RAIN HIGH 49° LOW 33°
U OF M
MINNEAPOLIS
TUESDAY
ST PAUL
NOVEMBER 5, 2014
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT MNDAILY.COM
E L E C T I O N 2 0 1 4 Minnesota Election Results Results reflect ballots counted as of press time at 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 5.
2.34%
1.49% 0.05%
0.92% 0.04%
2.87%
0.77%
4.87%
2.13% 0.06%
22.34%
42.61%
44.17%
53.51%
FRANKEN (D) MCFADDEN (R) CARLSON
JOHNSON WRITE-IN
STATE REP. DISTRICT 60B
GOVERNOR
SENATOR
50.43%
DAYTON (D) JOHNSON (R) NICOLLET
47.44%
SECRETARY OF STATE
76.89%
HOLBROOK WRITE-IN
KAHN (D) ASKAR (R) WRITE-IN
45.50%
SIMON (D) SEVERSON (R) HELLAND
ODDEN WRITE-IN
Dayton, Franken win; GOP makes strides
T
uesday’s vote marked the end of a quiet midterm election in Minnesota as Republicans made gains in the state and nationwide. Democratic leaders, including Gov. Mark Dayton, U.S. Sen. Al Franken and state Rep. Phyllis Kahn all won re-election, and did so by comfortable margins. Change came at the national level, as Republicans captured the U.S. Senate for the first time in eight years, and the House retained its GOP majority. The campaign season had many party leaders and University of Minnesota students working tirelessly on and around campus to get students and area residents to the polls. Turnout is historically low among younger demographics, especially in midterm elections like Tuesday’s. This year’s vote brought candidates from both parties to campus as Election Day neared, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton visited Nor throp Auditorium for a get-out-the-vote event in October.
Recently re-elected Gov. Mark Dayton celebrates his Tuesday night victory with supporters. Bridget Bennet, Daily
51%
54%
77%
Dayton grabs a second term
For Senate, Al Franken tops
Kahn will rep U area again
The DFLer comfortably beat GOP challenger Jeff Johnson.
On Tuesday, the ex-comedian came away with a 2nd term.
The lawmaker overcame her toughest challenge in August.
BY BLAIR EMERSON & CHRIS AADLAND bemerson@mndaily.com caadland@mndaily.com
BY JOHN THOMAS jthomas@mndaily.com
BY JESSIE BEKKER jbekker@mndaily.com
DAYTON
FRANKEN
D
KAHN
P
he downtown Minneapolis Hilton hotel became a scene of jubilation Tuesday night as a large crowd learned Gov. Mark Dayton will continue to lead Minnesota in his second Mark Dayton term as governor. The race concluded with Democratic-FarmerLabor incumbent Dayton winning by a healthy 50.52 percent of the vote, surpassing Republican challenger Jeff Johnson’s 44.07 percent as of midnight press time. “For the past four years I have stood up and spoken out for the causes that I believe in, and I have worked hard to make them happen,” Dayton said in his election night victory speech. “I promise you who supported me today that I will remain true to those causes and to my principles, always.” The margin contrasts sharply with the 2010 race when Dayton was first elected, defeating Republican Tom Emmer by only 0.4 percent of
emocratic incumbent Sen. Al Franken surpassed Republican challenger Mike McFadden Tuesday, after a campaign that tested the incumbent’s White House policies and, at times, scrutinized his first Al Franken term. With Franken’s victory, which came with more than 11 percentage points more than his opponent, he heads to a U.S. Congress where the Republican Party controls both the House of Representatives and the Senate for the first time in years. In his acceptance speech Tuesday, Franken thanked students — saying they work many hours of the week, while still going to school full time and want to give back to their community — while also pointing to the work of business owners, farmers and other Minnesotans. “I couldn’t be more proud to be your senator,” Franken said in the speech at the Hilton in downtown Minneapolis. “I brag on Minnesota all the
hyllis Kahn celebrated her Election Day victory months ago. “I kind of expected [Tuesday’s victory],” she said. Though the 42-year incumbent officially won the District 60B seat in the Minnesota Phyllis Kahn House of Representatives on Tuesday with nearly 77 percent of the vote, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor legislator faced her toughest challenge in August’s primary election. On Tuesday, Kahn defeated Republican challenger Abdimalik Askar for the seat, which represents the University of Minnesota, Cedar-Riverside and other east Minneapolis neighborhoods. “I was not too surprised,” Askar said. “I know the area was DFL, but I tried my best and I worked hard.” In the primary election, Kahn went head-tohead with Somali-born Democrat Mohamud Noor, who drew a large following in the district, where nearly a quarter of the residents are Somali.
P A G E 3
P A G E 4
P A G E 5
T
Exact percentages as of 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 5 for Dayton, Franken and Kahn are as follows: 50.43, 53.52, 76.89.
Photos of Mark Dayton and Al Franken courtesy of candidate’s campaign websites. Photo of Phyllis Kahn by Minnesota Daily.
VOLUME 116 ISSUE 38