Democrats take control of both chambers of the Minnesota Legislature

Minnesota Democrats won back control of both chambers of the Legislature on Tuesday, delivering the second "trifecta" in state government in four years, according to unofficial results.

The Associated Press called at least 37 state Senate seats for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is an improvement over their one-seat majority in the 67-member chamber. DFL leaders are claiming victory in 39 districts; two races where Republicans prevailed by single digits are headed towards an automatic recount.

In the House — which was previously tied between Democrats and Republicans — the DFL has at least 77 seats, according to the AP.

With the election of DFL U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar to be the next governor, Democrats have total control of state government. They first won back a trifecta in the 2022 election, but their margins were much tighter.

"We are very sure that we will have a large majority — the largest majority in the House since the Obama era," said DFL House Leader Zack Stephenson late Tuesday night when votes were still being counted. 

"I think it's an overwhelming display of frustration that people had with the Trump administration and with Republican governance," he said of the blue wave in Minnesota and nationally. 

In 2023 and 2024 — the last time the Democrats controlled the Capitol — they passed a slate of progressive priorities, including universal free school meals, legal marijuana, abortion rights protections, paid family and medical leave, gun safety bills like a red flag law and expanded background checks and more.

The agenda for next year is still in the works and will come into sharper focus soon after each caucus meets. But both Stephenson and Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy said affordability, especially when it comes to health care, is top of mind. 

"The first thing we have to do is to address the cost of living for people, and that's not going to happen in one bill," Murphy told reporters. "We have a lot of work to do for the people of Minnesota in health care, in housing, and in child care. And those issues are going to take some time."

But when it comes to gun regulations, Democrats have already promised to pass a package that includes a ban on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines to Governor-elect Klobuchar's desk. 

That bill passed the Senate but failed to clear the House earlier this year and it is a push from some families of Annunciation Catholic School, where a gunman killed two children and injured more than two dozen others during school mass last summer. 

Klobuchar said she spent time with the parents of Harper Moyski, who was killed in the shooting at just 10-years-old, on Tuesday night before she joined the DFL Party on election night. It was what would have been her 12th birthday.

"I think the gun safety bill is going to get passed and I am so excited to be working with the leaders on this. And it certainly should be one of our top priorities," Klobuchar told reporters Wednesday. 

Republicans were disappointed with the results. They believed the fraud scandal plaguing social services programs would help them break their 20-year losing streak statewide office and earn the trust of voters to lead at the Capitol. 

"With another trifecta on the horizon, Senate Republicans remain committed to holding state government accountable and putting Minnesotans first," said Sen. Mark Johnson, the Republican minority leader, in a statement.  

What would Klobuchar's leadership style be working with the Legislature?

Klobuchar's election means a new negotiator at the table with lawmakers when they work to pass the next state budget next legislative session. She said she already talked to all four legislative leaders — including Republicans. 

She vowed to include the minority in negotiations, even if Democrats can pass bills without GOP votes. 

"I was No. 1 for bipartisan bills, No. 3 for passing bills into law — you don't get to that stage in the U.S. Senate if you don't understand the value of working with people both on the Republican side and in the same caucus that you maybe don't always agree with," she told reporters. "And I am going to put a huge priority on this as we set our priority going forward, because I believe for our state, the stakes couldn't be more high right now."

Klobuchar also said she knows she will spar with members of her own party who may be further to the left than she is. Some progressives want to raise taxes, like on social media companies, when they get power back in January. Klobuchar has said she does not want to raise any taxes. 

"I see every day in my own caucus in the U.S. Senate, you're going to see people with different views," she said. "And the most important thing to me is that people know where I am coming from and the fact that I have been consistent from the beginning, including last night, in front of the entire celebration — which was an ongoing and never-ending celebration for the Democratic Party nationally and in the DFL — I actually said, spoiler alert, you're not going to like everything I do."

When asked what he thinks his caucus may not like, Stephenson said the focus Tuesday was on the celebration for Democrats commanding victories. 

"We're focusing on affordability. We got a lot of things that we know we can do," he said.