2000 United States Senate election in Minnesota

The 2000 United States Senate election in Minnesota was held on November 7, 2000, to select a U.S. senator from the state of Minnesota. The race pitted incumbent Republican Senator Rod Grams against former Minnesota State Auditor Mark Dayton. Dayton won with 48.83% of the vote to Grams's 43.29%. Dayton declined to run for reelection in 2006 and ran successfully in 2010 and 2014 for governor of Minnesota. He was succeeded in the Senate by Amy Klobuchar, who has held the seat ever since. Upon Dayton's swearing in, Democrats held both of Minnesota's U.S. Senate seats for the first time since 1978. As of 2024, this is the last time that a man won the Class 1 Senate seat in Minnesota.

2000 United States Senate election in Minnesota

November 7, 2000

Nominee Mark Dayton Rod Grams James Gibson Party Democratic (DFL) Republican Independence Popular vote 1,181,553 1,047,474 140,583 Percentage 48.83% 43.29% 5.81%

Dayton:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Grams:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      40–50%      50%      No votes

U.S. senator before election Rod Grams Republican Elected U.S. Senator Mark Dayton Democratic (DFL)

DFL primary

• Mark Dayton, former Minnesota State Auditor and unsuccessful 1982 nominee for this seat
• Michael V. Ciresi, attorney
• Jerry Janezich, state senator
• Rebecca Yanisch
• Richard "Dick" Franson, city councilman
• Oloveuse S. "Ole" Savior, artist and perennial candidate.
• Gregg A. Iverson

Results

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Mark Dayton	178,972	41.30
	Democratic (DFL)	Mike Ciresi	96,874	22.35
	Democratic (DFL)	Jerry Janezich	90,074	20.78
	Democratic (DFL)	Rebecca Yanisch	63,289	14.60
	Democratic (DFL)	Richard Franson	1,336	0.31
	Democratic (DFL)	Oloveuse S. Savior	1,206	0.28
	Democratic (DFL)	Gregg A. Iverson	1,038	0.24
Total votes			462,789	100.00

Republican primary

Candidate

• Rod Grams, incumbent U.S. Senator
• William Paul "Bill" Dahn

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rod Grams (incumbent)	112,335	89.11
	Republican	William Paul Dahn	13,728	10.89
Total votes			126,063	100.00

General election

Candidates

• Mark Dayton (DFL), former State Auditor and former candidate for this seat in 1982
• Rod Grams (R), incumbent U.S. Senator

Debates

Dayton and Grams had three debates, one on October 18, one on October 26, and one on November 3.

Results

2000 United States Senate election in Minnesota

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic (DFL)	Mark Dayton	1,181,553	48.83	+4.73
	Republican	Rod Grams (incumbent)	1,047,474	43.29	−5.76
	Independence	James Gibson	140,583	5.81	+0.43
	Grassroots	David Daniels	21,447	0.89	−0.01
	Socialist Workers	Rebecca Ellis	12,956	0.54	+0.40
	Constitution	David Swan	8,915	0.37	n/a
	Libertarian	Erik D. Pakieser	6,588	0.27	n/a
	Write-in	Ole Savior	4	0.00	n/a
Total votes			2,419,520	100.00	n/a
	Democratic (DFL) gain from Republican

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Aitkin (largest city: Aitkin)
• Big Stone (largest city: Ortonville)
• Grant (largest city: Elbow Lake)
• Lincoln (largest city: Tyler)
• Marshall (largest city: Warren)
• Pennington (largest city: Thief River Falls)
• Pine (largest city: Pine City)
• Polk (largest city: East Grand Forks)
• Pope (largest city: Glenwood)
• Red Lake (largest city: Red Lake Falls)
• Yellow Medicine (largest city: Granite Falls)
• Beltrami (largest city: Bemidji)
• Blue Earth (largest city: Mankato)
• Chippewa (largest city: Montevideo)
• Clay (largest city: Moorhead)
• Fillmore (largest city: Spring Valley)
• Freeborn (largest city: Albert Lea)
• Itasca (largest city: Grand Rapids)
• Koochiching (largest city: International Falls)
• Lac qui Parle (largest city: Madison)
• Mahnomen (largest city: Mahnomen)
• Nicollet (largest city: North Mankato)
• Rice (largest city: Faribault)
• Swift (largest city: Benson)
• Traverse (largest city: Wheaton)
• Winona (largest city: Winona)
• Kandiyohi (Largest city: Willmar)
• Jackson (Largest city: Jackson)
• Renville (Largest city: Olivia)

See also

• 2000 United States Senate elections