2012Final resultsIncumbent defeated
2012 election for Minnesota Senate District 21
Minnesota State Senate · Minnesota
Matt Schmit (D) won with 52.4% of the vote, defeating John Howe (R) by 5.0 points.
Matt SchmitDemocrat · winner
52.4%21,937
John HoweRepublican · incumbent
47.4%19,846
41,837 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 2012
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET