The 2024 Minnesota House of Representatives election was held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on November 5, 2024, to elect members to the House of Representatives of the 94th Minnesota Legislature. Primaries took place on August 13, 2024.
In the previous legislature, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) leveraged their existing trifecta to enact significant legislative changes, including paid family leave, universal free school meals, a progressive child tax credit, increased sales and gas taxes for housing and transportation respectively, codified abortion rights, established a commission to redesign the state flag, and eliminated public university tuition for families earning under $85,000. The slim majorities held by the DFL were maintained by narrow victories in key battleground districts. They won control of the chamber following the 2018 election and entered this cycle with a majority of five seats.
The DFL lost three seats in Greater Minnesota to the Republicans, resulting in a tie, with both parties winning 67 seats. Two seats, in 14B in Saint Cloud and 54A in Shakopee, were won by the DFL within a 0.5% margin and held hand recounts, which confirmed the initial winners.
Republicans challenged three seat results in court. In District 54A, 21 ballots went missing due to human error on the first day of absentee ballot processing, and the margin between candidates was only 15 votes after a recount. The judge ruled in favor of Democratic candidate Tabke, denying the Republican request for a special election.
In District 40B, Republicans successfully invalidated DFL winner Curtis Johnson's election certificate. The judge ruled that Johnson did not meet residency requirements and was thus ineligible to take the oath of office. This temporarily shifted the House majority to 67–66 in favor of Republicans until a special election was held, which shifted it back to 67–67. DFL representatives held a boycott of the first three weeks of the legislative sessions, denying the Republicans a quorum, until the two parties made a power sharing agreement on February 5. On February 6, Lisa Demuth was elected as speaker.
Outgoing incumbents
Retiring Jamie Becker-Finn (DFL–Roseville), representing district 40B since 2016, retired. Brian Daniels (R–Faribault), representing district 19A since 2014, retired. Matt Grossell (R–Clearbrook), representing district 2A since 2016, retired. Hodan Hassan (DFL–Minneapolis), representing district 62B since 2018, retired. Frank Hornstein, (DFL–Minneapolis), representing district 61A since 2012, retired. Shane Hudella (R–Hastings), representing district 41B since 2022, retired. Debra Kiel (R–Crookston), representing district 1B since 2010, retired. Dave Lislegard (DFL–Aurora), representing district 7B since 2022, retired. Michael Nelson (DFL–Brooklyn Park), representing district 38A since 2022, retired. Anne Neu Brindley (R–North Branch), representing district 28B since 2022, retired. Jerry Newton (DFL–Coon Rapids), representing district 35B since 2022, retired. Gene Pelowski (DFL–Winona), representing district 26A since 2022, retired. John Petersburg (R–Waseca), representing district 19B since 2022, retired. Brian Pfarr (R–Le Sueur), representing district 22B since 2022, retired. Laurie Pryor (DFL–Minnetonka), representing district 49A since 2022, retired. Dean Urdahl, 16A (R–Grove City), representing district 16A since 2022, retired.
Seeking other office
Mark Wiens (R–Lake Elmo), representing district 41A since 2022, ran for Washington County commissioner in the 3rd district but lost the primary.
Lost renomination
Brian Johnson (R–Cambridge), representing district 28A since 2022, lost renomination to Jimmy Gordon (R–Isanti).
Vacated
Heather Edelson (DFL–Edina), representing district 50A since 2022, resigned her seat on May 28, 2024, after being elected in a special election to the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners. Pat Garofalo, 58B (R–Farmington), representing district 58B since 2012, resigned his seat on July 14, 2024. Liz Olson, 8A (DFL–Duluth), representing district 8A since 2022, resigned her seat on July 5, 2025, after being hired by the McKnight Foundation.
Summary PartyCandidatesVotesSeats%±±%Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party1331,545,21349.95 -0.9667–350.0Republican Party of Minnesota1281,530,79749.48 +1.1967 +350.0Independence–Alliance Party of Minnesota13,5170.11 -0.070±00.0Libertarian Party of Minnesota11,2980.04 +0.010±00.0Green Party of Minnesota13,2840.11 +0.110±00.0Independent21,5600.05 -0.030±00.0Write-inN/A7,8140.25 -0.090±00.0Total3,093,483100N/A134N/A100Source: Minnesota Secretary of State
Close races Major Minnesota news outlets published lists of House districts that were expected to be competitive in 2024 based on past results and campaign spending. The Minnesota Star Tribune considered 15 races competitive, MPR News listed 14 as districts to watch, and MinnPost and the Minnesota Reformer both cited 16 districts.
21 districts were decided by margins below 10 points, 16 races under 5 points, and 4 separated by less than 1%. The closest contest was in District 54A, where Brad Tabke led by 14 votes on election night (0.06%); this margin was extended to 15 votes after a hand recount. Districts 54A and 14B both saw their results confirmed in recounts.
Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:
+ Seats decided by under 10% margin # Winning party Winning candidate District Vote margin Percent margin Notes 1 DFL Brad Tabke 54A 15 0.06% 2 R Natalie Zeleznikar 3B 159 0.60% 3 DFL Lucille Rehm 48B 225 0.87% 4 DFL Dan Wolgamott 14B 191 0.96% 5 R Wayne Johnson 41A 327 1.09% 6 DFL Kari Rehrauer 35B 280 1.22% 7 DFL Matt Norris 32B 410 1.73% 8 R Tom Dippel 41B 510 2.08% 9 DFL Josiah Hill 33B 718 2.70% 10 R Jeff Dotseth 11A 664 2.78% 11 DFL Brion Curran 36B 825 3.28% 12 R Erica Schwartz 18A 802 3.37% Gain 13 DFL Zack Stephenson 35A 872 3.82% 14 R Bidal Duran 2A 851 3.83% 15 R Jeff Witte 57B 1,261 4.79% 16 DFL Kristi Pursell 58A 1,258 4.95% 17 R Aaron Repinski 26A 1,324 5.70% Gain 18 DFL Jessica Hanson 55A 1,538 6.77% 19 R Danny Nadeau 34A 2,021 7.08% 20 R Elliot Engen 36A 2,284 8.23% 21 DFL Ethan Cha 47B 2,335 8.95%
Campaign
Primary elections A primary election was held in 19 districts to nominate Republican and DFL candidates. 15 Republican nominations and seven DFL nominations were contested. Eight incumbents faced challenges for their party's nomination, with Brian Johnson (R-Cambridge) being the only incumbent who lost their party's nomination. Predictions SourceRankingAs of CNalysis October 30, 2024
Polling Poll sourceDate(s) administeredSampleMOEDFLRep.OtherUndecidedKSTP/SurveyUSAOctober 24–28, 2024728 (LV)± 4.0%48%43%1%7%KSTP/SurveyUSASeptember 23–26, 2024646 (LV)± 4.3%47%43%3%8%KSTP/SurveyUSAAugust 27–29, 2024635 (LV)± 4.5%48%43%2%8%KSTP/SurveyUSAJuly 23–25, 2024656 (LV)± 4.1%50%40%2%7%KSTP/SurveyUSAJune 12–16, 2024626 (LV)± 4.5%47%45%1%7%KSTP/SurveyUSAMay 8–11, 2024625 (LV)± 4.3%43%45%4%8%KSTP/SurveyUSAApril 3–7, 2024608 (LV)± 4.9%44%45%3%8%KSTP/SurveyUSAFebruary 23–28, 20241,603 (LV)± 3.0%46%41%3%11%
Results by district 1A • 1B • 2A • 2B • 3A • 3B • 4A • 4B • 5A • 5B • 6A • 6B • 7A • 7B • 8A • 8B • 9A • 9B • 10A • 10B • 11A • 11B • 12A • 12B • 13A • 13B • 14A • 14B • 15A • 15B • 16A • 16B • 17A • 17B • 18A • 18B • 19A • 19B • 20A • 20B • 21A • 21B • 22A • 22B • 23A • 23B • 24A • 24B • 25A • 25B • 26A • 26B • 27A • 27B • 28A • 28B • 29A • 29B • 30A • 30B • 31A • 31B • 32A • 32B • 33A • 33B • 34A • 34B • 35A • 35B • 36A • 36B • 37A • 37B • 38A • 38B • 39A • 39B • 40A • 40B • 41A • 41B • 42A • 42B • 43A • 43B • 44A • 44B • 45A • 45B • 46A • 46B • 47A • 47B • 48A • 48B • 49A • 49B • 50A • 50B • 51A • 51B • 52A • 52B • 53A • 53B • 54A • 54B • 55A • 55B • 56A • 56B • 57A • 57B • 58A • 58B • 59A • 59B • 60A • 60B • 61A • 61B • 62A • 62B • 63A • 63B • 64A • 64B • 65A • 65B • 66A • 66B • 67A • 67B__NOTOC__ Source: Minnesota Secretary of State
District 1A Incumbent Republican John Burkel ran for re-election. He defeated DFLer James Sceville by a wide margin.
District 1B Incumbent Republican Debra Kiel declined to seek re-election. Republican Steve Gander filed to succeed her and defeated DFLer Mike Christopherson by a wide margin.
District 2A Incumbent Republican Matt Grossell declined to seek re-election. Republican Bidal Duran Jr. filed to succeed him and defeated DFLer Reed Olson by a margin of 3.83 points.
District 2B Incumbent Republican Matt Bliss ran for re-election. He defeated DFLer Michael Reyes by a wide margin.
District 3A Incumbent Republican Roger Skraba ran for re-election. He defeated DFLer and mayor of International Falls, Minnesota Harley Droba and Rich Tru, the nominee for the Forward Party, by a 14-point margin.
District 3B Incumbent Republican Natalie Zeleznikar ran for re-election. She defeated DFLer and former judge and nephew of former legislator Willard Munger, Mark Munger by a 160-vote, 0.60% margin.
The district was targeted by both parties due to its narrow margins in 2022, when Zeleznikar defeated long-time incumbent Mary Murphy by a margin of 33 votes. In the campaign, high amounts of outside spending came into the district in support of both candidates, with spending in the district being the fifth most expensive race in the house of representatives. During the campaign, both candidates maintained a friendly tone and stuck to traditional campaign messaging.
District 4A Incumbent DFLer Heather Keeler ran for re-election. She defeated Republican Joshua Zincke by a 17-point margin.
District 4B Incumbent Republican Jim Joy ran for re-election. He defeated DFLer Thaddeus Laugisch by a wide margin.
District 5A Incumbent Republican Krista Knudsen ran for re-election. She defeated DFLer Brian Hobson by a wide margin.
District 5B Incumbent Republican Mike Wiener ran for re-election. He defeated DFLer Gregg Hendrickson by a wide margin.
District 6A Incumbent Republican Ben Davis ran for re-election. He defeated DFLer Earl Butenhoff by a wide margin.
District 6B Incumbent Republican Josh Heintzeman ran for re-election. He defeated Matthew Eric Zinda in the Republican primary and then defeated DFLer Emily LeClaire and independent Troy Kenneth Scheffler in the general election by a wide margin.
District 7A Incumbent Republican Spencer Igo ran for re-election, he defeated DFLer Aron Schaser by a 21-point margin.
District 7B Incumbent DFLer Dave Lislegard declined to seek re-election. Republican Cal Warwas defeated Matt Matasich in the primary and went on to defeat DFLer Lorrie Jantopoulos by a 13-point margin, flipping the seat.
District 8A Incumbent DFLer Liz Olson declined to seek re-election. Two DFLers and one Republican filed to succeed her. DFLer Peter Johnson defeated Jordan Johnson in the primary and went on to defeat Republican Mark McGrew by a wide margin.
District 8B DFLer Liish Kozlowski ran for re-election. They faced Republican software consultant Shawn Savela, who had defeated architect Timothy L. Meyer in the Republican primary. Kozlowski defeated Savela by a wide margin.
District 9A Incumbent Republican Jeff Backer ran for re-election. He defeated farmer Boone Carlson in the primary. He went on to defeat DFLer Michael Ziomko in the general election by a wide margin.
District 9B Incumbent Republican Tom Murphy ran for re-election. He defeated DFLer Jason Satter by a wide margin.
Results
District 10A Incumbent Republican Ron Kresha ran for re-election. He faced first time candidate Diane Webb-Skillings, who ran as a "Make America Great Again" Republican. Kresha was criticized as being insufficiently conservative due to his views on the January 6 United States Capitol attack and immigration. Additionally, Kresha was unable to secure the Republican endorsement in his bid for re-election. He defeated Webb-Skillings by a 35-vote margin. Kresha went on to defeat DFLer Julia Hipp by a wide margin.
District 10B