The 2024 Minnesota House of Representatives election will be held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on November 5, 2024, to elect members to the House of Representatives of the 94th Minnesota Legislature. Primaries took place on August 13, 2024.[1]
In the previous legislature, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) leveraged their existing trifecta to enact significant legislative reforms, including paid family leave, universal free school meals, a progressive child tax credit, increased sales and gas taxes for housing and transportation respectively, codified abortion rights, established a commission to redesign the state flag, and eliminated public university tuition for families earning under $85,000. The slim majorities held by the DFL were maintained by narrow victories in key battleground districts. They won control of the chamber following the 2018 election and are entering this cycle with a majority of 5 seats. [2]
A primary election was held in 19 districts to nominate Republican and DFL candidates. 15 Republican nominations and 7 DFL nominations were contested. Eight incumbents were opposed for their party's nomination, including Brian Johnson (R-28A), who lost the nomination.[20]
District 1A is located in the northwest corner of the state and includes all or portions of Kittson, Marshall, Pennington, and Roseau counties. The incumbent is Republican John Burkel, who was first elected in 2020. He was re-elected in 2022 with 76.26% of the vote.
District 1B is located in northwestern Minnesota and includes East Grand Forks, Crookston, and Red Lake Falls. The incumbent is Republican Debra Kiel, who was first elected in 2010. She was re-elected in 2022 with 71.13% of the vote. Kiel announced that she was retiring at the end of the term and would not be seeking re-election.
2A is located in northwestern Minnesota, stretching as far south as Bemidji and as far north as the Northwest Angle. Incumbent Matt Grossell (R) won in 2022 with 54.35% of the vote. Grossell is not seeking re-election.[26]
District 2B is in north-central Minnesota, including the towns of Bagley and Mahnomen.[29] Incumbent Matt Bliss (R), first elected in 2016, won in 2022 with 63.46% of the vote.[30]
Incumbent Roger Skraba (R) was first elected in 2022, when he won by a 15-vote margin, earning 49.98% of votes.[30] District 3A is located in northeastern Minnesota, covering large portions of the Iron Range and the northern Arrowhead Region. Cities in the district include International Falls, Ely, Silver Bay, and Grand Marais. It is the largest house district by area.[31]
Incumbent Natalie Zeleznikar (R) was first elected in 2022, winning by 33 votes (50.01%) and ousted longtime DFL Rep. Mary Murphy.[30] District 3B contains the suburbs and townships around Duluth including Two Harbors, Hermantown and Rice Lake.[33] Voters in the district opted for President Joe Biden in the 2020 election and Walz in 2022.[34]
Mark Munger, a former Proctor city attorney and a retired judge for the Sixth Judicial District, is her DFL opponent. Munger also owns a publishing company, the Cloquet River Press, and has authored 14 books, according to his publishing website.[34] Munger’s years on the bench and past judicial decisions have come under some scrutiny from right-wing organizations.[35]
District 4B is located in northwestern Minnesota, surrounding the city of Moorhead and including Glyndon and Detroit Lakes.[43] Incumbent Jim Joy (R) won 62.88% of the vote in 2022.[30]
District 5A is located in north central Minnesota. The largest city in 5A is Park Rapids.[45] Incumbent Krista Knudsen (R) was first elected in 2022 with 70.49% of the vote.
The district is located in central Minnesota and covers all of Todd County plus portions of Morrison, Cass, and Wadena counties. Republican Mike Wiener was first elected in 2022 with 75.36% of the vote.
District 6A, located in north central Minnesota, stretches from Grand Rapids to Garrison.[48] Incumbent Ben Davis (R) was first elected in 2022 with 62.30% of the vote.
District 7B is located in the northeastern Iron Range of Minnesota, and includes the cities of Virginia, Chisholm, Eveleth, and other rural townships in St. Louis County. The incumbent is DFLer Dave Lislegard, who was first elected in 2018. He was re-elected most recently in 2022 with 51.10% of the vote. He decided to not run for re-election.[52] Voters in 7B voted for President Donald Trump in 2020 and for Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen in 2022. This is among the last DFL seats in northeast Minnesota, which has become increasingly Republican in the Trump years, and gives Republicans their best chance of a flip.[34]
DFL candidate Lorrie Janatopoulos, who worked in Tim Walz’sDepartment of Employment and Economic Development, states on her campaign website that she’s “pro-labor, pro-mining, pro-freedom.”[53] She won a Bush Foundation fellowship in 2016, and the Bush Foundation states Janatopoulos was an LGBTQ activist on the Iron Range.
Republican candidate Cal Warwas, an Iron Range native, works at the U.S. Steel’s Minntac mine in Mountain Iron.[54] He serves in local government for Clinton Township and was the endorsed GOP candidate against Matt Matasich (R). In a press release announcing his candidacy, Warwas said one of his top priorities will be mining policy.
District 8A covers southern Duluth. Incumbent Liz Olson (DFL) is not seeking re-election.[4] DFL-endorsed Peter Johnson won the DFL primary against Jordon Johnson.
District 8B covers the southwestern portion of Duluth. Incumbent Alicia Kozlowski (DFL) was first elected in 2022 with 70% of the vote.[4] She will face Republican Shawn Savela in the general election.
District 11A is located in Northeast Minnesota, just south of Duluth.[60]
In September, the Minnesota Star Tribune released a report detailing domestic abuse allegations against incumbent Jeff Dotseth (R), spurring calls from DFL leaders for Dotseth to end his re-election campaign.[61]
First-term representative Bernie Perryman won the 2022 election over her DFL opponent by 199 votes. Perryman is a small business owner and chair of the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce. She was also a regional vice president for Anheuser-Busch for 20 years.[68]
Abdi Daisane, a Somali American business owner, is the DFL challenger. Daisane moved to St. Cloud in 2013 to attend St. Cloud State University.[69] His priorities, according to his campaign website, include supporting affordable housing, increasing funding for the state’s child care centers and advocating for climate justice.[70]
District 14B represents the other half of St. Cloud as well as part of Sauk Rapids. The district voted for Biden in 2020 and Walz in 2022. Dan Wolgamott (DFL) won his 2022 race by 540 votes.[34] The three-term legislator is running for reelection. Last year, Wolgamott pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor DWI charge after he was suspected of drinking alcohol in the parking lot of a liquor store.[74]
GOP challenger Sue Ek says on her campaign site that her priorities include lower taxes, support for law enforcement and protecting “parents’ rights to school choice, including homeschooling.” Ek ran for a St. Cloud House seat during a special election in 2005, but the state Supreme Court removed her from the ballot after agreeing with a lower court that she didn’t live in St. Cloud long enough to meet the state’s residency requirements.[75]
District 18 includes parts of Mankato and the cities of North Mankato and Kasota. Incumbent representative Jeff Brand (DFL) is running for re-election. Brand was previously a St. Peter City Council member and board member of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities.
Erica Schwartz is the GOP-endorsed candidate. Schwartz lives in Nicollet, where she works at a local convenience store owned by her husband, according to her campaign site.[85] She states her top issues include ensuring students have access to quality education, combating inflation and bolstering Minnesota’s law enforcement. According to the Minnesota Reformer, Schwartz was heard in a side conversation after a fundraiser saying that Democratic are leading the U.S. towards another Holocaust. She apologized for the comment.[86]
District 19A is in and around Faribault in southern Minnesota.[88] Incumbent Brian Daniels (R), who won with 64.9% of votes in 2022, is not seeking re-election.[14]
District 19B is located in and around Owatonna in southern Minnesota. Incumbent John Petersburg (R), who won 70% of votes in 2022, is not seeking re-election.[15]
District 26A includes the liberal-leaning college town of Winona, and more right-leaning towns like Goodview, Stockton, and surrounding townships. The district is seen as a potential flip for Republicans.[101] Longtime representative Gene Pelowski (DFL) is not seeking re-election after his 19th term.[5] The local DFL party did not endorse a candidate. Sarah Kruger, the chief of staff for FairVote Minnesota, defeated Dwayne Voegeli, a high school social studies teacher and chair of the Winona County Board of Commissioners.[34] Both DFL candidates support abortion access, unlike Pelowski, one of the last anti-abortion DFL elected officials.[101]
The Republican candidate is Aaron Repinski, who owns and operates the Winona Tour Boat Company. Repinski is also a Winona City Council member, and on his campaign site he states his top issues are improving education, the economy and public safety.[102]
District 26B is located in the southeast corner of the state and includes the cities of La Crescent, Chatfield, Caledonia, Spring Valley and Rushford. Long-time incumbent representative Greg Davids (R) is running for re-election; he narrowly won his primary after having lost the Republican Party's endorsement to newcomer Gary Steuart.
District 28A includes parts of North Branch, Cambridge, and Isanti in eastern Minnesota. Incumbent representative Brian Johnson (R) lost the Republican primary to Isanti mayor Jimmy Gordon, who won the GOP endorsement.
District 30A is located in the northwestern metro and includes the cities of St. Michael, Otsego, and Albertville, and parts of Hennepin and Wright counties.[111][112] Incumbent Walter Hudson (R) is running for re-election.
District 31B is in the northern Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Andover and East Bethel and parts of Anoka and Isanti counties. Incumbent Peggy Scott (R) is running for re-election.
District 32A is in the northern metro, which includes the city of Blaine and parts of Anoka County.[118][119] Incumbent Nolan West (R) is running for re-election.
District 32B includes the cities of Blaine and Lexington. Freshman representative Matt Norris (DFL) is running for reelection. Norris won his 2022 race by 413 votes.[120] The traditionally white working class district has steadily gained more people of color, which could swing the district more blue. Norris is vice chair of the House Taxes Committee.[34]
Norris’ Republican challenger Alex Moe ran for the state Senate in 2022 in Duluth. Moe worked in the Anoka County courts system and his campaign site includes many right-wing culture war issues. Moe claimed, for instance, that in the Anoka-Hennepin School District, “teachers are also being forced to use specific gender pronouns and names for students without parental knowledge.”[121]
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