Good morning after a long election night. Here’s what we know.
DFL Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday won a second term following a race for governor that featured deep divides and big bucks and tested the durability of one party and the viability of the other. Twin Cities area voters turned out in big numbers for Walz, reinforcing a metro “blue wall” of support that more than countered Republican Scott Jensen’s strength in greater Minnesota. The DFL also held onto the Minnesota House Tuesday and was close to flipping the state Senate, putting DFL control of the Legislature and the governor’s office within reach. “Well, Minnesota, democracy is alive and well in this state,” Walz said, his voice hoarse at the end of the campaign, at a DFL Party gathering. “There is no red wave.” Jensen conceded at about 12:35 a.m. Wednesday, saying “Tim Walz is the governor for four more years.”
Votes were still being counted in the attorney general’s race as Minnesota watched to see if DFLers would extend a more than five decade hold on the office by reelecting Keith Ellison or snap it in favor of Republican newcomer Jim Schultz. Ellison was up by about 21,000 votes with all precincts reporting. "We’ve been counting the numbers all night. We’ve been counting, and we’re gonna win,” Ellison said. “The outstanding areas are very Republican. We feel really good,” Schultz said at about 1 a.m. “We feel like we're in a really good position here. But we don't think we'll have results yet here tonight."
The race for State Auditor was even closer. Incumbent Julie Blaha led Republican challenger Ryan Wilson by about 8,500 votes early this morning. Will Finn from the Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party and Tim Davis, of the Legal Marijuana Now Party were also running and between them got more than 5 percent of the vote.
Secretary of State Steve Simon won a new term Tuesday with 55 percent of the vote. Simon ran on a message of aiming to uphold fair elections and ensuring access to the ballot, while GOP challenger Kim Crockett cast doubt on the outcome of the 2020 election and said the state should adopt tougher voting laws to prevent fraud.
U.S. Rep Angie Craig defeated Republican Tyler Kistner, and all the state's congressional incumbents won. The 2nd District contest was a rematch of the 2020 race. It was closely watched nationally — Republicans saw it as a key prize in their plans to flip control of the U.S. House of Representatives. The race had been the one Minnesota congressional race that for months was too close to call. That was also true Tuesday evening into Wednesday as the votes rolled in into the district that covers a swath of the Twin Cities south metro area. Dakota County struggled with “modem transmission” issues that dragged the tally through the overnight into Wednesday.
Minnesota Senate Democrats will talk to reporters at the Capitol this morning. DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman told MPR News newly redrawn districts and an energized base concerned about abortion rights made the difference in keeping DFL control of the House, and may have helped the party gain control of the Senate. “We had a fantastic map,” Hortman said. “And the U.S. Supreme Court really declared war on personal liberty and personal freedoms with the Dobbs decision overturning Roe versus Wade.” Rather than being relegated to the minority, Hortman said her caucus will work with an emboldened Walz to try to boost education funding, tighten gun laws, pass measures related to climate, seek to legalize adult-use marijuana and implement a guaranteed paid family and medical leave program. “There’s a lot of things that need investment in the state right now,” she said. “And a paid family medical leave program could be prepaid. Instead of waiting a couple of years until there’s enough money for a program to start, we could start it right away if we use some of the surplus.”
There’s much more at MPRNews.org | 
