Quick Read
Both parties plowed millions of dollars into the sweeping battle for the chamber majorities.
After two years of tight margins at Minnesota’s Capitol, voters on Tuesday put the DFL firmly back in control of the state Legislature with a new DFL governor on the way.
The size of the DFL majorities will come down to probable recounts but the unofficial results had DFLers potentially reaching 75 seats in the House and as many as 39 in the Senate.
All 201 legislative seats were up for grabs in this election cycle. Democrats have held a one-vote edge over Republicans in the Minnesota Senate since 2023. The Minnesota House of Representatives had to share power after being in a 67-67 tie.
Democrats flipped seats in the suburbs and in greater Minnesota and only a single party incumbent was at risk of losing a seat. That was true for both the House and Senate, where the DFL gained seats around St. Peter, Maple Grove, Rochester and Winona among other places.
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Republicans lost ground — and incumbents — in both chambers. Notable GOP lawmakers to lose include Sen. Jim Abeler of Anoka, Sen. Bill Lieske of Londsale and Sen. Michael Kreun of Blaine. Also defeated were Rep. Danny Nadeau of Rogers, Jeff Dotseth of Kettle River, Rep. Erika Schwartz of Nicollet, Rep. Aaron Repinski of Winona and Rep. Wayne Johnson of Cottage Grove.
DFL Sen. Rob Kupec of Moorhead could wind up as his party’s sole casualty, although his four-vote deficit to Republican Austin Peterson will head to a recount. Republican Rep. Nolan West of Blaine is also likely to see his 22-vote edge over DFLer Amanda Matchett go to a recount in a race that saw 22 write-in votes.
A GOP senator, Karin Housley, was up by 44 votes over DFL challenger Nat Smith in the Stillwater area, making that a recount candidate as well.
Late into the night, seats in the Hermantown area were still too close to call.
House DFL Leader Zack Stephenson, who is in line to be House speaker, said the new majority would take bold action starting in 2027.
“We’ve got a lot of big things that we need to get done in Minnesota,” he said at a DFL victory party.
“It will be doing everything we can to make Minnesotans’ lives more affordable. It’ll be taking on health care and trying to make sure that people can afford their health care,” he said. “It’ll be doing things on guns.”
DFL Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy also said stalled legislation to outlaw certain high-power guns and ammunition clips would be among the first things to move next year.
Both parties plowed millions of dollars into the sweeping battle for the chamber majorities.
Policy messages and money
In races around the state, Republicans focused their messages on fighting fraud in state government programs and reducing spending. They said a legislative reset was needed since Democrats controlled the Capitol as the scope of a fraud problem unfurled.
Democrats, meanwhile, said they would work to blunt cost problems facing families and counter changes coming down from the Trump administration. They also committed to approving restrictions on federal agents following the surge of immigration enforcement agents in Minnesota.
Firearms regulations also factored into the party’s messaging. DFL leaders said those are needed following the 2025 mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis. This was the first statewide election since the assassinations of DFL Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and related attacks on Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.
A flood of money cascaded into Minnesota to influence voters. Some state Senate races drew outside spending of $2 million to $3 million — comparable to the amount spent in some congressional and statewide elections.
The next class of state lawmakers will have work ahead of them in 2027. They’ll be tasked with writing the state’s next two-year state budget and could face strong financial headwinds.
And with Amy Klobuchar’s election Tuesday as the next governor, DFLer will return to trifecta control with the governor’s office, state House and Senate.
