Legislative Housing Caucus Finds Success
A theme emerged across the country early in the evening on Tuesday night. Former President Trump and most Republicans were overperforming the 2020 results, a year that was good for Democrats. Despite having a popular Governor Walz and Senator Amy Klobuchar at the top-of-ticket, that theme played out here in Minnesota as well.
Going into the night with a three-seat deficit, the Minnesota House GOP was successful in flipping three Greater Minnesota DFL seats in the Iron Range, Winona, and St. Peter. But every single competitive seat in the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburbs remained in the hands of the party that controlled it at the beginning of the night.
With these results, it appears as though Minnesota will have an outcome that has not occurred since 1979, a tie at 67 seats for each party. You couple this with the Minnesota Senate remaining in DFL hands, 34-33, thanks to a win in the lone special election in the Lake Minnetonka area and Minnesota voters have chosen possibly the most divided state government in the country.
On the endorsement front, Housing First Minnesota had an extraordinary night where 89% of our endorsed candidates won their election. This includes members from both parties where we endorsed our most bi-partisan and most geographically diverse slate of candidates ever.
“This is likely to be the most closely divided Minnesota legislature that we have seen in a generation,” said Mark Foster, vice president of legislative & political affairs. “Only policy issues that can receive strong bipartisan support will be seriously considered. That’s where housing comes in. In recent years, members from both parties have elevated housing policy reform and these issues should be a top priority for our newly elected officials to get to work on.”
The Minnesota Legislature is scheduled to begin the 2025-2026 session on January 14, 2025.
