MINNEAPOLIS – In a rare special election in November, just one seat will decide the balance of power and whether DFL priorities continue to get the green light.
The Senate District race is a special election to fill the seat left open by Sen. Kelly Morrison, who is running for Congress against Tad Jude in the 3rd Congressional District.
District 45 includes the communities surrounding Lake Minnetonka. The candidates are Kathleen Fowke, whose campaign address is in a gated community of Tonka Bay, and Ann Johnson Stewart, whose campaign address is in a building along Highway 101.
Fowke is running against DFL juggernaut Johnson Stewart, who has reshaped Minnesota in a more progressive light.
“I’m running for Senate. It’s been a rough few years. Crime is on the rise. Our pocketbooks are feeling the pinch and our kids are falling behind,” Fowke said.
Some see the Senate race as nothing less than a referendum on the sweeping legislative agenda Democrats passed during the 2023 legislative session. That includes legalized recreational marijuana, free school meals, abortion rights protections, paid family leave and much more.
“Republicans see this as an opportunity to gain a one-seat majority in the Senate and block the DFL, which has been running roughshod over Republicans for the past two years,” said Larry Jacobs, a professor at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of the University of Minnesota. of Public Affairs, said.
Democrats see this as an opportunity to continue the scrutiny that has reformed so many laws and regulations.
“A somewhat obscure Senate race in Minnesota has taken on great importance,” Jacobs said.
The remainder of the Minnesota Senate is up for re-election in 2026.
Esme Murphy
