Minnesota Republicans are outspending Democrats in runup to midterm elections

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Republicans are outspending Democrats for the first time in recent memory as they try to wrest control of state offices from the DFL and defy national headwinds in next week’s midterm elections.

Four years ago, Democrats spent more than double what Republicans did and won every statewide office and majorities in the state Legislature.

Now, Republicans — galvanized by strong candidates and what they see as voter frustration over Democratic leadership — are spending big. They’ve focused their efforts primarily on races for Minnesota governor and Senate.

“I can’t tell you the last time Republicans outspent Democrats” in Minnesota, said Preya Samsundar, a GOP operative who formerly worked for the Republican National Committee. “We usually get outspent five to one, sometimes 10 to one.”

“I think it’s a sign that the winds are shifting,” Samsundar said.

Campaign finance data released Tuesday shows Republican-aligned groups have spent about $34.2 million in races for Minnesota’s statewide offices — governor, attorney general, state auditor and secretary of state — and the state Legislature. That compares with $26.7 million for Democrats.

Those figures include independent spending by political action committees and spending by the state parties and candidates’ campaigns. In order to focus on spending for the general election, the Star Tribune’s analysis looked at expenditures between Aug. 18 and Oct. 19.

About one-third of the GOP’s spending came from Restore Sanity, a PAC supporting Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth’s bid for governor that has financed attack ads against her opponent, Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Restore Sanity, which has drawn much of its funds from Midwestern billionaire Richard Uihlein, spent more than $10.5 million between Aug. 18 and Oct. 19.

“It certainly helps to have a single donor put $10 million in,” said Todd Rapp, a former DFL operative. “That’s a great jumpstart.”

Republicans have poured $12 million into the governor’s race since mid-August, nearly doubling the $6.4 million spent by Democrats. About 85% of GOP spending in the governor’s race has come from Restore Sanity.

The PAC’s involvement has helped level the financial playing field with Klobuchar, who has vastly outraised Demuth this year. Restore Sanity has been running ads portraying Klobuchar as partially responsible for fraud scandals in Minnesota’s social services programs, an allegation the senator rejects.

Democrats have accused Uihlein of trying to buy an election in Minnesota. Uihlein and his wife, Elizabeth, are one of the country’s largest donors in the 2026 election cycle, giving $150 million to GOP candidates and causes, according to the Washington Post.

“He wants to buy our governor’s seat,” Klobuchar said in September. “I don’t think the people in Minnesota will tolerate that.”

Rapp noted that the money dumped into the governor’s race by Restore Sanity does not appear to be making a major difference. Klobuchar has held a comfortable lead over Demuth in polls for months now, he said.

Klobuchar led Demuth by 9 percentage points in a Star Tribune/KARE 11 Minnesota Poll conducted in early October.

“I honestly think we’ve reached a point in the campaign where there is a lot of money being spent with very little return on investment,” Rapp said.

With Klobuchar favored to win the governor’s office, Samsundar said the state Senate could be the GOP’s best chance at stopping the DFL from taking full control of state government. Republicans have spent $12.2 million on state Senate races to Democrats’ $7.4 million.

When Democrats last held a trifecta, they passed a flurry of progressive legislation, including paid family leave and free meals for school children, that they point to as they urge voters to send DFL majorities to St. Paul.

But Republicans criticize Democrats over a ballooning state budget and increased car tab fees and warn against a repeat of the 2023-2024 sessions.

“Everybody saw how detrimental a trifecta in a DFL-controlled state government was to Minnesota,” Samsundar said. “I think wanting to ensure that that doesn’t happen again is kind of top of everyone’s mind.”

Democrats hold a one-vote majority in the Senate and are defending vulnerable seats in greater Minnesota while attempting to flip Republican seats on the outskirts of the Twin Cities metro.

More than $3 million has poured into the race for Sen. Grant Hauschild’s Senate seat that stretches from the North Shore to the Iron Range and International Falls.

In the race for control of the tied Minnesota House, Democrats have spent $4.5 million to Republicans’ $3.7 million.

GOP-aligned groups have outspent Democrats in the lower-budget races for secretary of state and state auditor. Democrats have put $8.2 million into the race to re-elect Attorney General Keith Ellison compared to $5.7 million Republicans have spent for competitor Ron Schutz.

Samsundar said she believes Republicans hauled in more money this year because they put forward a strong slate of candidates who are “spreading a common-sense message.” That has opened the door to donors who have become disillusioned with the DFL and the direction of state government.

“When you look at what’s going on in the country at large, just nationally,” she said, “Democrats are moving farther to the left and folks that were backing them five, six, seven, eight years ago are taking a step back.”