Elections in Minnesota |
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This is a list of special elections to the Minnesota Senate. Such elections are called by the governor of Minnesota to fill vacancies that occur when a member of the Minnesota Senate dies or resigns before the next general election. Winners of these elections serve the remainder of the term and are usually candidates in the next election for their districts.
General elections are held in November of the second year following the decennial United States Census and every four years thereafter. New Legislatures convene on the first Tuesday following the first Monday of the following year.
District | Legislature | Date | Predecessor | Winner | Cause |
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32 | 81st | April 13, 1999 | Steven Morse (DFL) | Bob Kierlin (R) | Resigned to become Deputy Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. |
18 | 81st | November 2, 1999 | Janet Johnson (DFL) | Twyla Ring (DFL) | Death (brain tumor). |
4 | 81st | December 14, 1999 | David Ten Eyck (DFL) | Tony Kinkel (DFL) | Resigned to accept appointment to the Crow Wing County District Court. |
7 | 82nd | January 29, 2002 | Sam Solon (DFL) | Yvonne Prettner Solon (DFL) | Death (malignant melanoma) |
67 | 82nd | January 29, 2002 | Randy Kelly (DFL) | Mee Moua (DFL) | Resigned upon election to the mayoralty of Saint Paul. |
37 | 83rd | July 13, 2004 | David Knutson (R) | Chris Gerlach (R) | Resigned to accept appointment to the Minnesota 1st Judicial District Court. |
19 | 84th | November 22, 2005 | Mark Ourada (R) | Amy Koch (R) | Resigned to take a position with non-profit Center for Energy and Economic Development. |
43 | 84th | November 22, 2005 | David Gaither (R) | Terri Bonoff (DFL) | Resigned to become Chief of Staff to Governor Tim Pawlenty. |
15 | 84th | December 27, 2005 | Dave Kleis (R) | Tarryl Clark (DFL) | Resigned upon election to the mayoralty of Saint Cloud. |
25 | 85th | January 3, 2008 | Tom Neuville (R) | Kevin Dahle (DFL) | Resigned to accept appointment to the Minnesota 3rd Judicial District Court. |
63 | 86th | November 4, 2008 | Dan Larson (DFL) | Kenneth Kelash (DFL) | Resigned to become a lobbyist. |
16 | 86th | November 4, 2008 | Betsy Wergin (R) | Lisa Fobbe (DFL) | Resigned to serve on the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. |
26 | 86th | January 26, 2010 | Dick Day (R) | Mike Parry (R) | Resign to become a full-time lobbyist for the state's two horse-racing tracks. |
66 | 87th | April 10, 2011 | Ellen Anderson (DFL) | Mary Jo McGuire (DFL) | Resigned to accept chair of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. |
61 | 87th | October 10, 2011 | Linda Berglin (DFL) | Jeff Hayden (DFL) | Resigned to accept a job as a Hennepin County health policy program manager. |
46 | 87th | October 10, 2011 | Linda Scheid (DFL) | Chris Eaton (DFL) | Death (ovarian cancer). |
59 | 87th | January 10, 2012 | Larry Pogemiller (DFL) | Kari Dziedzic (DFL) | Resigned to become Director of Higher Education. |
20 | 87th | April 10, 2012 | Gary Kubly (DFL) | Lyle Koenen (DFL) | Death (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). |
35 | 89th | February 9, 2016 | Branden Petersen (R) | Jim Abeler (R) | Resigned effective October 31, 2015. [1] |
54 | 90th | February 12, 2018 | Dan Schoen (DFL) | Karla Bigham (DFL) | Resigned due to allegations of sexual harassment. [2] |
13 | 90th | November 6, 2018 | Michelle Fischbach (R) | Jeff Howe (R) | Resigned to take the oath of office as lieutenant governor. [3] |
11 | 91st | February 5, 2019 | Tony Lourey (DFL) | Jason Rarick (R) | Resigned to be appointed Commissioner of Human Services. [4] |
45 | 93rd | November 5, 2024 | Kelly Morrison (DFL) | TBD | Resigned to run for Minnesota's 3rd congressional district. [5] |
Rick Hansen is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2005. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Hansen represents District 53B in the southeastern Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of South St. Paul, Inver Grove Heights, Cottage Grove and St. Paul Park, and parts of Dakota and Washington Counties.
Michelle Louise Helene Fischbach is an American attorney and politician who is the U.S. representative from Minnesota's 7th congressional district. The district, which is very rural, is Minnesota's largest congressional district and includes most of the western area of the state. A Republican, Fischbach served as the 49th lieutenant governor of Minnesota from 2018 until 2019. As of 2024, she is the last Republican to have held statewide office in Minnesota.
Gregory Michael Davids is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2009, and from 1991 to 2006. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Davids represents District 26B in southeastern Minnesota, which includes the cities of La Crescent and Spring Valley, and parts of Fillmore, Houston, and Mower Counties.
Dan Schoen is an American politician and former member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represented District 54 in the southeastern Twin Cities metropolitan area. He is also a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, where he represented District 54A.
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The Ninetieth Minnesota Legislature was the legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota from January 3, 2017 to January 7, 2019. It was composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives, based on the results of the 2016 Senate election and the 2016 House election. It first convened and held its regular session in Saint Paul from January 3 to May 22, 2017, and from February 20 to May 20, 2018. A special session to complete unfinished business was held from May 23 to 26, 2017.
The Ninety-first Minnesota Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota from January 8, 2019 to January 4, 2021. It is composed of the Senate and House of Representatives, based on the results of the 2016 Senate election and 2018 House election. It first convened and held its regular session in Saint Paul from January 8 to May 20, 2019, and from February 11 to May 18, 2020. A special session was held from May 24 to 25, 2019, to pass bills enacting the state budget following an agreement between the governor and legislative leaders during the final weekend of the regular session in 2019.
A member of the United States Senate can resign by writing a letter of resignation to the governor of the state that the senator represents. Under Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution of the United States, and under the Seventeenth Amendment, in case of a vacancy in the Senate resulting from resignation, the executive authority of the state can make a temporary appointment to fill the vacancy if so authorized by the state legislature. A special election may follow depending on timing and state law. Whenever a senator needs to be appointed or elected, the Secretary of the Senate mails one of three forms to the state's governor to inform that person of the proper wording to certify the appointment of a new Senator.
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The Ninetieth Minnesota State Senate v. Dayton,, was a 2017 Minnesota Supreme Court case where the Court ruled that Governor Mark Dayton's line item vetoes of appropriations for the Minnesota Senate and Minnesota House of Representatives were a lawful exercise of his authority granted by the Minnesota Constitution. The Court also ruled that since the state legislature had access to other funding to continue operating as a fully functioning and independent branch of government, the governor's vetoes did not effectively abolish the legislature and thereby violate Article III of the state constitution. The Court also ruled that the judicial branch did not have the constitutional authority to order funding without a corresponding budgetary appropriation. The Supreme Court's ruling overturned an earlier ruling by a Ramsey County District Court judge. The case marked the first time in which the Minnesota Supreme Court was asked to resolve a lawsuit brought by one branch of government against another.
A special election was held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on February 12, 2018, to elect a new senator for District 54 in the Minnesota Senate, caused by the resignation of Dan Schoen effective on December 15, 2017. A primary election was held on January 29, 2018, to nominate a Republican candidate. It coincided with the Minnesota House of Representatives District 23B special election. The Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) nominee, Karla Bigham, won the special election.
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Nolan West is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2017. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, West represents District 32A in the northern Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the city of Blaine and parts of Anoka County.
The 2024 United States Senate election in Minnesota will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Minnesota. Incumbent Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar was re-elected with 60.3% of the vote in 2018 and is running for re-election to a fourth term. Primary elections will take place on August 13, 2024.
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.