The dome of the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul is shown on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, ahead of a vote on a Republican attempt to expedite an ethics investigation of Democratic Sen. Nicole Mitchell, who's facing a felony burglary charge. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)
By: Michelle Griffith and Christopher Ingraham
ST. PAUL, Minn. (Minnesota Reformer) – Outside groups backed by labor unions and wealthy individuals are spending big to defend the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s control of Minnesota state government, according to the latest batch of data from the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board.
This latest data from the state board is the last look Minnesotans will get into how much candidates, parties and political action committees have collected and spent this year prior to the Nov. 5 election.
The Reformer in June identified roughly 15 key House races that will determine control of the lower chamber on Nov. 5. Minnesota Democrats are fighting to maintain control and continue pushing their progressive agenda, while Republicans desperately want to break up the DFL trifecta and roll back what they see as profligate taxing and spending.
The DFL-majority Legislature in the past two years passed new programs and spent the vast majority of the state’s $17.5 billion budget surplus, and all of it hinged on a handful of battleground districts that were often decided by just a few dozen votes.
The winners in these key races will to a degree owe their victories to groups, committees and donors who helped them earn their election certificates.
So far this cycle, outside groups — including party and political action committees — have poured more than $17 million into legislative campaigns. Democrats have been the recipients of the lion’s share of that money, particularly in the key races that will determine the control of the House. A single special Senate election to replace Sen. Kelly Morrison, who resigned to run for Congress, will decide control of the 33-33 deadlocked upper chamber. Eight campaigns have surpassed $1 million in outside spending.
The race in District 3B between incumbent Republican Natalie Zeleznikar and DFL challenger Mark Munger, a former judge, has drawn the most outside spending at over $1.3 million. Roughly $900,000 of that sum has been spent on Munger’s behalf. Zeleznikar won her race two years ago by just 33 votes.
Races in 18A, between DFL Rep. Jeff Brand and GOP challenger Erica Schwartz; and 35A, between DFL Rep. Zack Stephenson and Republican Josh Jungling, have seen similar total spending and breakdowns by party.
The lone Senate seat up for grabs this year, in District 45, has also drawn more than $1.2 million in outside funding, with DFL candidate Ann Johnson Stewart holding a slight spending edge.
One race that had previously flown under the radar is House district 11A between GOP Rep. Jeff Dotseth and challenger Pete Radosevich. In mid-September, news outlets reported on Dotseth’s divorce and arrest in 2008, which included allegations of domestic violence made by his now-ex wife and a son.
Since that news broke several hundred thousand dollars has flowed into the campaign, with the majority of it going to DFL challenger Radosevich.
The House DFL Caucus has spent the most cash on the election this year, doling out over $3.5 million for their candidates and against Republicans. In a press release, the House DFL said it again broke fundraising records — collecting over $9.2 million in 2024. The DFL House Caucus has nearly $3.5 million cash on hand.
“Minnesotans are supporting candidates who will protect their fundamental freedoms, invest in public schools, keep lowering the costs of health care, and help Minnesotans afford their lives,” House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said in a statement. “Our record-breaking fundraising and volunteer recruitment show that Minnesotans across the state support the work House Democrats have done and will continue to do.”
The House Republican Caucus also said it broke its fundraising record, raising nearly $2.7 million this year. The caucus has spent nearly $1.5 million towards their candidates and against Democrats.
“Republicans have the momentum and resources heading into the final stretch to win the majority and restore balance to Minnesota,” House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said in a statement. “Minnesotans are ready to move on from the expensive two years of Democrat one-party rule that resulted in billions in tax increases on families, record amounts of fraud in our state agencies, and crushing regulations and mandates that have harmed our schools and Main Street businesses.”
Outside of the House political caucuses, the biggest outside spending groups include A Better Minnesota PAC, a progressive fundraising group. Pro Jobs Majority, which is the political spending arm of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, is also among the biggest spenders.
Policy advocacy groups, including Planned Parenthood, Everytown for Gun Safety, and Minnesota Concerned Citizens for Life are also represented on the list via their fundraising committees.
The largest individual donors include Alida Messinger, ex-wife of former Gov. Mark Dayton and frequent DFL donor, who has given $1.73 million dollars this year alone to DFL groups, including $500,000 to the DFL fundraising committee We All Do Better PAC and $500,000 to WIN Minnesota PAC, another DFL fundraising committee.
On the Republican side, Stanley Hubbard, founder of Hubbard Broadcasting, which owns KSTP, has donated over $60,000 to Minnesota Senate Republicans and Wayne Johnson, who is running for House District 41A.
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