Voters across central Minnesota and the western Twin Cities metro are deciding whether to send Republican Tom Emmer back to Washington for a seventh consecutive term or hand the 6th Congressional District seat to Democratic challenger Doug Chapin, a Hanover attorney and election policy expert. Polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, and results began coming in afterward, according to FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul.
The district stretches across Stearns, Benton, Wright, Sherburne and Carver counties, most of Anoka County, and a handful of precincts in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, covering a mix of central Minnesota towns and the outer western Twin Cities suburbs, per FOX 9. Emmer, the House Majority Whip, first served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2004 to 2008 before being sworn into the U.S. House in 2015, according to St. Cloud Times. He was elected to the Whip post in 2022, per FOX 9's reporting, and faced backlash for remarks telling Somalis to go back to where they came from at a town hall in June 2026.
Chapin's Pitch to Unseat a Longtime Incumbent
Chapin, a former University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs professor, has spent years working on election policy at the Pew Charitable Trusts and the U.S. Senate Rules Committee, as KARE 11 reports. He has said he supports universal health care and eliminating the cap on Social Security taxes, and he has said he would vote to repeal parts of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, including tax cuts at the highest income levels and changes to Medicaid eligibility. Chapin has also said he opposes the president's tariff policies and has called for ending the war in Iran.
“Everywhere I go across this district, I hear the same thing: people are tired of being taken for granted,” Chapin has said. “They're ready for a representative who works as hard for this district as they do. That's the campaign we're building and between now and November, we're going to keep showing up.” Chapin won the DFL primary earlier this year, according to a DFL-backed statement cited by FOX 9.
A District That Has Favored Emmer by Wide Margins
History favors the incumbent. Emmer won roughly 62% of the vote against Democrat Jeanne Hendricks in both 2022 and 2024, with Hendricks taking 37.8% in their first matchup and Emmer finishing at 62.45% two years later, according to St. Cloud LIVE. The district went for President Trump by 20 points in 2024 and is rated solidly Republican by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, KARE 11 notes.
Still, a Public Policy Polling survey commissioned by Chapin's own campaign in August showed some movement. The poll of 643 CD6 voters, conducted Aug. 18-19, found Emmer leading Chapin 50% to 40%, with 9% undecided, a margin that held even after respondents heard descriptions of both candidates. The survey carried a 3.9% margin of error, and the same report notes it did not specify whether respondents were registered voters, likely voters, or another defined group. Pollster Jim Williams said that among voters familiar with Chapin specifically, the race was tied at 48%.
Population Growth Near Blaine Could Be a Wildcard
Chapin has argued that rapid population growth, particularly near Blaine, could reshape the district's political dynamics over time, the same KARE 11 report notes.
Under Minnesota law, results for state and federal races remain unofficial until the State Canvassing Board meets to certify them, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State. That certification is scheduled for Thursday, November 19, 2026.
