Minnesota House of Representatives
The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the U.S. state of Minnesota's legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper house, to craft and pass legislation, which is then subject to approval by the governor of Minnesota.
Minnesota House of Representatives | |
|---|---|
| 93rd Minnesota Legislature | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | of the Minnesota Legislature |
Term limits | None |
| History | |
New session started | January 3, 2023 |
| Leadership | |
Speaker pro tempore | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 134 |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 2 years |
| Authority | Article IV, Minnesota Constitution |
| Salary | $46,500/year + per diem |
| Elections | |
| First-past-the-post | |
Last election | November 8, 2022 |
Next election | November 12, 2024 |
| Redistricting | Legislative control |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| House of Representatives chamber Minnesota State Capitol Saint Paul, Minnesota | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Established in 1858, the Minnesota House of Representatives has 134 members elected from single-member districts across the state. Representatives serve two-year terms without term limits, with all seats up for election every two years. The House is led by the Speaker, who is elected by members of the House, while political party leadership is governed by the Majority and Minority Leaders.
The Minnesota House of Representatives meets in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Paul. Member and staff offices, as well as most committee hearings, are in the nearby State Office Building.
History
The Minnesota House of Representatives was officially established on May 11, 1858, when Minnesota was admitted as the 32nd state in the Union. It replaced the Minnesota Territorial Legislature. It was formed alongside the Minnesota Senate to create the Minnesota State Legislature, the bicameral legislative body of the state.
In 1913, Minnesota legislators began to be elected on nonpartisan ballots. While campaigning and caucusing, legislators identified themselves as "Liberals" or "Conservatives." In 1973, a law change brought party designations back, beginning with the 1974 Minnesota House of Representatives election.[1]
After the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920, women were eligible for election to the legislature. In 1922, Mabeth Hurd Paige, Hannah Kempfer, Sue Metzger Dickey Hough, and Myrtle Cain were elected to the House of Representatives.[2] As of 2023, a record-high 54 women serve in the House.[3]
Elections
Each Senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B (for example, House district 32B is in Senate district 32). Members are elected to two-year terms.[4] Districts are redrawn after the decennial United States Census in time for the primary and general elections in years ending in 2. The most recent election was on November 8, 2022.
Composition
- 93rd Minnesota Legislature (2023–2025)
| Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) |
Total | Vacant | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic– Farmer–Labor |
Republican | ||||||
| End of the previous Legislature | 70 | 64 | 134 | 0 | |||
| Begin 2023 | 70 | 64 | 134 | 0 | |||
| September 1, 2023[5] | 69 | 133 | 1 | ||||
| Latest voting share | 51.9% | 48.1% | |||||
Members, 2023–24
The 2023–24 Minnesota Legislature was sworn into office on January 3, 2023 with 70 DFL members and 64 Republican members.[6]
The effects of redistricting and a large number of retirements at the end of the previous session resulted in 39 races without an incumbent. 16 races went uncontested, all in noncompetitive districts. In the 2022 Minnesota House of Representatives elections, eight incumbents lost, with five Republicans and three DFLers failing to be reelected.[6]
The 2023-24 class of representatives has 47 newly elected members, or 35% of the total membership. Of those 47, 25 are Republican and 19 are DFL. Three former DFL members returned to the chamber for non-consecutive terms (Jeff Brand, Jerry Newton and Brad Tabke).[6]
Historical composition
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Past notable members
- Wendell R. Anderson, U.S. senator from Minnesota (1976-1978); 33rd governor of Minnesota (1971-1976)
- Henry M. Arens, 26th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1931-1933); U.S. representative from Minnesota's General Ticket Seat One district (1933-1935)
- Thomas H. Armstrong, 5th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1866-1870)
- Alphonso Barto; 7th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1874-1876)
- Francis Baasen, 1st secretary of state of Minnesota 1(858–1860)
- Joseph Bobleter, 8th treasurer of Minnesota (1887-1895)
- Joseph A. A. Burnquist, 19th governor of Minnesota (1915-1921); 20th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1913-1915); 21st attorney general of Minnesota (1939-1955)
- Arne Carlson, 37th governor of Minnesota (1991-1999); 14th auditor of Minnesota (1979-1991)
- Gordon E. Cole, 2nd attorney general of Minnesota (1860-1866)
- William J. Colvill, 3rd attorney general of Minnesota (1866-1888); Union colonel during the U.S. Civil War (1861-1863)
- Francis R. E. Cornell, 4th attorney general of Minnesota (1868-1874)
- Cushman Kellogg Davis, U.S. senator from Minnesota (1887-1900); 7th governor of Minnesota (1874-1876)
- Frank A. Day, 13th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1895-1897)
- Ignatius L. Donnelly, 2nd lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1860-1863); U.S. representative from Minnesota's 2nd district (1863-1869)
- Wallace B. Douglas, 10th attorney general of Minnesota (1899-1904)
- Robert C. Dunn, 6th auditor of Minnesota (1895-1903)
- Alonzo J. Edgerton, U.S. senator from Minnesota (1881-1881)
- Keith Ellison, 30th attorney general of Minnesota (2019-present); U.S. representative from Minnesota's 5th district (2007-2019); deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee (2017-2018)
- Tom Emmer, U.S. House of Representatives majority whip (2023-present); chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee (2019-2023); U.S. representative from Minnesota's 6th district (2015-present)
- Arlen Erdahl, 18th secretary of state of Minnesota (1971-1975); U.S. representative from Minnesota's 1st district (1979-1983)
- Brad Finstad, U.S. representative from Minnesota's 1st district (2022-present)
- Peggy Flanagan, 50th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (2019-present)
- John L. Gibbs, 14th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1897-1899)
- Charles A. Gilman, 9th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1880-1887)
- Samuel Y. Gordon, 19th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1911-1913)
- Joan Growe, 19th secretary of state of Minnesota (1975-1999)
- Gil Gutknecht, U.S. representative from Minnesota's 1st district (1995-2007)
- Carl A. Halverson, 18th treasurer of Minnesota (1937-1939)
- Douglas M. Head, 25th attorney general of Minnesota (1967-1971)
- Samuel G. Iverson, 7th auditor of Minnesota (1903-1915)
- Magnus Johnson, U.S. senator from Minnesota (1923-1925); U.S. representative from Minnesota's general ticket Seat Five district (1933-1935)
- Mary Kiffmeyer, 20th secretary of state of Minnesota (1999-2007)
- August T. Koerner, 9th treasurer of Minnesota (1895-1901)
- Ernest Lundeen, U.S. senator from Minnesota (1937-1940); U.S. representative from Minnesota's 3rd district (1917-1919); U.S. representative from Minnesota's general ticket Seat Eight district (1933-1935); U.S. representative from Minnesota's 3rd district (1935-1937)
- Betty McCollum, U.S. representative from Minnesota's 4th district (2001-present)
- William Rush Merriam, 11th governor of Minnesota (1889-1893)
- Stephen Miller, 4th governor of Minnesota (1864-1866)
- Carol Molnau, 46th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (2003-2011)
- Emil D. Munch, 3rd treasurer of Minnesota (1868-1872)
- Rick Nolan, U.S. representative from Minnesota's 8th district (2013-2019); 6th district (1975-1981)
- William I. Nolan, 26th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1925-1929); U.S. representative from Minnesota's 5th district (1929-1933)
- William O'Brien, 11th auditor of Minnesota (1969-1971)
- Ilhan Omar, U.S. representative from Minnesota's 5th district (2019-present)
- Rebecca Otto, 18th auditor of Minnesota (2007-2019)
- Erik Paulsen, U.S. representative from Minnesota's 3rd district (2009-2019)
- Tim Pawlenty, 39th governor of Minnesota (2003-2011)
- Hjalmar Petersen, 23rd governor of Minnesota (1936-1937); 28th lieutenant governor of Minnesota
- William Pfaender, 6th treasurer of Minnesota (1876-1880)
- Albert F. Pratt, 16th attorney general of Minnesota (1927-1928)
- Henry Rines 15th treasurer of Minnesota (1917-1925)
- Dwight M. Sabin, U.S. senator from Minnesota (1883-1889); Chair of the Republican National Committee (1883-1884)
- Charles D. Sherwood, 4th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1864-1866)
- Steve Simon, 22nd secretary of state of Minnesota (2015-present)
- Edward W. Stark, 16th treasurer of Minnesota (1925-1927)
- Konrad K. Solberg, 27th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1933-1935)
- Samuel Rinnah Van Sant, 15th governor of Minnesota (1901-1905)
- James Wakefield, 9th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1876-1880); U.S. representative from Minnesota's 2nd district (1883-1887)
- William D. Washburn, U.S. senator from Minnesota (1889-1895); U.S. representative from Minnesota's 3rd district (1879-1883) and 4th district (1883-1885)
- George P. Wilson, 5th attorney general of Minnesota (1874-1880)
- Thomas Wilson, U.S. representative from Minnesota's 1st district (1887-1889); Chief justice of the supreme court of Minnesota (1865-1869); associate justice of the supreme court of Minnesota (1864-1865)
- William H. Yale, 6th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1870-1874)
- Edward T. Young 12th attorney general of Minnesota (1905-1909)
See also
- Minnesota Senate
- Minnesota Legislature
- Past composition of the House of Representatives
- Political party strength in Minnesota
- List of speakers of the Minnesota House of Representatives
Notes
References
- "Party Control of the Minnesota House of Representatives - Minnesota Legislative Reference Library". www.lrl.mn.gov. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- "Women Wielding Power: Pioneer Female State Legislators". National Women's History Museum. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
- "Women in the Legislature Over Time - Tables". www.lrl.mn.gov. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- "Minn. Const. art. IV, § 4". Constitution of the State of Minnesota. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- Ruth Richardson (District 52B) resigned to focus on her role at Planned Parenthood.
- Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services (January 5, 2023). "2022 ELECTION DIRECTORY for the 2023-2024 MINNESOTA LEGISLATURE" (PDF). Minnesota House of Representatives. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
- "Party Control of the Minnesota House of Representatives, 1951-present". Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved November 13, 2018.