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All 67 seats in the Minnesota Senate 34 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Map of the incumbents: DFL incumbent DFL incumbent retiring Republican incumbent Republican incumbent retiring Seat vacant | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Minnesota |
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The 2026 Minnesota Senate election will be held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on November 3, 2026, [2] to elect members of the Senate of the 95th Minnesota Legislature to a four-year term. A primary election will be held in several districts on August 11, 2026. [2] The election coincides with the election of the other house of the Legislature, the Minnesota House of Representatives, and all other statewide elections.
Going into the election, the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party is defending a majority of 34 out of 67 seats, after winning control of the chamber in 2022.
The last election in 2022 resulted in the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party attaining a majority in the chamber for the first time since 2012, gaining the DFL a trifecta. [3] Minnesota Senate seats follow a 2,4,4 term length schedule; [4] there is no regularly-scheduled Minnesota Senate election in 2024. [5]
Campaign finance reports as of March 31, 2024 [lower-alpha 1] | |||
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Committee | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
Senate Victory Fund (R) [6] | $247,239 | $129,064 | $1,355,858 |
DFL Senate Caucus [7] | $385,391 | $184,523 | $1,078,290 |
Source: Minnesota Campaign Finance Board [8] |
The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is a political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. The DFL controls four of Minnesota's eight U.S. House seats, both of its U.S. Senate seats, the Minnesota House of Representatives and Senate, and all other statewide offices, including the governorship, making it the dominant party in the state. Its main political rival has been the Republican Party of Minnesota.
The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are held in the west wing of the State Capitol in Saint Paul. Committee hearings, as well as offices for senators and staff, are located north of the State Capitol in the Minnesota Senate Building. Each member of the Minnesota Senate represents approximately 80,000 constituents.
The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decennial redistricting, members run for one two-year term and two four-year terms each decade. They are elected for four-year terms in years ending in 2 and 6, and for two-year terms in years ending in 0. Representatives are elected for two-year terms from 134 single-member districts formed by dividing the 67 senate districts in half.
John J. Marty is a member of the Minnesota Senate, representing District 40, which includes parts of Ramsey County in the northern Twin Cities metropolitan area. As a young state senator, he ran for governor of Minnesota in 1994. He won the DFL nomination and the Democratic primary but lost the general election to the incumbent governor, Arne Carlson. Marty ran for governor again in 2010, but withdrew from the race after failing to win his party's endorsement.
Margaret Anderson Kelliher is an American politician, Director of the Minneapolis Department of Public Works, former Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, she represented District 60A, which includes portions of the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, located in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. First elected in 1999, she served until 2011, also serving as the Speaker from 2007 to 2011. She is the second woman to hold the position of House speaker. She was an unsuccessful candidate for the DFL nomination for Governor of Minnesota in the 2010 gubernatorial election, losing to former Senator Mark Dayton. Anderson left the Minnesota House of Representatives at the conclusion of her term in 2011 and re-entered politics when she ran for the DFL nomination to the U.S. House of Representatives in Minnesota's 5th congressional district in 2018, losing to Ilhan Omar. Since 2019 Kelliher, has worked in transportation management roles for the government, first as Commissioner of MnDOT, and later as Director of Public Works for the city of Minneapolis.
Minnesota is known for a politically active citizenry, with populism being a longstanding force among the state's political parties. Minnesota has consistently high voter turnout; in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, 77.8% of eligible Minnesotans voted – the highest percentage of any U.S. state or territory – versus the national average of 61.7%. This was due in part to its same day voter registration laws; previously unregistered voters can register on election day, at their polls, with evidence of residency.
The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Minnesota:
David Joseph Tomassoni was an American politician who served in the Minnesota Legislature from 1993 to 2022. A former member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Tomassoni left the party to become independent in November 2020 and joined the Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus.
Thomas M. Bakk is a Minnesota politician. He served in the Minnesota Legislature from 1995 to 2023 and is a former majority leader and minority leader.
Ann H. Rest is an American politician and President pro tempore of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represents District 43 which includes portions of the western suburbs of Hennepin County in the Twin Cities metro area.
Erin Murphy is a Minnesota politician serving as Majority Leader of the Minnesota Senate since 2024. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represents District 64, which includes the Highland Park, Macalester-Groveland, Merriam Park, Summit Hill, and St. Anthony Park, neighborhoods of the city of Saint Paul in Ramsey County in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. She is a former Majority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives, executive director of the Minnesota Nurses Association, and is also a registered nurse.
Ken Martin is an American political figure from Minnesota. He is Chairman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party, President of the Association of State Democratic Committees, and a Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee.
Kari Dziedzic is an American politician and member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represents District 60, which includes portions of the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County. Her district is also notable for including part of the University of Minnesota. In 2022, she was selected by her caucus to serve as Majority Leader for the 93rd Minnesota Legislature. She stepped down from leadership after the first session due to a cancer diagnosis. Before holding elected office, Dziedzic was executive assistant to U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone.
Melissa Halvorson Wiklund is a Minnesota politician and member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represents District 51 in the southern Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Bloomington and Richfield. Wiklund's legislative priorities include education, health care, and job creation.
The 1978 United States Senate election in Minnesota was held on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Wendell Anderson was defeated by Republican challenger Rudy Boschwitz.
Kelly Louise Morrison is an American doctor and politician who was a member of the Minnesota Senate from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, Morrison represented District 45 in the western Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Minnetonka, Mound, Minnetrista, and Orono in Hennepin County. She served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2019 to 2023.
The 2020 Minnesota Senate election was held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on November 3, 2020, to elect members to the Senate of the 92nd Minnesota Legislature. A primary election was held in several districts on August 11, 2020. The election coincided with the election of the other house of the Legislature, the House of Representatives, and other elections.
Omar Mahmood Fateh, is a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), he represents District 62, which includes parts of south Minneapolis in Hennepin County. Fateh is the first Somali American and Muslim to serve in the Minnesota Senate.
The 2022 Minnesota Senate election was held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on November 8, 2022, to elect members of the Senate of the 93rd Minnesota Legislature. A primary election was held in several districts on August 9, 2022. The election coincided with the election of the other house of the Legislature, the Minnesota House of Representatives, and all other statewide elections.
The 2022 Minnesota House of Representatives election was held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on November 8, 2022, to elect members to the House of Representatives of the 93rd Minnesota Legislature. A primary election was held in several districts on August 9, 2022. The election coincided with the election of the other chamber of the Legislature, the Senate.
She was elected Majority Leader by the DFL caucus on February 6, 2024 due to the resignation of Senator Kari Dziedzic of her leadership position.
Senators are elected for a four-year term and representatives are elected for a two-year term. However, in election years ending in 0, such as 2010 or 2020, Senators serve for a two-year term in order to provide for the redistricting process done in conjunction with the United States census.
Current Members of the Minnesota State Senate are serving a four-year term. Elections occur in years ending with 0, 2 or 6.