In the November 7 general election, Pawlenty received a plurality of the votes, defeating Hatch by a margin of 1%.

A major issue in the campaign that was considered to have hurt the DFL nominees was lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Judi Dutcher's response to a question about E-85.

[6][7] Hatch claimed he had said "hack", not "whore", but the incident, occurring only three days before the last poll listed in this article, is believed to have swung the race.

Pawlenty won by piling up large margins in suburban counties as well as in central and southern Minnesota regions anchored by St.

Hatch ran ahead in Minneapolis, St. Paul and their inner-ring suburbs, and won by large margins around Duluth and the Iron Range.