Republican Party of Minnesota

The Republican Party of Minnesota is the state affiliate of the Republican Party in Minnesota and Minnesota's oldest active political party. Founded in 1855, it is headquartered in Edina, Minnesota, and its chairman is Alex Plechash.

Since 2011, as a result of the 2010 Minnesota elections, the Republican Party of Minnesota has held no statewide executive offices or U.S. Senate seats. It holds exactly half, or 67, of the 134 seats in the Minnesota House of Representatives, and is the minority party in the Minnesota Senate by one seat. The party controls four of Minnesota's congressional districts, as do the Democrats. The last Republican governor of Minnesota was Tim Pawlenty, who served from 2003 to 2011.

The last Republican presidential nominee to win Minnesota was Richard Nixon in 1972. Minnesota is the state with the longest streak of not voting for the Republican nominee in presidential elections; it was the only state not to vote for Ronald Reagan in either the 1980 United States presidential election or the 1984 United States presidential election).

History

Early history

The Republican Party in Minnesota was the state's dominant party for about the first 70 years of Minnesota's statehood, from 1858 through the 1920s. In the Civil War, Minnesota supported Abolitionism and the Union. Republican candidates routinely won the state governorship and most other state offices, having 12 out of the first 13.

The 1892 Republican National Convention was held in Minneapolis. The party was aided by an opposition divided between the Democratic Party and the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, which eventually merged in 1944.

Independent-Republican era

The Independent-Republicans of Minnesota (I-R) was the party's name from November 15, 1975, to September 23, 1995. The name was changed because the "Republican" brand was widely thought to have been damaged by the Watergate Scandal. Polls in the early-mid-1970s indicated Minnesotans were more likely to vote for candidates who identified as Independents than Republicans. During that time, the state party became more dependent on grassroots fundraising and eventually went bankrupt.[citation needed] After the national party pumped money into it in the early-mid-1980s, its image and base began turning more conservative. During this time the party held both of Minnesota's U.S. Senate seats and briefly controlled the state House of Representatives. By 1994, the grassroots had turned socially more conservative, and the name changed back in 1995. Attempts to drop "Independent" had been defeated in 1989, 1991, and 1993.

2000-2010s

In the 2006 U.S. Senate election, the party endorsed Mark Kennedy for United States Senate. He lost to Amy Klobuchar.

In the 2008 U.S. Senate election, incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman lost to Democratic-Farmer-Labor nominee Al Franken by 312 votes out of over 2.5 million cast after a long series of contentious recounts and lawsuits.

The party was fined $170,000 for violating federal campaign finance regulations from 2003 to 2008. Minnesota Republican Party chairman Tony Sutton was convicted of breaking finance laws in the 2010 gubernatorial election recount and fined $33,000.

Minnesota's most recent Republican governor is Tim Pawlenty. He was elected in 2002 and reelected in 2006. In 2010, Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer lost to DFL nominee Mark Dayton. While losing every executive race in 2010, the party captured both chambers of the Minnesota Legislature for the first time since the 1970s, and 18-term Representative Jim Oberstar lost to Republican nominee Chip Cravaack in Minnesota's 8th district.

2010 gubernatorial race

In the 2010 statewide elections, the party endorsed State Representative Tom Emmer and Metropolitan Council member Annette Meeks for governor and lieutenant governor. State Representative Dan Severson was the endorsed candidate for secretary of state. Attorney and psychologist Chris Barden was the endorsed candidate for attorney general. Patricia Anderson was the endorsed candidate for state auditor. All five lost their elections.

After the 2010 gubernatorial recount, the party was heavily in debt, owing $2 million primarily for the recount. It had stopped paying rent on its headquarters near the Capitol and the landlord filed an eviction summons once the party fell $111,000 behind in rent. In January 2014, it announced it would move its headquarters to Minneapolis's Seward neighborhood. The new headquarters is diagonally across from the Seward Community Cafe and shares a building with a Pizza Luce. Party Chairman Keith Downey said the party had moved out of St. Paul "to be closer to the people". The headquarters were later moved to Edina. After taking control of both houses of the State Legislature for the first time in three decades in 2010, the party lost them both in 2012.

Recent history

In 2021, the Minnesota Republican Party became a subject of controversy when donor and strategist Anton Lazzaro was indicted for sex trafficking charges. Minnesota Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan resigned amid the controversy.

Republican nominee Scott Jensen lost the 2022 gubernatorial race to incumbent Tim Walz. The party also lost its majority in the Minnesota Senate, giving the DFL a trifecta, but kept its four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Ideology and voter base

Minnesota Republicans' base is in rural and suburban parts of Greater Minnesota.

2022 party platform

The party's 2022 platform opposed abortion access, calling for the overturning of Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which subsequently happened, and of the Minnesota ruling Doe v. Gomez, which still stands. It also opposed legal recognition of same-sex marriage and supported "prohibition of Ranked Choice Voting in Minnesota." On gun policy, the platform said that citizens who follow the law should "have the right to purchase and possess firearms, free from any gun registration system." On education, the platform opposed "any element of Critical Race Theory or associated curricula and programs."

Current elected officials

The Minnesota Republican Party holds none of the five statewide elected offices, neither United States Senate seat, and four of the state's eight United States House of Representatives seats. It holds a minority of seats in the Minnesota Senate and exactly half the seats in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Members of Congress

U.S. Senate

• None

Both of Minnesota's U.S. Senate seats have been held by Democrats since 2009. Norm Coleman was the last Republican to represent Minnesota in the U.S. Senate.

U.S. House of Representatives

Of the eight seats Minnesota is apportioned in the U.S. House of Representatives, Republicans hold four:

Statewide offices

• None

Minnesota has not elected a Republican to statewide office since 2006, when Tim Pawlenty was narrowly reelected governor. Pawlenty opted not to seek reelection in 2010. State representative Tom Emmer was the Republican nominee in the 2010 election and lost to DFL nominee Mark Dayton.

State legislature

• Senate Minority Leader: Mark Johnson
• Speaker of the House: Lisa Demuth

List of Chairs

• P. Kenneth Peterson (1950–1953)
• Ron Eibensteiner (1999–2005)
• Ron Carey (2005–2009)
• Tony Sutton (2009–2011)
• Pat Shortridge (2011–2013)
• Keith Downey (2013–2017)
• Jennifer Carnahan (2017–2021)
• David Hann (2021–2024)
• Alex Plechash (2024–present)

Electoral history

President

State

Governor

See also

• Republican Party of Minnesota v. White
• Politics of Minnesota
• List of political parties in Minnesota

External links