GOP Takes Control Of Minnesota House
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Republicans grabbed control of the Minnesota House early Wednesday, breaking up the Democrats' short run of one-party rule of state government and grabbing a major consolation prize on a night when lost the top statewide races.
House Speaker Paul Thissen conceded shortly before 1 a.m. that Democrats had lost control of the chamber. The GOP will hold at least 68 seats — and therefore a majority — when the Legislature convenes in January.
"The math is not going to work for us," Thissen said.
Minority Leader Kurt Daudt estimated Republicans would emerge with 71 or 72 seats, and said the state would benefit from the return of divided government.
"As long as Democrats are willing to come to the table and put solutions first, we're going to do great," he said.
All 134 House seats were on Tuesday's ballot, but only a couple dozen races were seen as competitive. The state Senate was not on the ballot and will remain in Democratic hands, and Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton won a second term earlier in the evening.
Republicans gained at least seven seats to knock the Democrats from their perch. It is the third shift in power between the two parties in the last three elections. Many millions of dollars went into the campaigns on both sides, mostly from independent groups.
Thissen said despite the progress Democrats made in the past two years, they were unable to overcome a headwind in greater Minnesota. He said while divided government is back, he hopes it doesn't spell gridlock.
"I'm hopeful that the Republicans will live up to their promise for wanting to work across the aisle," he said.
House power has often swapped party hands during the past decade. Republicans ceded their majority in 2006 but won it back in 2010, only to lose control in a 2012 rout that gave Democrats full control.
This year, the fight for control was waged almost entirely in swing districts held by Democrats, with especially intense campaigning in about a dozen rural districts stretching from the very top of the state to one bordering Iowa. A handful of suburban seats were in play, too.
Democrats campaigned on their role in righting the state's wobbly budget, increasing aid to schools and getting new workplace protections for women and low-wage workers. They promised that if they keep their majority, they would try to tamp down college tuition, keep property taxes from shooting up and expand sick-and-parental leave policies.
Republicans highlighted Democrats' votes to raise taxes, build a new Senate office building and authorize borrowing for public-works projects that some voters might regard as fluff. They also said Democrats had failed to address nagging transportation and education achievement problems, things the GOP would focus on should they win Tuesday.
In Burnsville, where Democratic Rep. Will Morgan was in a rematch with Republican Roz Peterson after narrowly beating Peterson in 2012, 64-year-old David Ralls said he voted for Morgan because he appreciated his support for education and older people. Ralls described himself as independent but said he voted heavily Democratic this election.
"We've been able to get things done. Our economy's never been better, we've paid off all the schools we have a surplus in the budget, job growth is 4.1 percent. Unemployment is unbelievable," Ralls, a home builder, said of the DFL-controlled Legislature and governor's office. "My business is up in the last two years probably 60 percent."
Another closely watched race was in Minnetonka and Plymouth, where Democrat Jon Applebaum defeated Republican Ryan Rutzick to keep an open seat under Democratic control.
The House DFL campaign arm outraised and outspent its Republican counterpart, but outside groups such as the left-leaning Alliance for a Better Minnesota and the business-aligned Pro Jobs Majority kicked in millions more for their own ads. And independent group spending in some districts exceeded $500,000 — an astounding sum given candidates themselves are typically bound by limits of about $65,000.
(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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