Ewald at the Capitol Archives - Page 9 of 9

Ewald at the Capitol

November 4, 2020

Election 2020 – State Races, Current Status

State Races, Current Status

There were several hotly contested legislative races this year with record spending overall. In total, $15.9 million was spent by outside groups on Minnesota Legislative races and $7.7 million was spent by candidate campaigns.

Heading into Election Day, the Republican-controlled Senate had a three-seat lead over the DFL (35-32), meaning that a net flip of only two seats in DFL favor could change party control for the upcoming biennium. The MN House is currently split 75 seats DFL, 55 seats Republican and 4 seats New Republican. As we write this, election results are not yet fully tabulated as counties continue to count absentee ballots and precincts are still reporting.

State Campaign Spending, Budget Review, & more

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State Campaign Spending

The final Minnesota Campaign Finance Board reporting period prior to the election just ended, so we can now get a birds-eye view of state campaign spending for this election cycle. In total, $15.9 million was spent by outside groups on Minnesota Legislative races and $7.7 million was spent by candidate campaigns. Considering the two major parties only, two-thirds of total spending was conducted by DFL candidates and outside groups supporting DFL candidates, with the remaining one-third spent by GOP candidates and groups supporting them.