Minnesota Republicans seek a reset after two years of DFL trifecta in St. Paul

On a sunny Tuesday morning, Republican state Senate candidate Kathleen Fowke walked door-to-door in a neighborhood along the shores of Lake Minnetonka.

The tree-lined roads by the water were quiet but when she knocked on a door she got a reminder that this is hotly contested territory.

“You’re in my YouTube all the time,” said the man inside — a reminder of the ads targeting voters here.

The special election for Minnesota Senate District 45 could be the state’s most expensive legislative race ever — and the key to winning control of the chamber. Former state Sen. Kelly Morrison, a Democrat, stepped down from the seat in June to run for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Democrats have held the trifecta — the House, Senate and governor’s office all in their control — at the Capitol for two years. They’ve used the legislative majorities to boost state funding for affordable housing and public schools, pass new legal protections for patients who seek or provide abortion or gender-affirming care and green light a broad swath of other DFL priorities.




https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/10/07/minnesota-republicans-seek-a-reset-after-two-years-of-dfl-trifecta-in-st-paul