Minnesota Senate candidate Ann Johnson Stewart won a special election for the only vacant seat in the Minnesota Senate on Tuesday. A Democrat, Johnson Stewart beat Republican Kathleen Fowke for the seat by roughly 5 points.
With 33 Republicans and 33 Democrats in the Senate, Johnson Stewart’s win will give the Democrats a 34-33 majority in the chamber. Since 2022, Democrats have controlled the Senate, the Minnesota House, and the governorship.
Johnson Stewart, a former state senator, ran on her pro-choice stance on abortion. Earlier this year, she put out a video in which she claimed that Republicans would have the ability to change state abortion law if they won the special election for the Senate seat. Despite this claim, a simple majority in the Senate would not have given the GOP power to change abortion law.
A civil engineer, Johnson Stewart also ran on her passion for supporting infrastructure projects.
“I could not be more grateful to voters across Senate District 45 for placing their trust in me,” Johnson Stewart wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Fowke styled herself as a “moderate, independent” in her bid for the Lake Minnetonka area seat. As a candidate, she campaigned on a message to “bring balance back to Minnesota,” no doubt a reference to breaking up the Democratic trifecta. Fowke also pledge to oppose legislation that would ban abortion or put “heavy-handed” restrictions on women.
The special election for the district was triggered after Democrat Kelly Morrison resigned the seat to run for Congress. Morrison had previously beaten Fowke in the 2022 election for the district by roughly 13 points.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
