Minnesota will continue to see a divided government in 2017, with the Republican Party retaining and taking the majority in the House and Senate, respectively, and Governor Dayton serving the remaining two years of his term.
State House of Representatives
In the State House, the GOP widened its majority by defeating four incumbent DFL legislators and winning key open seats. The balance now stands at 76 GOP members to 57 DFL members. In addition, there will be a special election held in February to fill Rep. Bob Barrett’s seat after a judge ruled that he did not meet the residency requirements to run in the district he previously represented.
Leadership in the House will remain under Speaker Kurt Daudt (31A). The previous Minority Leader, Rep. Paul Thissen (61B) choose not to run for his leadership role again and the DFL elected Rep. Melissa Hortman (36B) to serve as Minority Leader in 2017. Committee chairs and assignments have not yet been announced.
State Senate
In the State Senate the Republicans took over the majority by a slim margin. The Senate now stands at 34 Republican members to 33 DFL members. While two races are currently in a recount, , the margins are wide enough that the results are not anticipated to change.
The Senate will see 21 new members, 12 of those being Republican and 9 DFL members; 6 incumbent DFL members were defeated on Election Night and 1 incumbent Republican lost his seat. The Republicans elected Sen. Paul Gazelka (09) to serve as the new Majority Leader and Sen. Michelle Fischbach (13) to serve as President of the Senate. Sen. Tom Bakk (03) will remain in his leadership role of the DFL Senate and will serve as Senate Minority Leader. Like the House, Committee chairs and assignments have not yet been announced.
Opportunity to engage
While this change to the State Legislature causes uncertainty around the priorities and focus for state government in 2017, we can also view it as an opportunity. Historically, ARRM has been able to work in a bi-partisan manor, developing strong relationships with both Republican and DFL members. We are eager to continue to develop those relationships with returning members and to begin educating and cultivating new champions with newly-elected legislators.
Looking ahead, it is critical that we reach out to legislators prior to the start of the legislative session to begin educating them on our priorities for 2017 and how they can better support Minnesotan’s with disabilities and their staff. ARRM will be sending out a detailed Action Alert in the coming days with information on how you can reach out to your elected officials.