The configuration of state government that produced five Special Sessions to enact a Bonding Bill remains essentially unchanged by the 2020 general election.
Governor Walz was not on the ballot. He will stand for re-election in 2022.
Going into the election, Republicans controlled the State Senate by a margin of 35 to 32. Early results show the same split with each party flipping two seats. DFL Senators Little (Lakeville) and Sparks (Austin) lost reelection bids and Republicans lost the seats previously held by Senators Hall (Burnsville) and Anderson (Plymouth). There are several other close races in Saint Cloud, Rochester, and Maple Grove, but incumbent Republicans are in the lead in all of them.
The House has been controlled by the DFL. Again, the narrow margin of party control – 75 DFL to 59 Republican seats – will be narrower still after this election. The DFL margin in the House will turn to 70 to 64 – or perhaps even 69 to 65. There are several extremely tight House races that may trigger automatic recounts, but not enough to swing control of the chamber.
In any case, the levers of government in Minnesota will remain in the same hands as has been the case for the past two years.
A note of some significance for the no-too-distant-future, once again, in 2022, all 201 legislators will be on the ballot. This time, with redrawn Legislative Districts lines to take into account populations shifts and growth across the state. It is expected that rural regions will lose seats while the suburbs continue to grow in terms of political representation.
We will provide a further analysis as the Senate and House majority and minority caucuses meet to name leaders and committee chairs.