Minnesota's political landscape has been altered very
dramatically based on yesterday's election results, though not
exactly in the manner most pundits had expected. As of this
writing, Mark Dayton holds a narrow lead (less than 1 percent) over
Tom Emmer in the race for governor of Minnesota. More dramatic is
the fact that Republicans handily won control of both the House and
Senate in Minnesota.
Republicans in the Minnesota legislature will ride a roller-coaster
of emotions over the next day or two, but very quickly they will
need to come to grips with the reality that while their political
fortunes have changed, the dire economic conditions confronting the
state and nation have not. It remains necessary to resolve a nearly
$6 billion state budget deficit for the next biennium; regardless
of the outcome in the governor's race, this financial quagmire
will need to be resolved with no tax increases and no help from
their Democrat counterparts. We will be watching very closely to
see who emerges as leaders of the various party caucuses in the
House and Senate; it will be especially interesting to see who
emerges as chairs of the multiple committees in the House and
Senate.
The results in Minnesota were mirrored to a great extent by the
national elections in which Republicans regained control of the
House of Representatives after ceding it to the Democrats four
years ago. While control of the Senate remains with the Democrats,
Republicans picked up at least 6 seats. All but one congressional
incumbent in Minnesota was reelected, the very notable exception
being the ouster of Cong. Jim Oberstar by political newcomer, Chip
Cravaack.
We'll be tracking the election results along with changes in
leadership resulting from the elections in the coming days and will
provide an update in the coming weeks. Enjoy this Special Edition
of CapitolWatch!
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
