Karla Bigham | 7,343 | 50.73 |
| | Republican | Denny McNamara | 6,813 | 47.06 |
| | Libertarian | Emily Mellingen | 313 | 2.16 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 7 | 0.05 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 14,476 | 100 |
| | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold |

### District 13 (2018)

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Jeff Howe | 21,714 | 57.38 |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Joe Perske | 16,108 | 42.57 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 20 | 0.05 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 37,842 | 100 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### District 11 (2019)

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Jason Rarick | 8,127 | 52.02 |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Stu Lourey | 7,171 | 45.90 |
| | Legal Marijuana Now | John Birrenbach | 298 | 1.91 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 27 | 0.17 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 15,623 | 100 |
| | Republican gain from Democratic (DFL) | Republican gain from Democratic (DFL) | Republican gain from Democratic (DFL) | Republican gain from Democratic (DFL) |

### District 45 (2024)

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Ann Johnson Stewart | 29,791 | 52.43 |
| | Republican | Kathleen Fowke | 26,969 | 47.47 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 58 | 0.10 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 56,818 | 100 |
| | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold |

### District 60 (2025)

Senate District 60 Special Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Doron Clark | 7,783 | 90.91 |
| | Republican | Abigail Wolters | 746 | 8.71 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 32 | 0.37 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 8,561 | 100 |