MN-SD45: Minnesota Senate's single seat race will determine balance for next two years

The homes hugging Lake Minnetonka and its sylvan suburbs are among the most desirable real estate in the Twin Cities and this campaign season, they will also deliver the coveted votes that determine whether the GOP gains control of the state Senate or the DFL stays in charge.

Republican Kathleen Fowke and DFLer Ann Johnson Stewart are the two candidates combing the west metro neighborhoods for votes, knocking on doors, dropping off literature day after day with maps on their cellphones indicating the electoral proclivities of residents. It’s a grind that both embrace and value.

“I consider it an honor,” said Fowke, who drives around in a white VW Beetle wrapped with her campaign photo and theme. This is her second attempt at winning the seat. She lost in 2022 to Sen. Kelly Morrison.

Launching from the sunlit DFL district office in a strip mall, Johnson Stewart sets out for at least three hours of door-knocking a day, often with multiple DFL senators lending a hand. “It’s an important race so we have to do everything we can,” she said.




https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-senates-single-seat-race-will-determine-balance-for-next-two-years/601161659