Capitol View: November 7, 2012 Archive

Breaking down the Legislature

Posted at 8:30 AM on November 7, 2012 by Tim Nelson
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Campaign 2012: Minn. House Races, Campaign 2012: Minn. Senate Races, MN Legislature

It looks, as of about 4 a.m., that both houses of the Legislature are going to change hands. The DFL needed to pick up six seats in the House to take control. It got 11. In the Senate, the DFL did even better, picking up what looks to be nine seats, when they needed four.

The party did well in the suburbs and beat some senior Republicans, including Rep. Larry Howes and Sen. Joe Gimse. The DFL swept the head-to-head general election matchups that resulted from redistricting earlier this year.

Among the incumbents beaten Tuesday were, in the House:

• Dave Hancock, Bemidji
• Larry Howes, Walker
• Carolyn McElfatrick, Deer River
• King Banaian, St. Cloud
• Bruce Vogel, Willmar
• Rich Murray, Albert Lea
• Diane Anderson, Eagan
• Doug Wardlow, Eagan

And in the Senate:

• John Carlson, Bemidji
• Joe Gimse, Willmar
• John Howe, Red Wing
• Benjamin Kruse, Brooklyn Park
• Pam Wolf, Spring Lake Park
• Ted Daley, Eagan
• Ted Lillie, Woodbury

All were Republicans. Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria, leads her DFL rival Bob Cunniff by a single vote.
DFLers lost some open seats, but with the exception of Kerry Gauthier of Duluth, the party's existing office holders -- including House members Kent Eken, Bev Scalze and Bobby Joe Champion, moving up to the Senate -- will be returning to St. Paul. Mary Kiffmeyer and Torrey Westrom both upgraded their seat to the Senate for the GOP

Also of note, the DFL and the GOP each failed to contest two races in the House. The GOP left four DFL Senators unchallenged; Scott Dibble and Jeff Hayden, Minneapolis; Chris Eaton, Brooklyn Center and Kathy Sheran, Mankato.

Here's the tale of the tape, or at least as close as we could get at 4 a.m., in the Senate. (Sorry for the tiny type, but you can download larger pdf versions):

Senate Election 2012

And here's the House version:

House Election 2012

Zellers leaving leadership post after DFL drubbing

Posted at 4:54 PM on November 7, 2012 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Campaign 2012: Minn. House Races, Campaign 2012: Minn. Senate Races, MN Legislature

Republicans in the Minnesota House are looking for a new leader now that Speaker Kurt Zellers says he doesn't want the job. Zellers made the announcement one day after Democrats won enough seats to win the House and Senate.

Zellers says a number of factors played into why they lost the House majority. He said heavy spending by Democrats and negative campaigning are two of them. But he downplayed any suggestion that opposition to the two proposed constitutional amendments sunk legislative candidates.

"Minnesotans always go out and vote," Zellers said. That's what we do really well here so whether or not it was a motivational factor for most voters, I think it was right on or pretty darn close to a traditional presidential year in Minnesota."]

On Tuesday, voters defeated a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and an amendment that would require photo identification to vote. Democratic leaders say opposition to the two amendments galvanized the DFL base especially among young and minority voters.

Zellers said Republicans will continue to stick to a no new taxes philosophy and warned a tax increase is likely now that Democrats are in control of the Legislature.

"If you're a business owner in the state of Minnesota, I would get ready for a pretty sizable tax increase," Zellers said.

Republicans will meet this weekend to elect a new Minority Leader. GOP House Majority Leader Matt Dean says he's interested in the position.