The 2022 Minnesota House of Representatives election was held in the
U.S. state of
Minnesota on November 8, 2022, to elect members to the
House of Representatives of the 93rd Minnesota Legislature. A primary election was held in several districts on August 9, 2022. The election coincided with the
election of the other chamber of the
Legislature, the
Senate.
Democrats (DFL) retained all of their seats, keeping their majority of 70 out of 134 seats.[1] This happened simultaneously with gains in the state senate, giving the DFL control of that chamber for the first time since 2012, and Governor
Tim Walz winning re-election. The DFL won a
trifecta in the state for the first time since 2012.[1]
Background
As a result of the 2020 election, the DFL maintained control of the House, albeit with a reduced seat majority. Republicans maintained control of the senate, making Minnesota and Alaska the only US states with split control of the legislature.
Over the past several election cycles, the DFL had lost ground in
Iron Range districts to the Republicans. The first sign was the surprise defeat of long-time DFLer
Jim Oberstar to
Tea Party Republican
Chip Cravaack in the
2010 midterm election, but it was the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections that saw the largest swings. Iron Range DFL House candidates have narrowly won their seats, but typically by only small margins in districts that used to be safe DFL. For example, DFL Rep. Julie Sandstede of Hibbing was elected by just 30 votes, after winning by more than 4,300 votes in 2018. The five tossup districts which are a part of the Iron Range–3A, 3B, 7A, 7B, and 11A–may determine which party controls the chamber in future elections.[2]
Districts where the margin of victory was under 10%:
District 2
Seat A, 8.80%
District 3
Seat A, 0.07%
Seat B, 0.16%
District 7
Seat A, 7.56%
Seat B, 2.34%
District 11
Seat A, 2.45%
District 14
Seat A, 1.39%
Seat B, 3.66%
District 18
Seat A, 2.20%
District 32
Seat B, 2.33%
District 33
Seat B, 8.03%
District 34
Seat A, 6.76%
District 35
Seat A, 4.97%
Seat B, 1.35%
District 36
Seat A, 2.82%
Seat B, 7.10%
District 36
Seat A, 0.55%
Seat B, 2.18%
District 45
Seat A, 6.09%
District 47
Seat B, 6.32%
District 48
Seat B, 2.00%
District 54
Seat A, 8.29%
District 55
Seat A, 6.14%
District 57
Seat B, 3.33%
District 58
Seat A, 9.02%
Primary elections results
A primary election was held in 20 districts to nominate Republican and DFL candidates. Twelve Republican nominations and eight DFL nominations were contested. Eight incumbents were opposed for their party's nomination. DFL incumbents
John Thompson (67A) and
Andrew Carlson (50B), who was running against fellow incumbent
Steve Elkins, were not renominated.
Incumbent Republican
John Burkel was first elected in 2020. District 1A is located in northwestern Minnesota covering the northernmost portions of the
Red River Valley. Large cities in the district are
Roseau,
Thief River Falls, and
Warren.
2022 Minnesota House of Representatives District 1A election
Incumbent Republican
Matt Grossell was first elected in 2016. District 2A is located in northwestern Minnesota, stretching as far south as
Bemidji and as far north as the
Northwest Angle.
2022 Minnesota House of Representatives District 2A election
Incumbent Republican
Matt Bliss was elected in the 2020 election. Bliss previously represented District 5A from 2017 to 2019, but lost to
John Persell by 11 votes in the
2018 election. District 2B is located in north-central Minnesota.
2022 Minnesota House of Representatives District 2B election
Incumbent DFLer
Paul Marquart, who was first elected in 2000, chose not run for re-election. The district, located in northwestern Minnesota, surrounds the city of
Moorhead and includes
Glyndon and
Detroit Lakes.
2022 Minnesota House of Representatives District 4B election
District 5B is the only district in which the Independence Party of Minnesota fielded a candidate. The district is located in central Minnesota and covers all of
Todd County plus portions of
Morrison,
Cass, and
Wadena counties.
2022 Minnesota House of Representatives District 5B election
In the
DFL primary for District 50B, incumbent Steve Elkins (formerly representing District 49B) defeated fellow incumbent Andrew Carlson (of the old District 50B) with over 60% of the vote.
2022 Minnesota House of Representatives District 50B election
District 66A includes parts of north eastern Saint Paul as well as
Roseville,
Falcon Heights, and
Lauderdale. Incumbent DFLer
Alice Hausman retired.
Leigh Finke, the DFL endorsed candidate, became the first transgender member of the Minnesota Legislature.
2022 Minnesota House of Representatives District 66A election
District 67A includes the northeast corner of Saint Paul. The incumbent
John Thompson failed to secure the DFL endorsement after a string of scandals. He received only 11% of the vote in the
primary election, losing to
Liz Lee. Following the primary, the Republican nominee, Beverly Peterson, passed away, and Scott Hesselgrave was chosen as the new nominee.[27]
2022 Minnesota House of Representatives District 67A election