Published 4:59 am Tuesday, November 5, 2024 By Minnesota Public Radio By Dana Ferguson and Clay Masters, Minnesota Public Radio News Control of the Minnesota Legislature hung in the balance Tuesday as voters determined who would fill all 134 House seats and one winner-takes-the-majority seat in the Minnesota Senate. The results will determine what lawmakers can move forward in terms of the state’s next two-year budget funding public schools, health care programs, law enforcement and a range of state agencies. One constant will be the DFL governor, although who that person is could change based on the presidential race.
Democrats have held slim majorities in both chambers for two years and have made the case to voters that they should get an extension. They see the next term as critical to moving ahead with progressive priorities and to finish setting up a state paid family and medical leave program and legal cannabis marketplace. Republicans, meanwhile, have argued that DFLers used their majorities to move the state too far to the left and the state needs more political moderation with divided government.
While contests all around the state will decide the result, a smaller fraction are viewed as competitive for the parties and outside groups. Those are focused in the suburbs and in a handful of greater Minnesota districts where political control has swung back and forth in recent years or where DFL incumbents have stepped down. Both parties also said they hope to see a boo.