A handful of Minnesota House candidates have a straight shot to office
Like this?
Log in to share your opinion with MPR News and add it to your profile.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
Five candidates will have a straight shot to legislative seats next year after they filed to run for office without an opponent.
The handful of Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidates will have a free pass in November, as they are running unopposed in their races for the House of Representatives. That’s after the filing deadline passed on Tuesday evening.
Reps. Kelly Moller, Patty Acomb, Fue Lee, Samantha Sencer-Mura and Samakab Hussein did not have primary or general election challengers as filing closed Tuesday.
All 134 House seats will be on the ballot, while at least one Senate seat is expected to be up for a special election. The outcome could shift the political power dynamic at the Capitol where Democrats currently hold small majorities in the House and Senate, as well as the control of the governor’s office.
Support the News you Need
Gifts from individuals keep MPR News accessible to all - free of paywalls and barriers.
State Sen. Kelly Morrison, DFL-Deephaven, has launched a bid for the U.S. House of Representatives representing Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District and is expected to announce she will step down from her seat in the Legislature.
Several DFL senators, along with the chair of the Minnesota DFL Party and Gov. Tim Walz have also called on Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, to resign following her burglary arrest in April. Mitchell has said that she does not intend to step down.
A special election for either seat could come before voters in conjunction with the General Election on November 5 if the senators filed their resignation with the governor’s office by Saturday. Later decisions to step down could trigger special elections at some date after the General Election
The remainder of the candidates will square off on the November ballot, with some set to face partisan primaries in August.
Minnesota voters will also cast ballots in the presidential race, a U.S. Senate contest and in elections for the state’s eight U.S. House seats.
Two Minnesota Supreme Court justices will also face election challenges. Stephen Emery filed to face off with Chief Justice Natalie Hudson and Matthew Hanson is challenging Associate Justice Karl Procaccini. Hudson was appointed to the court by former Gov. Mark Dayton and Procacccini was appointed by Gov. Tim Walz.