District 45 race to decide which party will control the Minnesota Senate
MINNEAPOLIS — In a rare special election this November, just one seat will decide the balance of power and whether DFL priorities keep getting the green light.
The Senate District race is a special election to fill the seat left open by DFL state Sen. Kelly Morrison, who is running for Congress against Tad Jude in the 3rd Congressional District.
District 45 hugs the communities around Lake Minnetonka. The candidates are Kathleen Fowke, whose campaign address is in a Tonka Bay gated community and Ann Johnson Stewart, whose campaign address is in a building off Highway 101.
Fowke is running against the DFL juggernaut Johnson Stewart who has reshaped Minnesota in a more progressive light.
"I am running for state Senate. It's been a tough couple of years. Crime is on the rise. Our wallets are feeling the squeeze and our children are falling behind," Fowke said.
Some view the Senate race as nothing less than a referendum on the sweeping legislative agenda Democrats passed in the 2023 legislative session. That includes legalized recreational marijuana, free school meals, protection of abortion rights, paid family leave and so much more.
"Republicans see this as an opportunity to get the majority one seat in the Senate and block the DFL, which has been running roughshod over the Republicans over the last two years," Larry Jacobs, professor at the University of Minnesota's Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, said.
Democrats see this as an opportunity to continue the control that has reshaped so many laws and regulations.
"A somewhat obscure Minnesota Senate race has taken on huge importance," Jacobs said.
The rest of the Minnesota Senate is up for reelection in 2026.