What voters are saying at the polls on Election Day 2026

This article will be updated throughout the day with additional voter interviews.

A lot has happened these past two years.

This is the first election since the start of President Donald Trump’s war in Iran and the inflation that it’s fueled.

Every week seems to bring a new story about the defrauding of the state’s social safety net programs.

The Trump administration sent 3,000 masked agents here for Operation Metro Surge, which left two American citizens dead and thousands more cowering in their homes.

And state Rep. Melissa Hortman was murdered in a politically motivated assassination.

Now, after one of the most expensive and negative campaign cycles in state history, the voters get to have their say. We sent reporters out across the metro and beyond to talk to them on Election Day.

After Trump targeted them, Minneapolis voters fight back

Faduma Abdi, 40, a mother of three who lives in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood and works at a nursing home, said she previously voted to fulfill her civic duty, but today she voted to fight back against Trump by voting for every Democratic candidate on the ballot.

“Trump targeted us, and now we have the opportunity to fight back. He called us ‘garbage.’ And that’s not acceptable,” Abdi said.

She liked some of his promises in 2024 to improve the economy, create jobs and promote family values (though she didn’t vote for him). But that was all a lie, Abdi said. 

Naima Jama, a 35-year-old mother of three who recently started working in home care, said she voted for every Democratic candidate on the ballot, including Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan for U.S. Senate, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and Attorney General Keith Ellison.

Jama, who lives in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, also cited Trump’s repeated attacks on the Somali community — including sending ICE agents to terrorize the community — as her rationale for voting for Democrats. 

She said the president promised to improve the economy and go after the criminals, but U.S. citizens were detained and immigrant businesses shut down.

She also pointed to the economy as a reason for her straight-ticket protest vote against Trump. She said she lost her job seven months ago and couldn’t find a new one until a few weeks ago. 

“I have never been without a job, even during the Great Recession, but under Trump, who promised the American people economic prosperity, my children went to bed hungry.”

Republican voters in Cottage Grove cite fraud, crime

Retired federal employee and Air Force veteran Larry Dean, 64, voted against the incumbents on his ballot. 

“Because this place is a mess,” Dean said outside his voting place in Cottage Grove. “Everything from world-class fraud that’s never been seen before to immigration stuff that should have never been allowed to happen, and crime. The whole state is wrecked.” 

On the national level, he said America is a “work in progress.” He said the DOGE cuts that decimated the federal workforce worked out well for him, calling it “a gift.” He was put on administrative leave when he already planned to retire. 

“So I got paid for what I was going to do anyways,” Dean said. 

His pension checks also came in without delay, though he built up savings in case they didn’t start arriving for several months. 

Dean said he is worried about the integrity of this election, even though he trusts his own precinct. His concern is over the widespread availability of absentee ballots, which he believes should only be available for people who aren’t able to vote in person. 

“It’s cheatable and that cheating happens in the city,” Dean said. 

Anna Kessler, 37, voted for all Republicans, saying Democrats have gone too far left on social issues such as abortion, immigration and LGBT topics. 

“We’re doing a lot of LGBT and things that have nothing to do with education,” Kessler said. “In our schools, we’re all about safe spaces rather than this should be a safe space for everybody to learn and grow as individuals. But we’re nitpicking certain things.” 

She voted for Republican Senate candidate Michele Tafoya even though she calls herself a “pro-choice Republican” and supports abortion rights up to 12 weeks in certain circumstances. 

“It certainly seems much more humane to be in that stance rather than say, ‘Hey, the baby’s born. Do not intervene. Do not engage.’ — is what we have been doing in this state.” 

Lance Dawson, 68, split his ticket at his precinct in Cottage Grove. For attorney general, he voted for Republican Ron Schutz over Attorney General Keith Ellison, whom he doesn’t believe did enough to combat fraud in state social service programs. 

On the other big races, he broke for Democrats and voted for Sen. Amy Klobuchar for governor, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan for Senate and Matt Little for U.S. House. He said he wants Flanagan and Little in Congress to serve as a check on Trump. 

“(Trump) is full of pride and views everything through his own lens. He doesn’t feel the pain of the people,” said Dawson, a retired retail manager. 

He pointed to Trump’s news conference on Monday in which he fixated on the reflecting pool in Washington while his party braces for significant midterm losses from voters outraged over inflation. 

“The criticism of (former President Joe) Biden was he was old. Are we not going through that again?” Dawson said. “There needs to be an age limit or a psychological examination before running for president.”