Minnesota Election Results 2026: Live Updates

More than 886,000 Minnesotans have already cast ballots in the 2026 election, exceeding 2022’s record midterm early-voting tally with more on the way by evening, Secretary of State Steve Simon told reporters at the Capitol this morning.

If you haven’t voted yet, you can do so in-person at your local polling place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. or return your absentee ballot to an elections office by 5 p.m. tomorrow, Simon said.

After months of stonewalling on election security cooperation, local representatives from federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies recently reengaged with the Secretary of State’s office, Simon said.

“Late in the game, in my judgement, they have started providing some services,” he said.

Simon had lamented the lack of federal cooperation on election security in an interview with Metro Editor Leah Fabel at the MinnPost Festival last month.

“In the first Trump administration, they were excellent partners on this issue … they are just not a partner [today],” Simon said at the time.

The development marks a return to something resembling the state of affairs in past election cycles, when federal agents would regularly share intelligence with state elections officials and help them game out threat scenarios, said Bill Ekblad, the Secretary of State’s election security navigator.

“[These are] in many cases the same individuals we’ve worked with in past years,” Ekblad said. “We are rebuilding and reconnecting and it has felt genuine.”

The late cooperation — “emphasis on the word ‘late’,” Simon said — won’t undo the fact that Minnesota will spend around $250,000 this year on election preparations the feds typically provide for free. For example, federal cybersecurity agents did not conduct “white-hat hacking” tests on Minnesota’s digital elections infrastructure this year, forcing the state to contract with external partners at considerable cost.

Simon declined to detail, “for obvious reasons,” specific threat information shared recently by the federal government. He sounded hopeful that the cooperation would continue heading into the 2028 Presidential election, however.

”I welcome that if we are going to turn the ship around,” he said.

After what seems like an insufferably long campaign season, it’s finally the eve of Election Day. Some things are already known. The state will have one freshman senator to fill retiring Sen. Tina Smith’s seat, even if we don’t know yet whether that newcomer to the U.S. Senate will be Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan or former sportscaster Michele Tafoya. 

And if Sen. Amy Klobuchar is elected governor, a second freshman senator – whomever Klobuchar appoints to fill the rest of her term – will also represent Minnesota. Losing Klobuchar and Smith in the U.S. Senate — where seniority is the coin of the realm — and replacing them with freshmen would cost Minnesota a lot of clout.

Meanwhile, a flip of the U.S. House to Democratic control would also shake up things for the state’s federal lawmakers. Rep. Tom Emmer, R-6th District, would have to scramble to keep a job in minority Republican House leadership. And Rep. Betty McCollum, D-4th District, would see her influence soar as she becomes the chairman of a key appropriations panel, a position that would allow her to negotiate with the Trump administration. Read the full story.

Welcome to MinnPost’s 2026 midterm election live blog.