The latest: Election Day 2026

As Minnesotans headed to the polls on Tuesday, some paid tribute to Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two U.S. citizens who were killed by federal agents in January in Minneapolis, by leaving their “I voted” stickers at their respective memorials.

Minneapolis resident Peg Ihinger, who affixed her early voting sticker to a picture at Pretti’s memorial, said she’s glad people are “really fired up to vote.”

“I just want this nightmare to end for our city and for our country,” she said. “And damn it, they shouldn’t have died. None of them should have died.”

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The rainy start to Election Day didn’t deter voters like Liz Schneider-Bateman of St. Paul. She cast her ballot at the Jimmy Lee Recreational Center in the city’s Rondo neighborhood despite the gloomy weather.

She said she was hopeful for the results, but has been let down in the past.

“It’s scary to be hopeful because I feel like we’ve been so devastated and disappointed several times in the last decade,” Schneider-Bateman said. “Today feels like another moment of putting those hopes out there and seeing what happens.”

Karla Bravo, 23, of St. Paul, said the past year surrounding immigration made her want to vote.

“As somebody who came from a Hispanic family and going to Lake Street and having breakfast on a Sunday and seeing it hustling and bustling — we used to have to fight over tables to eat,” Bravo said. “This past year seeing it empty was so heartbreaking, because we’ve always been a community that’s there.”

Amanda Swanson, a public school teacher in Detroit Lakes, said one local issue motivated her to get to Grace Lutheran Church to cast a ballot: Detroit Lakes Public Schools banning rainbow flags and signs.

“I just wanted to make my voice heard on something I feel the school board currently may be in the wrong for,” Swanson said. “We’re hoping we can get people in who can do the right thing.”

The same issue drove siblings Aiden and Megan Lunde, both 21 and Detroit Lakes High School graduates, to the same polling place. Both said they were opposed to allowing rainbow paraphernalia in schools.

“We have younger siblings that will be going there eventually,” Aiden Lunde said. “We don’t want that for them.”

“School is just meant for education,” Megan Lunde added. “We don’t need that kind of stuff in a school setting.”

Back in St. Paul, Sarah Hobbie biked through the rain to vote at Church of the Holy Childhood in Como Park. She said she was hoping for a Democratic landslide to send a message to Washington about Republican President Donald Trump.

“He’s not doing anything for the common person,” Hobbie said. “He’s just basically passing laws and implementing policies that are benefitting the ultra-rich. He’s enriching his family. He’s doing all sorts of things that are illegal.”

Jack Baartman, 37, said he normally votes Libertarian, but Trump also had him rooting — and voting — for Democrats.

“He's expanded so many programs and increased the debt to $40 trillion,” Baartman said. “I just hope there can be some roadblocks to that.”

Voters expressed a sense of urgency while heading to the polls on Tuesday.

In Moorhead, voters from all political affiliations said they’re happy about the high turnouts.

Dennis Wiesenborn, 68, voted at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church Tuesday morning. He usually votes Democrat and feels particularly motivated to stay the course after two years of the Trump administration.

“I think the war against Iran was a big mistake. All of the things to undo efforts for more clean energy, more environmental protections. Those are some of the things I really care about,” Wiesenborn said.

For Republicans, the big issue of the day was fraud. Ritchie Sellden said he’s sometimes voted for Democrats in the past. But he said now the state government needs a shakeup because of how it handled fraud.

“Why should I pay taxes to people that are going to let the money spill out, and we lost it now. Now, who's going to reimburse that?” Sellden said. “People that are in there now had their chances. They goofed up. Time to get rid of them.”

At the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead, an election official described voter turnout as having “peaks and valleys.” While there were no lines, there were people heading in to vote.

Even though there was no rush to the polling place doors, a record number of Minnesotans have already voted. In Clay County, more than 9,000 early ballots were submitted as of Tuesday morning, compared to a little more than 6,000 absentee and mailed ballots in 2022.

In Minneapolis, voters shattered the previous record for early voting. Leading up to Election Day, more than 75,000 residents cast early and absentee ballots. The previous record, set in 2018, was about 52,000 early votes.

Donna Moreno, 79, cast her ballot Tuesday morning at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She said she tried to vote early on Monday but the line was too long, so she came out early on Election Day to make sure she was able to vote.

Moreno said she is concerned about the direction of the country and hopeful that Democrats would turn it around. One of her concerns was having financial security as a senior retiree.

“It's scary, especially when you become a senior,” Moreno said. “I mean, I don't work anymore. And is what I've saved going to be enough?”

Chris Chapman, a 63-year-old retired software engineer, said there was one specific issue that brought him to the polls.

“My one motivation is to keep Trump’s impact out of Minnesota,” said Chapman, who added that he used to be nonpartisan but has shifted his voting strategy over the past decade to trying to keep Republicans out of office.

“That’s my objective because I think every Republican candidate for any office is going to be manipulated by Donald J. Trump and I just want to make sure he doesn’t have control over our state,” he said.

Many Minnesota voters cited rising prices as a key issue driving their vote in the midterm election.

Christopher Knyphausen, 56 and of St. Cloud, is retired and lives on a limited income. He said voting for candidates who support healthcare programs and food assistance is important to him.

“I get Medicaid, I get Social Security. And I want to be somebody who votes for the the people that are going to support me, because I'm low income and I'm not a billionaire,” Knyphausen said.

“I'm on a very balanced budget right now, and I'm barely squeaking by. If it wasn't for the state to help me out, I don't know what I'd do. I wouldn't be able to survive. So that's how I vote."

Chris Shorba, 68, is a retired certified public accountant from Waite Park. He said he votes in every election, including primaries and midterms, and thinks it's part of the duty of being a citizen.

Shorba said he doesn't like the Trump administration's policies and is frustrated by Congress not standing up to the president.

“He promised no inflation and grocery store prices low and gas under $2, and his war in Iran prevented all that from happening,” Shorba said.

Shorba said he doesn't believe presidents have as much impact on inflation as many people think. Demographic changes play a larger role, he said.

"But to make the promise and have people believe it and then not do anything about it … He lies every time he opens his mouth,” Shorba said.

Carol Ringwelski, 82, a retired certified pharmacy technician from Waite Park, is also concerned about rising prices.

She said that was one of several issues motivating her to vote.

“I think the economy, the fraud, and just everything that's going on in the world,” she said.

Ringwelski said she used to think she had plenty of money for retirement. “Now I'm not so sure, and I don't know what I will do. Too old to go back to work.”

But she said she’s also worried about younger generations’ ability to deal with the economy.

“I feel sorry for the young kids that are struggling,” she said. “They're all struggling so badly.”

Despite a time of deep polarization, some voters split their ticket between Republican and DFL candidates Tuesday.

Adam Winters is a firefighter who lives in Minnetonka. He said he wasn't especially passionate about particular issues, but did vote for Republican gubernatorial candidate Lisa Demuth.

“Nothing that really swayed me I guess, but maybe just possible better fraud detection,” he said.

Winters said he also voted for several independent candidates and DFL state Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart.

Winters said Johnson Stewart is his neighbor and he knows her personally. "She's kind of neutral in a sense," he said. “Not really for or against anybody. But just kind of brings hot topics to light."

Winters said he generally feels like affordability is a big issue right now and cites costly groceries, housing and land taxes.

He said he's not tied to a particular political party and doesn't like it when either side badgers the other.

Winters also said he’s relieved that “we don't have to deal with the advertisements anymore,” after Election Day.

Voters around the state are saying issues like immigration and fraud are driving them to the polls in the midterm elections.

Melanie Carruth, a 66-year-old, semi-retired registered nurse from Spring Valley, said Minnesota needs to be made more affordable. She's a Republican poll watcher and said she cast her vote a few days ago.

Carruth said fraud is a big issue for her.

"And I think, by tamping down that fraud, that will help make it more affordable,” she said. “Because now, how many billions do we have going out the door in the last eight years? And it could have been going towards the people that really deserve to have it."

Carruth was stationed as an observer at a polling site in St. Cloud.

“Just to make sure that there's no problems with voters having identification, or that there's no problems in the voting area,” she said.

She said it was important to let people know she and others were watching. But did not observe any issues Tuesday morning.

While many voters told MPR News they were frustrated with the Trump administration’s policies, Carruth said that was not the case for her.

"I think that what we need to concentrate on is not Donald Trump, and and you know all the candidates have at some point gone up against him. I think the candidates that we have are very strong. They believe in their beliefs, and it doesn't always mean that they believe in exactly what Trump wants."

She added that voters should assess how they’re doing now compared to eight years ago and choose their candidates accordingly.

“So just come out and vote,” she said. “It's important.”

Carol Ringwelski, 82, is a retired certified pharmacy technician from Waite Park. She was voting with her son, Patrick, and said her vote was inspired by her concerns about the economy and if she'll have enough savings to last through retirement."

“I think the economy, the fraud, and just everything that's going on in the world, I think we need to get out and let people know that things have to change a little bit,” Ringwelski said.

She added her frustration with career politicians.

“I think too many people stay on too long and make it, the House of Representatives and senators, make it a career, and then they get very rich off of us,” Ringwelski said. “And the average person, they don't think about as much as they do about themselves, and so we're all hurting.”

In Minneapolis, 21-year-old Anile Morales and her mother, 53-year-old Celina Robles Hernandez, cast their votes in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood Tuesday morning.

Morales said the rain didn’t keep them away from the polls, especially since they live close to the polling place.

“We've been reminded many times throughout the past months to vote,” she said.

Robles, speaking in Spanish as her daughter interpreted, said the economy and immigration were the biggest issues bringing her out to vote.

“With the economy… prices have gone up, and we’ve also seen that salaries have not made up for it,” Robles said. “As for immigration, our community is under attack. We feel terrorized, and it's really emotional for us.

“With the two deaths that we saw in Minnesota last winter, our community is in terror, right? We have this fear of it happening again, and we don't want those actions to be repeated,” Robles said. “We just we need to come out and vote and kind of speak up, do our part as well, so that these actions will not be repeated again.”

Morales said that healthcare and gun violence were also issues she prioritized.

“You know, everybody deserves healthcare, and as well as the safety of our schools,” she said.

Morales said she’s an educator and knows teachers at Annunciation Catholic Church and School, where there was a mass shooting in 2025.

“They shared stories with me, and it's like, it's a trauma they will have to go through for the rest of their life,” she said. “Nobody deserves to have that trauma… kids don't deserve to go to school with fear. They deserve to go to school and learn.”

At the Southside Boys and Girls Club in a busy and diverse neighborhood in St. Cloud, voters were trickling in as polls opened.

“The election judges here say they're not sure what to expect for turnout because it was really busy for the primary election,” MPR News correspondent Kirsti Marohn said on Morning Edition. “But they say a lot of voters in this precinct vote early, like a lot of Minnesotans did this year.”

In Senate District 14, state Sen. Aric Putnam is a Democrat who's trying to hold on to his seat for a third term. State Rep. Bernie Perryman, who's a Republican, is challenging Putnam for the Senate seat instead of seeking another term in the House. The race is considered one of a handful that will help decide who controls the Minnesota Legislature.

The mixed politics of St. Cloud-area voters have led to some razor-thin outcomes in past elections, and make the area a target for campaign spending. This year, the area’s state Senate race has attracted more than $1 million from outside groups, even before the political parties and candidates report their spending.

Along with the Senate race, St. Cloud-area voters also will be choosing two new state representatives.

Abdi Daisane, a Somali American business owner, is running as a Democrat for Perryman's District 14A seat. He's facing off against Republican Mike Conway, a St. Cloud City Council member.

In District 14B, Republican Sue Ek is challenging former legislator Zach Dorholt, a Democrat. That seat was left vacant by Rep. Dan Wolgamott, who made an unsuccessful bid for state auditor.

Dorholt is a St. Cloud school board member who served one term in the Minnesota House. Ek is a communications professional who ran unsuccessfully for the House twice, losing to Wolgamott by just 191 votes two years ago.

“It's really hard to predict… this is a really politically divided area. President Trump won this district two years ago, but Democrats think voters are unhappy with Trump over inflation, gas prices, and the war in Iran,” Marohn said. “Republican candidates have been trying to keep their message focused on fraud in state government programs. They think that's what voters are angry about.”

Early voting for this year’s midterm is at a record high in Minnesota. The secretary of state reported more than 983,500 ballots cast through Tuesday morning. With many more absentee ballots still in transit, it’s probable that the early vote total will top 1 million.

Of the 983,558 early ballots cast as of 7 a.m. Tuesday, 283,743 were by mail and 699,815 were cast in person.