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The battle for the Minnesota House could come down to just a few key districts

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (GRAY) – Control of the Minnesota Legislature has gone back and forth multiple times over the last few years, a fact both DFLers and Republicans are well aware of heading into the upcoming election. While the governor’s office and the Minnesota Senate are not up for reelection this year, the Minnesota House is. Both parties recognize that the balance of power could come down to a few key districts this year.

The DFL grabbed hold of a trifecta in 2022, securing all three legislative bodies needed to pass sweeping legislation: the senate, house, and governor’s office. In both the house and senate that the majority is slim; in the house flipping just four seats could give the GOP the majority.

DFL Majority Leader Jamie Long (DFL-Minneapolis) says his party is working hard to ensure it maintains its trifecta.

“At the legislative level, we have districts that go back and forth quite often, and we only have a two-vote margin in the state house right now, so we know we need to work hard and we’re taking nothing for granted,” he said.

Thursday, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee spotlighted 13 races it sees as close. Both parties see the last two years of DFL party control as a key piece of momentum—albeit for different reasons.

“From the work we did with reproductive rights protections to making sure all kids in schools are fed,“ said Long. “I think that we really made a huge impact for the better, for Minnesotans, for their lives, and that is going to be on the ballot this fall.”

Across the aisle, Minnesota Republican Party Chair David Hann thinks voters will view the trifecta’s work as a net negative, leading the party to take the House this fall.

“I think it’s important that we shift and put some restraint on this out-of-control spending and unwise policy decisions that the Walz administration has made,” he said.

In a similar vein, Hann believes voters will have that same view of Tim Walz as governor. The chair believes having Walz on the Democratic ticket could deter moderate voters.

“He’s proven himself to be divisive, extreme and very partisan, and that’s not how he campaigned. That’s not how he styled himself when he was congressman from the first district,” he said.

It appears Republicans are running on a platform of getting the DFL out of power. It’s worth noting that Walz won the 2022 election by around eight percentage points. Hann still believes that whatever favor the governor had with moderate voters has diminished.

“I think that combination of his bad policy choices, the kind of damage he’s done to the economy of Minnesota, the kinds of divisiveness that he’s displayed. He’s got kind of a mean streak that he displays when he doesn’t get his way and these things have all been visible, and I think that a lot of families are are struggling economically,” he said.

DFLers like Rep. Long, on the other hand, don’t agree with Hann’s framing.

“I think that’s a pretty creative spin, but I think that Minnesotans have a lot of pride in their governor. He’s popular, he’s been very effective, and I think that we also just like seeing Minnesotans do well at the national level,” he said.

While Hann pointed at the DFL trifecta, Long was quick to point out that with a divided legislature much less was accomplished.

“If you look back two years ago, before Democrats were able to maintain control of the legislature, we had gridlock,” he said, “…if you contrast that to what we’ve had the last two years, we’ve had effective government that’s working on behalf of Minnesotans. We’ve had historic school funding across the state, funding for public safety, gun violence prevention efforts; we’ve really been able to do the things that Minnesotans have been asking of us.”

Even with the boost in energy Long believes Walz will bring, he reiterated that his party will continue to campaign.

“[It] doesn’t mean we’re taking these races for granted at the local level,” he said.

The Minnesota Senate is not up for election this year, but there is one district holding a special election to fill a vacant seat. Formerly held by a DFL lawmaker, the seat will determine the balance of power in the senate.

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Publish date : 2024-09-13 18:31:00

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