Democrats intent on keeping Minnesota trifecta by adding state Senate seat as target

The Democratic Party‘s state legislature campaign wing announced Wednesday that it’s adding a special election for a Minnesota state Senate seat to its target list as it aims to maintain the state’s Democratic trifecta.

The Minnesota state Senate seat for the state’s 45th District will be contested in November after former Democratic state Sen. Kelly Morrison resigned from the seat to focus on her bid to replace Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) in Congress. The race for Morrison’s former seat will be the only state Senate seat contested this year, but it will decide control of the chamber — which Democrats flipped in 2022.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is already working to defend the Democratic majority in the state House. However, it announced Wednesday that it would also be prioritizing keeping control of the state Senate.

“Defending the Democratic trifecta in Minnesota is a top priority for the DLCC this cycle, and this special Senate election is a must-win to ensure Democrats can continue building a brighter future for the state,” DLCC President Heather Williams said in a statement.

The DLCC is boosting former Democratic state Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart, who is running to succeed Morrison, as a “spotlight candidate” over her Republican opponent Kathleen Fowke.

The state Senate seat for the 45th District was won by Morrison 56.27%-43.67%, with roughly 6,000 votes separating the two.

While Republicans have not yet targeted the lone state Senate seat up in November, the GOP’s state legislative campaign wing has said it is targeting the state House as an opportunity to flip.

The Republican State Leadership Committee announced earlier this summer that it would pour another $38 million into the battles to flip and hold state legislatures, including in its bid to flip the Minnesota House.

The RSLC has also taken aim at another part of the Democratic trifecta in Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN). Walz was selected to be Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate earlier this month, and the RSLC said Harris’s “push for a radical agenda has become even more evident” with her selection of Walz.

Voters in the North Star State will decide control of both the state Senate and House on Nov. 5, in addition to Congressional and presidential races.