Bachmann Scores Weakest Minnesota GOP US House Incumbent Primary Win in 50 Years

The last time a Republican incumbent won a lower percentage of the vote in a Gopher State U.S. House primary was 1962 (Herman Carl Andersen)

Despite seeking higher office earlier this year and receiving significant negative reaction from the media and GOP colleagues over the past month in connection with her request for an investigation of radical Muslims infiltrating the federal government, there was little doubt Michele Bachmann would easily walk away from Tuesday’s GOP 6th congressional district primary with a victory.

And she did.

But despite winning by a comfortable margin, opposition to the three-term congresswoman was nonetheless at its highest level in generations for a Republican U.S. Representative from Minnesota.

A Smart Politics analysis finds Michele Bachmann’s 80.4 percent primary vote total on Tuesday was the smallest vote percentage received by a Republican member of the U.S. House from the Gopher State since 1962 spanning 75 incumbent reelection bids.

Representative Bachmann faced two challengers en route to her 80.4 percent tally in the 6th CD primary: Stephen Thompson came in second with 12.8 percent and frequent Bachmann critic and opponent Aubrey Immelman received 6.9 percent.

The last time a Republican incumbent U.S. Representative from Minnesota fared worse than Bachmann on Tuesday was 50 years ago, when Herman Carl Andersen sought reelection to a 13th term.

Andersen had represented the state’s 7th CD since the Election of 1938, when he won a narrow plurality victory over Farmer-Laborite incumbent Paul Kvale.

Over the next two decades Andersen had a long run of blow-out general election victories (1940, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1950, 1952) followed by some relatively competitive wins leading into the 1962 cycle (1948, 1954, 1956, 1958, 1960).

Minnesota lost its ninth seat that year due to reapportionment and Andersen ran in the newly drawn 6th CD where he squared off against Minnesota State Representative Robert Odegard.

Odegard trounced Andersen in the primary with the 12-term incumbent losing by 27.4 points with just 36.3 percent of the vote.

The remaining five GOP incumbents (Al Quie in the 1st, Ancher Nelsen in the 2nd, Clark MacGregor in the 3rd, Walter Judd in the 4th, and Odin Langen in the 7th) easily won their primaries in 1962 with only one – Judd – facing a challenger.

Over the next 25 cycles since the Election of 1964 – which includes 75 Republican incumbents running for reelection – no Minnesota GOP U.S. Representative received a lower vote total than Bachmann’s 80.4 percent on Tuesday.

In fact, most candidates never even faced a challenger, with 63 of these incumbents running unopposed during this span.

Of the remaining dozen who faced at least one primary opponent, only Bachmann failed to receive 85 percent of the vote – and she barely eclipsed 80 percent.

Overall, the average tally by these congressional incumbents facing primary challengers was 89.3 percent excluding Bachmann’s 2012 performance.

Congresswoman Bachmann also owns the third lowest primary tally over the last 50 years with her 85.9 percent performance in the 2008 primary against fellow 2012 candidate Aubrey Immelman.

Of course, it is possible that some of Bachmann’s depressed vote in 2008 and 2012 was not simply due to Republicans who disapproved of her job performance, but also independents and Democrats.

Still, Representative Bachmann is the only incumbent to inspire two fellow Republicans to run against her in a primary since the mid 1950s.

The last time a sitting GOP U.S. Representative from Minnesota faced two challengers at the primary stage was 1956 when 8-term incumbent Joseph O’Hara was opposed by Alf Swenson and Walter Muhlenhardt.

O’Hara received 69.9 percent of the vote with 22.7 percent for Swenson and 7.4 percent for Muhlenhardt.

Minnesota’s other incumbents facing primary opponents Tuesday were Erik Paulsen in the 3rd CD (90.2 percent), Keith Ellison in the 5th (89.6 percent), John Kline in the 2nd (85.1 percent), and Betty McCollum in the 4th (84.2 percent).

Lowest Primary Vote Percentage for Republican Minnesota U.S. Representatives, 1964-2012

Year	Incumbent	District	Percent
2012	Michele Bachmann	6	80.4
2012	John Kline	2	85.1
2008	Michele Bachmann	6	85.9
2006	Gil Gutknecht	1	87.3
1982	Tom Hagedorn*	1	87.5
1982	Vin Weber*	2	88.4
1984	Bill Frenzel	3	89.6
2004	Jim Ramstad	3	89.9
2012	Erik Paulsen	3	90.2
1980	Bill Frenzel	3	91.4
1972	Bill Frenzel	3	93.1
1970	Odin Langen	7	93.9
2012	Chip Cravaack	8	Unopposed
2010	John Kline	2	Unopposed
2010	Erik Paulsen	3	Unopposed
2010	Michele Bachmann	6	Unopposed
2008	John Kline	2	Unopposed
2006	John Kline	2	Unopposed
2006	Jim Ramstad	3	Unopposed
2004	Gil Gutknecht	1	Unopposed
2004	John Kline	2	Unopposed
2004	Mark Kennedy	6	Unopposed
2002	Gil Gutknecht	1	Unopposed
2002	Jim Ramstad	3	Unopposed
2002	Mark Kennedy*	6	Unopposed
2000	Gil Gutknecht	1	Unopposed
2000	Jim Ramstad	3	Unopposed
1998	Gil Gutknecht	1	Unopposed
1998	Jim Ramstad	3	Unopposed
1996	Gil Gutknecht	1	Unopposed
1996	Jim Ramstad	3	Unopposed
1994	Jim Ramstad	3	Unopposed
1992	Jim Ramstad	3	Unopposed
1990	Vin Weber	2	Unopposed
1988	Vin Weber	2	Unopposed
1988	Bill Frenzel	3	Unopposed
1988	Arlan Stangleand	7	Unopposed
1986	Vin Weber	2	Unopposed
1986	Bill Frenzel	3	Unopposed
1986	Arlan Stangleand	7	Unopposed
1984	Vin Weber	2	Unopposed
1984	Arlan Stangleand	7	Unopposed
1982	Bill Frenzel	3	Unopposed
1982	Arlen Erdahl*	6	Unopposed
1982	Arlan Stangleand	7	Unopposed
1980	Arlen Erdahl	1	Unopposed
1980	Tom Hagedorn	2	Unopposed
1980	Arlan Stangleand	7	Unopposed
1978	Tom Hagedorn	2	Unopposed
1978	Bill Frenzel	3	Unopposed
1978	Arlan Stangleand	7	Unopposed
1976	Al Quie	1	Unopposed
1976	Tom Hagedorn	2	Unopposed
1976	Bill Frenzel	3	Unopposed
1974	Al Quie	1	Unopposed
1974	Bill Frenzel	3	Unopposed
1972	Al Quie	1	Unopposed
1972	Ancher Nelsen	2	Unopposed
1972	John Zwach	6	Unopposed
1970	Al Quie	1	Unopposed
1970	Ancher Nelsen	2	Unopposed
1970	John Zwach	6	Unopposed
1968	Al Quie	1	Unopposed
1968	Ancher Nelsen	2	Unopposed
1968	Clark MacGregor	3	Unopposed
1968	John Zwach	6	Unopposed
1968	Odin Langen	7	Unopposed
1966	Al Quie	1	Unopposed
1966	Ancher Nelsen	2	Unopposed
1966	Clark MacGregor	3	Unopposed
1966	Odin Langen	7	Unopposed
1964	Al Quie	1	Unopposed
1964	Ancher Nelsen	2	Unopposed
1964	Clark MacGregor	3	Unopposed
1964	Odin Langen	7	Unopposed

* Denotes an incumbent running in a new district. Table compiled by Smart Politics with data culled from Minnesota Legislative Manuals and the Minnesota Secretary of State.

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