The 2020 Minnesota House of Representatives election was held in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

on November 3, 2020, to elect members to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

of the 92nd Minnesota Legislature. A primary election was held in several districts on August 11, 2020. The election coincided with the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

of the other house of the

Legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

, the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, and other elections.

Background

The last election in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

resulted in the

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is the Minnesota affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party. As of 2022, it controls four of Minnesota's eight U.S. House seats, both of its U.S. Senate seats, the Minnesota House of Represen ...

(DFL) winning a majority of 75 seats, ending four years of a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

majority. As there was no Senate election, this resulted in split control of the Legislature with Republicans holding a majority in the Senate they won in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Electoral system

The 134 members of the House of Representatives were elected from

single-member district A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes called single-winner vo ...

s via

first-past-the-post voting In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

for two-year terms. Contested nominations of recognized major parties ( DFL, Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis,

Legal Marijuana Now The Legal Marijuana Now Party is a political Third party (United States), third party in the United States. The party’s platform includes abolishing the Drug Enforcement Administration and legalizing hemp and cannabis (drug), marijuana. As of ...

, and

) for each district were determined by an open primary election. Minor party candidates were nominated by petition.

Write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

s must have filed a request with the secretary of state's office for votes for them to be counted. The filing period was from May 19 to June 2, 2020.

Retiring members

DFL

Ben Lien Ben Lien is a Minnesota politician and member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A former member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represented District 4A in northwestern Minnesota. Early life and education Lie ...

, 4A *

Jack Considine John "Jack" Considine, Jr. is an American politician who served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2015 to 2021. Early life and education Considine was born on Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka, Kansas. He earned a Bachelor ...

, 19B *

Duane Sauke Duane Sauke is an American politician who served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represented District 25B in southeastern Minnesota. E ...

, 25B *

Lyndon Carlson Lyndon R. Carlson, Sr. (born April 18, 1940) is an American politician and a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he last represented District 45A, which inclu ...

, 45A *

Laurie Halverson Laurie Halverson (born February 8, 1969) is an American politician who serves as County Commissioner for Dakota County in Minnesota. Previously, she has served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021. A member of t ...

, 51B * Hunter Cantrell, 56A *

Alice Mann Alice Mann (October 10, 1899 – March 2, 1986) was an American silent film actress. Biography Mann began her film career in late 1915 with the Lubin Manufacturing Company, appearing in six shorts before the production company ceased operat ...

, 56B * Jean Wagenius, 63B *

Tim Mahoney Timothy Edward Mahoney (born August 16, 1956) is an American politician and businessman who served as the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected in November 2006 after his opponent, six-te ...

, 67A

Republican

Dan Fabian Dan Fabian (born June 28, 1954) is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for District 1A from 2015 to 2019 and as Minority Whip from 2019 to 2021. He represented all of Kittson, Roseau ...

, 1A * Sandy Layman, 5B * Bud Nornes, 8A *

Bob Vogel Robert Louis Vogel (born September 23, 1941) is a former professional American football offensive lineman for the Baltimore Colts from 1963 to 1972. During that span he appeared in Super Bowl III and Super Bowl V for the Colts and was selected fo ...

, 20A *

Bob Gunther Bob Gunther (born July 12, 1943) is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represented the 23A district, which includes all or portions of Blue Ear ...

, 23A *

Linda Runbeck Linda Runbeck (born June 11, 1946) is an American politician who served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1989 to 1993 and again from 2011 to 2021. She was also a member of the Minnesota Senate from 1993 to 2001. Early ...

, 38A

Primary elections results

A primary election was held in 23 districts to nominate Republican and DFL candidates. 11 Republican nominations and 12 DFL nominations were contested. Nine incumbents were opposed for their party's nomination. DFL incumbents

Raymond Dehn Raymond Howard Dehn ( ; born September 14, 1957) is a Minnesota politician and community organizer who served in the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he last represented Distr ...

in District 59B and

John Lesch John Lesch (born January 15, 1973) is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he last represented 66B, which included portions of Sai ...

in District 66B were not renominated.

Predictions

Results

Close races

Districts where the margin of victory was under 10%: *District 3 #Seat A, 4.92% *District 4 #Seat B, 5.51% *District 5 #Seat A, 6.91% (gain) *District 6 #Seat A, 0.19% #Seat B, 9.21% *District 11 #Seat A, 2.93% *District 14 #Seat A, 8.1% *District 19 #Seat A, 0.48% (gain) *District 20 #Seat B, 5.09% *District 26 #Seat B, 1.26% *District 27 #Seat B, 3.18% (gain) *District 33 #Seat B, 1.11% *District 34 #Seat B, 7.36% *District 36 #Seat B, 2.89% *District 37 #Seat B, 4.92% *District 38 #Seat A, 7.3% #Seat B, 0.36% *District 39 #Seat B, 0.85% *District 47 #Seat B, 3.21% *District 53 #Seat B, 6.26% *District 54 #Seat A, 2.96% gain #Seat B, 7.21% *District 55 #Seat A, 2.41% gain *District 56 #Seat A, 3.33% #Seat B, 4.88%

District results

Seats changing parties

Notes

References

External links

Elections & Voting - Minnesota Secretary of State
* * * (State affiliate of the U.S.

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

) * {{2020 United States elections

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Pa ...

Minnesota House Minnesota House of Representatives elections