In these elections, Minnesotans elected their oldest U.S. House delegation across the 80 cycles since statehood, at an average age of 58.8 years: Rick Nolan (age 70), Collin Peterson (70), John Kline (67), Betty McCollum (60), Keith Ellison (51), Tom Emmer (53), Tim Walz (50) and Erik Paulsen (49).

Republican State Representative Mike Benson,[5] Jim Hagedorn of Blue Earth and U.S. Army veteran Aaron Miller of Byron all sought the nomination to challenge Walz.

Kline was rumoured to be interested in running for Governor of Minnesota or the United States Senate.

[21] Eagan quality assurance analyst Paula Overby initially sought the DFL endorsement but withdrew after Obermueller won it and instead became the Independence Party nominee.

Paulsen considered running for governor or the United States Senate in 2014 before announcing he would seek re-election to the U.S. House instead.

Bachmann had won re-election to a fourth term in 2012, defeating DFL nominee Jim Graves by approximately 1.2 points, despite Mitt Romney receiving 56% of the vote in this district in the 2012 presidential election.

[34] Former state representative and 2010 gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer and Anoka County Commissioner Rhonda Sivarajah sought the Republican nomination.

[35][36][37] Allan Levene, a Kennesaw, Georgia, resident who sought the Republican nomination in four congressional districts in four separate states, including Minnesota, ultimately did not file an affidavit of candidacy.

His seat was one of only a handful that was represented by a Democrat but was carried by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in the 2012 election and was seen as a top pick-up opportunity had Peterson retired.

Their tactics included airing television advertisements, hiring a press staffer to give opposition research to reporters, hiring a tracker to follow him around his district and record him, and sending mobile billboards with critical statements on them to drive around his hometown.

"[49][50] After Republicans spread rumors that Peterson was planning to buy a house in Florida and retire there, he said: "I went from neutral on running again to 90 percent just because of this stupid stuff they're doing.