The Minnesota DFL won all four statewide executive races and regained control of the Minnesota Legislature in Tuesday’s midterm election.
Democrats will now control the executive branch and both chambers of the Legislature for the first time since 2012.
“While it does not look like Senate Republicans will maintain control of the Senate, we will continue to fight for keeping life affordable for working Minnesotans and seniors, safer communities and support for law enforcement, and more opportunities for students to be successful in the classroom and beyond,” Republican Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller said.
Gov. Tim Walz and Secretary of State Steve Simon easily won reelection Tuesday night. The state auditor and attorney general races were much closer.
Republican Jim Schultz said Wednesday he plans to call Attorney General Keith Ellison to concede the race.
Ellison defied the polls to eke out a narrow victory over Schultz, who outperformed every statewide GOP candidate. In the end, he lost by less than a single percentage point.
“I am very proud of the race we ran. We received the highest percentage of the vote for a Republican candidate for constitutional office in nearly 30 years. We received substantially more total votes than any Republican candidate for constitutional office in Minnesota’s history. We carried 76 of Minnesota’s 87 counties. We didn’t quite get there, but we have a lot to be proud of,” Schultz said in a statement.
“I especially want to thank the police who have supported me in this campaign. The men and women in law enforcement are heroes, not villains, and it is among the great honors of my life to have gained more support from law enforcement than any candidate in Minnesota’s history,” he added.
Schultz said he will return to the private sector but “will never stop fighting for the people of Minnesota.”
“Thank you Minnesota, for the great honor of serving you as your Attorney General and for reelecting me last night,” Ellison wrote on Twitter. “I promise to continue helping you afford your lives and live with dignity, safety, and respect — every day.”
Later Wednesday afternoon, Ryan Wilson conceded the state auditor’s race to Julie Blaha. Wilson lost by just 0.34%, or 8,391 votes.
“I want to thank everyone that supported my candidacy for state auditor. We put up a strong campaign, but came up just short of our goal,” Wilson said. “I am proud of the hard work that our team put in over the last nine months. Minnesota is a wonderful place with great people, and it was an honor for me to travel the state meeting Minnesotans, hearing their stories and sharing mine.”
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
