John,

Despite the massive headwinds facing us this year and pundits predicting a “Red Wave”, the Minnesota DFL had its most historic win in our party’s 78-year history on Tuesday.

Our DFL “Blue Wave” resulted in a sweep of all of our statewide constitutional offices, winning majorities in both of our legislative chambers, keeping all of our congressional members – including Congresswoman Angie Craig, who won in the most expensive congressional race in the country, and historic wins up and down the ballot including the following (which is not exhaustive):

• The Minnesota DFL made history by continuing its streak of winning every statewide contest since 2006 – 8 election cycles in a row.

• For the first time in the 164-year history of Minnesota, the Minnesota DFL has won the Governor’s office for a fourth consecutive term giving our party control of this all-important office for a now-historic 16-year span.

• The Minnesota DFL bucked state trends and won a trifecta in state government for only the second time in 31 years. The Minnesota GOP has not had a trifecta in state government in over 53 years.

• The Minnesota DFL will send the first transgender person to the state legislature in Minnesota history with the election of Leigh Finke (HD 66A).

• The Minnesota DFL flipped four legislative seats from Red-to-Blue in Greater Minnesota and six legislative seats in the suburbs.

• The Minnesota DFL is the only political party to add diverse members to the legislature this election cycle, where we added 11 new members to the People of Color and Indigenous Peoples Caucus.

• We won pro-choice majorities in both of our DFL legislative caucuses.

An old saying is that “victory has a thousand parents, and defeat is an orphan.” Undoubtedly, our victories would not have happened without the DFL and Coordinated Campaign staff who poured their hearts and souls into this work. I am forever indebted and in awe of their dedication to our party values.

This was not an easy election cycle. In fact, this was the most difficult we faced in Minnesota during my time as Chair. We always believed this cycle would be close and that we would win through an unprecedented field operation – on the doors, on the phones, person-to-person, having those personal conversations with voters about their hopes and dreams for the future of their community, state, and country.

While the Republicans in this state invested in sleazy attack ads, smears, and misinformation campaigns, the Minnesota DFL used our fundraising prowess to invest in a ground game that is second to none in our state.  

This historic effort in the field would not have happened without all our great candidates, the thousands of volunteers, the party leaders and activists throughout the state, our partners and allies in the democratic ecosystem, and most importantly, Minnesota voters who once again put their trust in the Minnesota DFL by giving us complete control of state government.

Power is fleeting – we now need to use this power Minnesotans gave us to do as much good for as many people while we can. I believe we will.

Our best days are ahead of us, John, you believed it was possible, and then you went out and worked hard to make it happen. We now have the ability to make transformational change in this state which will last for generations and significantly improve people’s lives and strengthen communities throughout Minnesota. 

Thank you does not adequately convey my deepest gratitude for the role you played in making this happen.

Onward, 

Ken Martin
Chairman
Minnesota DFL