Politics of Minnesota

Politics of Minnesota
Constitution
Executive DFL ) Lieutenant Governor: Peggy Flanagan (DFL) Secretary of State: Steve Simon (DFL) State Auditor: Julie Blaha (DFL) Attorney General: Keith Ellison (DFL) Cabinet Executive Council
Legislature 92nd Legislature Senate President: David Osmek (R) President pro tempore: David Tomassoni (I) Majority leader: Jeremy Miller (R) Melisa Franzen (DFL) House of Representatives Speaker: Melissa Hortman (DFL) Speaker pro tempore: Liz Olson (DFL) Majority leader: Ryan Winkler (DFL) Minority leader: Kurt Daudt (R)
Judiciary Supreme Court Court of Appeals District Courts
Elections Political parties Political party strength
Subdivisions Counties Cities Townships
Congressional delegation United States Senate Amy Klobuchar (DFL) Tina Smith (DFL) United States House of Representatives 1: Brad Finstad (R) 2: Angie Craig (DFL) 3: Dean Phillips (DFL) 4: Betty McCollum (DFL) 5: Ilhan Omar (DFL) 6: Tom Emmer (R) 7: Michelle Fischbach (R) 8: Pete Stauber (R)
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In the early 2000s, presidential campaigns have viewed the 27 electoral college votes from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa as a bloc that is subject to swing toward either major party, and equal in value to Florida's 27 electoral votes.^[4] This analysis resulted in dozens of visits by candidates in the final months of both the 2000 and 2004 campaigns.^[5] However, in the 2008 United States presidential election, Barack Obama won the state by more than 10 percentage points.

Minnesota's congressional delegation is split with 4 Democratic and 4 Republican members of Congress and mostly has been split since the early 1990s. (See United States congressional delegations from Minnesota.)

In the 2006 mid-term election, Democrats were elected to all state offices except for governor and lieutenant governor, where Republicans Tim Pawlenty and Carol Molnau narrowly won reelection. The DFL also posted double-digit gains in both houses of the legislature, elected DFLer Amy Klobuchar to the U.S. Senate, and increased the Democratic U.S. House caucus by one, Tim Walz (MN-01).

However, in the 2010 mid-terms, the 8th district, a Democratic stronghold for decades in the Iron Range, elected Republican Chip Cravaack over long-time incumbent Jim Oberstar, splitting the delegation again, 4 to 4. Republicans also captured both houses of the Minnesota Legislature for the first time in decades. However, Democratic candidate Mark Dayton won control of the governorship, making all of Minnesota's statewide elected officials Democrats. In the 2012 election, Democrat Rick Nolan recaptured Oberstar's seat, bringing the ratio to 5 Democrats and 3 Republicans again at the national level. They also captured majorities in both chambers of the Minnesota Legislature.

However, during the 2018 mid-term elections the Republican party recovered both the 8th district and the 1st district, as the former representative of the first district, Tim Walz (D) ran for and was elected governor. The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party flipped two Twin Cities suburban districts, the 2nd and the 3rd district with candidates Angie Craig and Dean Phillips, which maintained the ratio of 5 Democrats and 3 Republicans representing Minnesota at the national level.

The 2018 mid-term election also saw the election of Ilhan Omar as representative of Minnesota's 5th congressional district. She gained national recognition for her involvement with The Squad, a progressive group of newly elected representatives including New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and for a July 14, 2019 tweet by President Donald Trump saying the four Democratic members of Congress, should "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how it is done" in response to attacks from members of the group on how he was running the country.

From 1915 to 1973, elections to the Minnesota Legislature were nonpartisan, though members organized into a Conservative Caucus and a Liberal Caucus. Most Republicans joined the Conservatives and most Farmer Laborites joined the Liberals, while the Democrats were more split. The Farmer Labor Party was successful statewide in the 1930s but only controlled the Minnesota House of Representatives twice.^[6] The DFL had more success by the 1950s but was hampered by malapportionment in the legislative maps.

Redistricting

Redistricting has often been very contentious in Minnesota. For 1913, the legislature passed a legislative map which was litigated the following year, for reasons including malapportionment. The Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the map, following many other states in a pre-Reynolds v. Sims era.^[7] The legislature also passed a congressional map for the state's new tenth district. Like many agriculture-based states, Minnesota lost a congressional seat after the 1930 Census. The then-Conservative controlled legislature passed a map which Governor Floyd Olson then vetoed. The House of Representatives attempted to overrule and force the state Secretary of State to implement the map. He was sued, and the case made its way through the state courts before going to the United States Supreme Court. In Smiley v. Holm, the Court overturned the State Supreme Court and struck down the map, leading congressional seats in the 1932 House elections to be elected held at-large. The next year, a new congressional map was passed and implemented, staying in place until 1961.^[8]

In 1958, a group of voters sued to overturn the still in place 1913 legislative maps, arguing the maps were grossly malapportioned. In Magraw v. Donovan, the courts agreed, but allowed the legislature time to redraw the maps. In 1959, the legislature passed a map which made minor changes, notably preserving the districts in Southeastern, Central, and Northeastern Minnesota. It increased the number of legislative districts in Hennepin and Ramsey County from 14 to 19 (two members were elected to each legislative district in Minneapolis while in Ramsey County two house districts were nested within each legislative district). Voters again sued to overturn the legislative maps in 1964 under the principle of one man, one vote and again the court deferred to the legislature to redraw the maps. The legislature and Governor Karl Rolvaag fought over new maps, before one was signed into law in 1966.^[7]

In 1971, the legislature passed a new map during a special session, but Governor Wendell Anderson vetoed the map over its use of multimember districts in Minneapolis, Duluth, and the Iron Range to achieve an odd number of House and Senate seats, a longtime practice by the legislature. Voters also had sued to overturn the 1966 maps, and the federal district court intervened, drawing a map with 35 Senate districts and 105 House districts. In Minnesota State Senate v. Beens, the Supreme Court overturned the district court. The district court returned with a new plan, which brought the state legislature down to its current 67 senators and 134 representatives.^[7]

Politics

In 2020 the

The progressive Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party, formed in 1920, provided three governors, four United States senators, and eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives from the 1920s until its merger with the Democratic Party in 1944.

The moderate

The state's Green Party has elected several city council members and other local office-holders in Duluth, Minneapolis and Winona, and has made strong runs for state legislature during the past two election cycles. In 2000, Green Party candidate Ralph Nader received just over 5% of the presidential votes cast, gaining Major Party status for the party.^[12] The Green Party lost that status in 2004, but retains minor party status having exceeded a 2% threshold.^[13]

In the 2006 election, voters in Minneapolis approved a referendum (by a decisive 65% to 35%) to utilize the

As in the national government of the United States, power is divided among three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.[15]

Legislature

bicameral body consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The state has 67 districts, each covering about 73,500 people. Each district has one senator and two representatives (each district being divided into A and B sections). Senators serve for four years and representatives for two years.^[15]

The Legislature convenes in regular session each odd-numbered year on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January. In even-numbered years, it convenes on a date set by joint agreement of both houses. The state constitution limits the Legislature to meeting 120 legislative days during each biennium. In addition, the Legislature may not meet in regular session after the first Monday following the third Saturday in May of any year. During this time, neither house may adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other.[15]

Minnesota's legislature has DFL majorities in both houses.

Senate Party Members DFL 34 Republican 33 Total 67

House of Representatives Party Members DFL 70 Republican 64 Total 134

Executive

The executive branch is headed by

attorney general

.

• 
  Governor
  Tim Walz (DFL)
• 
  Attorney General
  Keith Ellison (DFL)

Judiciary

Minnesota's court system has three levels. Most cases start in the district courts, which are courts of general jurisdiction. There are 272 district court judges in ten judicial districts. Appeals from the trial courts and challenges to certain governmental decisions are heard by the Minnesota Court of Appeals, consisting of sixteen judges who typically sit in three-judge panels. The seven-justice Minnesota Supreme Court hears all appeals from the Tax Court, the Worker's Compensation Court, first-degree murder convictions, and discretionary appeals from the Court of Appeals; it also has original jurisdiction over election disputes.^[16] All judges must stand for election in the first general election occurring more than a year after their appointment by the governor and every six years thereafter.

Regional government

Below the city and county levels of government found in the United States, Minnesota has other entities that provide governmental oversight and planning. Some actions in the Twin Cities metropolitan area are coordinated by the

soil and water conservation districts

.

There are seven Anishinaabe reservations and four Dakota communities in Minnesota. These communities govern themselves independently.^[17]

Federal representation

Minnesota's two U.S. Senators are elected at large:

• Senior U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar
  (DFL)
• Junior U.S. Senator Tina Smith
  (DFL)

Minnesota has eight

congressional districts

. There were 9th and 10th districts but they were eliminated in 1963 and 1933 respectively. Since the early 1960s, the state's congressional districts have been drawn by a judicial panel due to the legislature's failure to enact a redistricting plan after every decennial census.

U.S. House of Representatives:

• Rep. Brad Finstad
  (Republican).
• Minnesota's 2nd congressional district spans the width of the entire southern metro area and contains all of Scott, Le Sueur, Goodhue and Rice Counties – Rep. Angie Craig (DFL).
• Minnesota's 3rd congressional district encompasses the suburbs of Hennepin County to the north, west, and south of Minneapolis – Rep. Dean Phillips (DFL).
• St. Paul and several St. Paul suburbs – Rep. Betty McCollum
  (DFL).
• Hennepin County, including the entire city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, along with parts of Anoka and Ramsey counties – Rep. Ilhan Omar
  (DFL).
• Minnesota's 6th congressional district includes most or all of Benton, Sherburne, Stearns, Wright, Anoka, and Washington counties – Rep. Tom Emmer (Republican).
• Minnesota's 7th congressional district covers almost all of the western side of Minnesota from the Canada–US border down to Lincoln County and is the largest district in the state – Rep. Michelle Fischbach (Republican).
• Minnesota's 8th congressional district covers the northeastern part of Minnesota and includes Duluth, Hibbing, and the Mesabi Range – Rep. Pete Stauber (Republican).

District Political Leanings – 118th United States Congress
District	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	State
CPVI[18]	R+7	D+1	D+8	D+17	D+30	R+12	R+19	R+8	D+1

Gallery of members of the U.S. Senate

• 
  Amy Klobuchar
• 
  Tina Smith

Gallery of members of the U.S. House of Representatives

• 
  Brad Finstad, MN-01
• 
  Angie Craig, MN-02
• 
  Dean Phillips, MN-03
• 
  Betty McCollum, MN-04
• 
  Ilhan Omar, MN-05
• 
  Tom Emmer, MN-06
• 
  Michelle Fischbach, MN-07
• 
  Pete Stauber, MN-08

Minnesota is part of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota in the federal judiciary. The district's cases are appealed to the St.Louis–based United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Historical figures of note

John Pillsbury

C.A. Pillsbury and Company along with his family (it is named for his nephew, Charles Alfred Pillsbury

).

Frank Kellogg

Kellogg-Briand Pact, signed in 1928. Proposed by its other namesake, French foreign minister Aristide Briand, the treaty intended to provide for "the renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy". He was awarded the 1929 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition. He was associate judge of the Permanent Court of International Justice

from 1930 to 1935.

Floyd B. Olson

Floyd B. Olson (November 13, 1891 – August 22, 1936) served as the 22nd Governor of Minnesota from January 6, 1931, to August 22, 1936. He was a member of the Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party, and was the first member of the Farmer–Labor Party to win the office of governor in Minnesota. The party, founded in 1918 had a good deal of success in Minnesota as a statewide third party, with three governors and four U.S. senators serving during the 1920s and 1930s. The party platform called for protection for farmers and labor union members, government ownership of some industries, and social security laws. There were unsuccessful attempts to develop the party into a national Farmer–Labor Party in the early 1920s.^[19] The Minnesota Democratic Party, led by Hubert H. Humphrey, was able to merge with the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party in 1944. Since 1944 the two parties together make up the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party.

Harold Stassen

Harold E. Stassen (April 13, 1907 – March 4, 2001) was the 25th Governor of Minnesota from 1939 to 1943 and a later perennial candidate for other offices, most notably and frequently President of the United States. At 31 he was the youngest governor to serve in Minnesota and was seen as an "up and comer" after delivering the keynote address at the 1940 Republican National Convention. At that convention, he helped secure the Republican Party nomination for Wendell Willkie. Stassen was a delegate at the San Francisco Conference that established the United Nations, and president of the University of Pennsylvania

from 1948 to 1953.

Stassen was later best known for being a perennial candidate for the Republican Party nomination for president. His strongest bid for the presidential nomination was in 1948, when he won a series of upset victories in early

American Baptist Convention in 1963, he joined Martin Luther King Jr. in his march on Washington, D.C. He was a prime representative of the socially-progressive "Rockefeller Republican

" wing of American Republicanism.

Hubert Humphrey

Richard M. Nixon. In one of the most renowned speeches in American political history, Humphrey told the 1948 Democratic National Convention

: "the time has arrived in America for the Democratic Party to get out of the shadows of states' rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights," winning support for a pro-civil-rights plank in the Party's platform.

Eugene McCarthy

1968 presidential election, McCarthy unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for President of the United States to succeed incumbent Lyndon Johnson on an anti-Vietnam War platform. He would unsuccessfully seek the presidency five times altogether. (He is not to be confused with Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy

who sought out Communist spies within the federal government.)

Orville Freeman

Food Stamp Program.^[20]

Walter Mondale

District of Columbia. Mondale also quickly stepped into the 2002 U.S. Senate race against Norm Coleman

, when Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash two weeks before the election. Coleman narrowly won the election, 49.5% to 47.3%.

Paul Wellstone

Wellstone Action

nonprofit group.

Jesse Ventura

Main article: Jesse Ventura § Political career

Independence Party of Minnesota when it broke from its association with the Reform Party of the United States of America) and narrowly, but unexpectedly beat the major-party candidates: Saint Paul mayor Norm Coleman (Republican) and Minnesota Attorney General Hubert H. "Skip" Humphrey III (Democratic–Farmer–Labor). His campaign consisted of a combination of aggressive grassroots events and original television spots, designed by quirky advertising man Bill Hillsman, using the phrase "Don't vote for politics as usual." He spent considerably less than his opponents (about $600,000), and is widely regarded as one of the first candidates to effectively use the Internet as a medium of reaching out to voters in a political campaign.^[21] Ventura went on to gain the highest approval rating of any governor in Minnesota history, with some polls ranking his public approval as high as the 73% in 1999, despite controversial statements of his.^[22]

See also

• List of political parties in Minnesota

References

1. ^ Michael P. McDonald. "2008 Unofficial Voter Turnout". United States Elections Project, George Mason University. Archived from the original on November 13, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
2. ISBN 978-0-9801400-0-2
   .
3. ^ Leip, David. "Presidential General Election Results Comparison – Minnesota". US Election Atlas. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
4. ^ Moore, Rick (October 26, 2004). "2004 Elections Project – The latest trends in Wisconsin and Iowa". UMN News. Regents of the University of Minnesota. Retrieved November 19, 2006.
5. ^ King, David C.; David Morehouse. "Moving Voters in the 2000 Presidential Campaign: Local Visits, Local Media" (PDF). Lights, Camera, Campaign, edited by David Schultz, New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2004. Harvard University, Institute of Politics. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2006. Retrieved November 19, 2006.
6. ^ "Caucus Chart - Minnesota Legislature". www.lrl.mn.gov. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
7. ^ ^{a b c} Stangl, Alexis; Gehring, Matt (November 2018). "History of Minnesota Legislative Redistricting" (PDF). Minnesota Legislative Coordinating Commission.
8. ^ Stangl, Alexis; Gehring, Matt (November 2018). "History of Minnesota Congressional Redistricting" (PDF). Minnesota Legislative Coordinating Commission.
9. Washington Post
   . Retrieved May 28, 2023.
10. ^ "Reform Party votes to leave national group". Saint Paul Pioneer Press. March 5, 2000. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
11. ^ "Minnesota's Major & Minor Political Parties". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
12. ^ "Minnesota Still Democrat, no longer safe bet". Saint Paul Pioneer Press. November 8, 2000.
13. ^ Conrad DeFiebre (November 9, 2004). "Greens, IP ponder their options after lackluster showing at polls". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012.
14. ^ Cobb, David (November 9, 2006). "It's clear: Eureka is sharply divided". Times-Standard. Retrieved December 28, 2006.
15. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Minnesota North Star : Government". Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved October 20, 2006.
16. ^ "Explanation of Minnesota court system". Archived from the original on November 1, 2006. Retrieved October 19, 2006.
17. ^ "Minnesota North Star: Tribal Government". Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved October 20, 2006.[ ] Retrieved October 20, 2006
18. ^ "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
19. ^ Davenport, Tim. "The Farmer–Labor Party (1918–1924)". Early American Marxism. marxisthistory.org. Retrieved December 4, 2006.
20. ^ Olson, Dan (February 21, 2003). "Remembering Orville Freeman". Minnesota Public Radio. and Stout, David (February 22, 2003). "Orville Freeman, 84, Dies; 60's Agriculture Secretary". The New York Times. Retrieved April 11, 2008.
21. ^ deFiebre, Conrad (July 22, 1999). "Record-high job approval for Ventura; Many Minnesotans like his style, don't mind moonlighting". Star Tribune.
22. ^ Daves, Robert P. (August–September 1999). "Jesse "The Governor" Ventura Continuing to "Shock the World"" (PDF). Roper Center, Cornell University. Public Perspectives. Retrieved January 26, 2024.

External links

• Politics of Minnesota at
  Curlie