The 2022 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Minnesota. Incumbent Democratic (DFL) Governor Tim Walz defeated the Republican nominee, former state senator Scott Jensen, winning a second term. Jensen's advantage in rural Greater Minnesota could not overcome Walz’s large lead in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, with Walz winning the election by a comfortable 7.7% margin. With his win, Walz gave the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party its fourth consecutive gubernatorial victory, the most in the party's history. Furthermore, the DFL held the State House and flipped the State Senate, gaining a trifecta for the first time since 2014. Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary Candidates Nominee Tim Walz, incumbent governor and former U.S. representative for Minnesota's 1st congressional district (2007–2019) Peggy Flanagan, incumbent lieutenant governor Eliminated in primary Ole Savior, perennial candidate Julia M. Parker Results Republican primary Candidates Nominee Scott Jensen, family medicine physician and former state senator Matt Birk, former professional football player with the Minnesota Vikings, businessman, and author Eliminated in primary Bob "Again" Carney Jr, candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020 Captain Jack Sparrow, perennial candidate Joyce Lynne Lacey Kent Edwards Withdrawn Michelle Benson, state senator Thomas Evensted, activist Paul Gazelka, state senator and former majority leader of the Minnesota Senate Mike Marti, businessman Mike Murphy, mayor of Lexington Kendall Qualls, Army Veteran, Businessman and Republican nominee for Minnesota's 3rd congressional district in 2020 Neil Shah, physician and business owner Rich Stanek, former Hennepin County Sheriff Declined Matt Birk, former Minnesota Vikings player (endorsed Jensen and became his running mate) Mike Lindell, inventor of My Pillow, businessman Carla Nelson, state senator (ran for reelection) Pete Stauber, U.S. representative for Minnesota's 8th congressional district (ran for reelection) Karin Housley, state senator and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2018 (ran for reelection) Jennifer Carnahan, former chair of the Minnesota Republican Party (2017–2021) and widow of U.S. Representative Jim Hagedorn (unsuccessfully ran for Congress in a 2022 special election) Rob Barrett, businessman, activist and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2020 Caucuses and conventions Caucus The caucuses took place on February 1, 2022. A caucus is a local meeting where all who intend to vote for the Republican Party are able to select their precinct leadership, participate in a straw poll for governor, write and pass resolutions, and elect delegates to their local Basic Political Organizational Unit (BPOU). Those who were not elected BPOU delegates