The special election in the First Congressional District in southern Minnesota and competitive legislative primaries in a handful of districts seemed to draw Republican voters. Overall, Republican turnout was up slightly in 2022 compared to 2018.
A map of Minnesota counties shows the change in the number of votes cast for any Republican gubernatorial candidate between 2018 and 2022. For most metro counties, turnout was down significantly, but in the First District in southern Minnesota, it was up, as it was in counties scattered around the state, many of which featured competitive state Senate races. In many counties, turnout was about even between the two years.