The 2020 election certainly lived up to expectations to be a noteworthy exercise in democracy. While not much change occurred in North Dakota on Election Day, everything in Minnesota got more interesting after the election.
All 201 Minnesota legislators were on the ballot for the first time since 2016 and millions of dollars were spent by both parties to influence the outcome that remained largely the same. Democrats continue to control the House albeit with a much smaller majority and Republicans continue to control the Senate with a few new faces. Incumbent Republican Senators Dan Hall (Burnsville) and Jerry Relph (St. Cloud) were defeated while Zach Duckworth (Lakeville) and Gene Dornick (Austin) defeated incumbent Democrats. Julia Coleman was also elected in Chanhassen to replace retiring Senator Scott Jensen.
With the DFL majority narrowing in the House, expect stronger support for traditional energy sources as Republicans can join rural Democrats to prevent damaging energy policies and mandates.
The most surprising news came a week after the election with Senate Republicans electing Sen. David Tomassoni (DFL-Chisholm) as Senate President. Sen. Tomassoni is a strong supporter of all-of-the-above energy policies and was recognized as an Energy Champion by the Lignite Energy Council and Coalition for a Secure Energy Future in recent years.
In a rare move, Sen. Tomassoni will be the first DFL Senator to serve as President with a Republican majority. Later in the week, Sen. Tomassoni and Sen. Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) announced they would be leaving the DFL Caucus and starting an independent caucus. Both Senators are likely to be named as chair of a legislative committee as well. The Senate and House are currently in the organizing phase ahead of the 2021 legislative session and as more committee assignments are announced, the LEC will update its membership.