The Winner

If you live in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) will keep representing you. Voters gave him a seventh term on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and CBS News projected him the winner on election night. ​

Emmer won 55.7% of the vote to 44.2% for Democrat Doug Chapin, a margin of about 12 points, according to Ballotpedia’s results tally. Emmer received 204,707 votes and Chapin received 162,213, with 427 write-in votes.

The Race

Chapin is a Hanover attorney who taught at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs and led election policy work at the Pew Charitable Trusts. He ran unopposed in the Aug. 11 Democratic primary. On the same day, Emmer won the Republican primary with 80.9% over Michael Foley and Chris Corey.

The race was much closer than in 2024, when Emmer won 62.4% of the vote and beat Democrat Jeanne Hendricks by about 25 points. Before this election, Cook Political Report and Inside Elections rated the seat Solid Republican. Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated it Safe Republican.

The district runs from the northern and western Twin Cities suburbs to St. Cloud. It covers Benton, Carver, Sherburne, Stearns and Wright counties and most of Anoka County, according to FOX 9. Its communities include Blaine, Andover, Elk River, Chaska and St. Cloud.

The district has about 734,200 residents, a median household income of $104,500 and a median age of 37.6. About 35.7% of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, unemployment is 3.4% and 6.7% of residents live below the poverty line. Residents are 83.9% white, 5.3% Black, 3.9% Hispanic and 3.2% Asian.

What’s Next

Emmer’s new term begins Sunday, Jan. 3, but Democrats won control of the House, so he will serve in the Republican minority. Emmer is currently majority whip, the No. 3 House Republican, and he is now running for minority whip, the party’s No. 2 post in the minority. His challenger is Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), according to Politico.

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