| Ken Martin is now in charge of the national Democratic Party. Activists elected him during a weekend gathering just outside Washington, D.C. over the weekend, marking their first official action since the 2024 election. Dana Ferguson was on the ground for the Democratic National Committee meeting and reports that Martin quickly urged Democrats to unite after beating neighbor Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and a few others. He also said the DNC would quickly field a review of what went wrong for Democrats in the 2024 election, and he vowed to launch a more aggressive response to President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress. Martin told the president to be on notice: “We’re taking the gloves off. We are not going to sit back and not take you on when you fail the American people.”
The Minnesota presence at the meeting was strong. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan was among those to deliver a nominating speech for Martin. Attorney General Keith Ellison, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and Martin’s family flanked him as he accepted the position. Meanwhile, Minnesota’s delegation came up to the stage to cheer Martin on and to take photos. Martin’s team tapped into some Barbie Movie energy, handing out signs and shirts that said, “Yes we Ken” and yelling out their support for some new “Kenergy” within the party. Other candidates rolled out the swag for prospective supporters, too. Wikler’s team had a strong Wisconsin theme complete with lots of cheese related merch and a couple cheesehead hats and O’Malley’s team brought in a marching band to rally voters.
Back home, Martin’s move tees up a contest to lead the Minnesota Democratic Party, which has had remarkable stability at the top for the past 14 years as Republicans churned through party chairs. A few candidates expressed interest right away this weekend: Gov. Tim Walz’s deputy chief of staff Richard Carlbom and Ron Harris, the former state campaign director for Kamala Harris, are among them. More candidates could emerge ahead of a March 29 contest for the position. Some Republican strategists said Martin’s move could be an asset to the GOP (he’d not lost a statewide race during his time on the job). The stakes are high because a U.S. Senate seat, governor’s office, attorney general’s office, control of both chambers of the Legislature and other contests will be on the ballot in 2026.
The Supreme Court takes another look at the dysfunctional House this week. Justices are being asked to let Republicans take steps to compel Democratic attendance in the House. Just weeks ago, Republicans were pushing the court to stay out of the fray. As Clay Masters reports, the hearing Thursday is another test of separation of powers . Republicans argue that DFL Secretary of State Steve Simon has gone too far to shut down sessions without letting Republicans make motions that attempt to force a quorum. Talks on a negotiated way out, which was the urging of the high court in its first ruling, haven’t yielded an agreement. It’s week four of the slowest start to the Legislature in modern times.
Republican Party leaders, who had said weeks ago they would pursue recall elections against holdout Democratic legislators, say they will move forward more aggressively on that. As of last week, the secretary of state’s office said they hadn’t received any petitions. That’s the first stop in a long process. GOP Chair Alex Plechash said on MPR News “Politics Friday” that the signature gathering was getting under way. Plechash also said he expects candidates for the 2026 governor’s race to start emerging soon, although he hadn’t yet heard of any planning to run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democratic Sen. Tina Smith. About President Trump’s opening weeks in office, Plechash said he believes the gusher of actions to remake the federal government and its workforce are what people voted for. He also defended Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons. Hear the conversation here.
On the state budget front, the all-important February forecast will come out ... in March. The Department of Minnesota Management and Budget said the tax-and-spending projections that the Legislature will use to set a new, two-year budget will be released on March 6. That’s about a week later than normal. An agency advisory said the delay relates to a “later-than-usual release of key federal employment data.”
A slate of 2024 campaign finance reports were made public over the weekend. Brian didn’t have time to do the deeper look he likes to, but will throughout the week. Of note, though, is that Gov. Tim Walz continues to haul in money without saying whether he’ll put it to use in 2026. He entered 2025 with more than $1 million in the bank. That gives him a big head start against any GOP challengers, but it also assumes Walz is running for a rare third term. He said to expect that decision to come this summer. If Walz does run, the question is will Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan be with him on the ticket a third time? During the MPR News “Out to Lunch” interview we noted last week, Flanagan briefly talked about her plans (that part didn’t make air). She was asked if she’ll finish her current term and said she would “unless you know something I don’t know.” And Flanagan said no matter what she does, she’s laser-focused on alleviating suffering and lifting people up through thoughtful policy. “I’m clear what my vocation is even if my occupation changes,” she told Nina Moini.
Even though the DFL holds all of the statewide offices now, that doesn’t mean all of those officials will run again for their current or other jobs.On the “Politics Friday” show , Brian asked Attorney General Keith Ellison about his 2026 decision making. No surprise, but Ellison said he’s not ready to say and then voiced content with the job he has. Still, he left the door open to something else. “I like the job that I have, but I also know if I’m called to serve in other places and spaces I’ll look at those, too,” he told Brian. For what it’s worth, Ellison has just $45,000 banked as of Jan. 1 – about the same he had entering 2024. | 
