| Election Name: | 2022 Minnesota House of Representatives election |
| Country: | Minnesota |
| Flag Year: | 1983 |
| Type: | legislative |
| Previous Election: | 2020 Minnesota House of Representatives election |
| Previous Year: | 2020 |
| Next Election: | 2024 Minnesota House of Representatives election |
| Next Year: | 2024 |
| Seats For Election: | All 134 seats in the Minnesota House of Representatives |
| Majority Seats: | 68 |
| Image1: | Melissa Hortman 2017.jpg |
| Image1 Size: | x160px |
| Leader1: | Melissa Hortman |
| Party1: | Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party |
| Leader Since1: | January 3, 2017 |
| Leaders Seat1: | 36B–Brooklyn Park |
| Last Election1: | 70 seats, 51.06% |
| Seats1: | 70 |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,237,520 |
| Percentage1: | 50.91 |
| Swing1: | 0.15 pp |
| Image2 Size: | x160px |
| Leader2: | Kurt Daudt |
| Party2: | Republican Party of Minnesota |
| Leader Since2: | January 8, 2013 |
| Leaders Seat2: | 31A–Crown |
| Last Election2: | 64 seats, 48.17% |
| Seats2: | 64 |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,173,659 |
| Percentage2: | 48.29 |
| Swing2: | 0.12 pp |
| Speaker | |
| Before Election: | Melissa Hortman |
| Before Party: | Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party |
| After Election: | Melissa Hortman |
| After Party: | Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party |
The 2022 Minnesota House of Representatives election was held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on November 8, 2022, to elect members to the House of Representatives of the 93rd Minnesota Legislature. A primary election was held in several districts on August 9, 2022. The election coincided with the election of the other chamber of the Legislature, the Senate.
Democrats (DFL) retained all of their seats, keeping their majority of 70 out of 134 seats.[1] This happened simultaneously with gains in the state senate, giving the DFL control of that chamber for the first time since 2012, and Governor Tim Walz winning re-election. The DFL won a trifecta in the state for the first time since 2012.[1]
As a result of the 2020 election, the DFL maintained control of the House, albeit with a reduced seat majority. Republicans maintained control of the senate, making Minnesota and Alaska the only US states with split control of the legislature.
Over the past several election cycles, the DFL had lost ground in Iron Range districts to the Republicans. The first sign was the surprise defeat of long-time DFLer Jim Oberstar to Tea Party Republican Chip Cravaack in the 2010 midterm election, but it was the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections that saw the largest swings. Iron Range DFL House candidates have narrowly won their seats, but typically by only small margins in districts that used to be safe DFL. For example, DFL Rep. Julie Sandstede of Hibbing was elected by just 30 votes, after winning by more than 4,300 votes in 2018. The five tossup districts which are a part of the Iron Range–3A, 3B, 7A, 7B, and 11A–may determine which party controls the chamber in future elections.[2]
The 134 members of the House of Representatives were elected from single-member districts via first-past-the-post voting for two-year terms. Contested nominations of recognized major parties (Democratic-Farmer-Labor, Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis, Legal Marijuana Now, and Republican) for each district were determined by an open primary election. Minor party and independent candidates were nominated by petition. Write-in candidates were required to file a request with the secretary of state's office for votes for them to be counted. The filing period lasted from May 17, 2022, until May 31, 2022.[3]
| Source | Ranking | As of | |
|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | Sabato's Crystal Ball[23] | May 19, 2022 | |
| CNalysis[24] | September 12, 2022 |
| Party | Candidates | Votes | Seats | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | +/− | +/− | % | ||||||
| Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party | 130 | 1,237,520 | 50.91 | -0.15 | 70 | 0 | 52.24 | ||
| Republican Party of Minnesota | 122 | 1,173,659 | 48.29 | +0.12 | 64 | 0 | 47.76 | ||
| Independence–Alliance Party of Minnesota | 1 | 4,422 | 0.18 | +0.18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Legal Marijuana Now Party | 4 | 3,851 | 0.16 | -0.12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Independent | 1 | 2,158 | 0.08 | +0.08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Libertarian Party of Minnesota | 1 | 785 | 0.03 | +0.03 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Write-in | N/A | 8,178 | 0.34 | -0.13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 2,430,571 | 100 | N/A | 134 | N/A | 100 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | |||||||||
| Total | |||||||||
| Registered voters/turnout | |||||||||
| Source: Minnesota Secretary of State[25] | |||||||||
Districts where the margin of victory was under 10%:
A primary election was held in 20 districts to nominate Republican and DFL candidates. Twelve Republican nominations and eight DFL nominations were contested. Eight incumbents were opposed for their party's nomination. DFL incumbents John Thompson (67A) and Andrew Carlson (50B), who was running against fellow incumbent Steve Elkins, were not renominated.
| District | Party | Candidates | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3A | Republican | Roger Skraba | 3,030 | 66.73 | ||
| Blain Johnson | 1,511 | 33.27 | ||||
| DFL | Rob Ecklund (incumbent) | 3,870 | 100.0 | |||
| 5B | Republican | Mike Wiener | 2,099 | 50.48 | ||
| Sheldon Monson | 2,059 | 49.52 | ||||
| 6B | Republican | Josh Heintzeman (incumbent) | 3,132 | 79.92 | ||
| Doug Kern | 787 | 20.08 | ||||
| DFL | Sally Boos | 1,465 | 100.0 | |||
| 8 | A | Republican | Art Johnston | 1,053 | 66.81 | |
| Doug Kern | 523 | 33.19 | ||||
| DFL | Liz Olson (incumbent) | 3,496 | 100.0 | |||
| B | Republican | Becky Hall | 1,581 | 100.0 | ||
| DFL | Alicia Kozlowski | 3,616 | 56.21 | |||
| Arik Forsman | 2,817 | 43.79 | ||||
| 10 | A | Republican | Ron Kresha (incumbent) | 3,572 | 73.65 | |
| Chuck Parins | 1,278 | 26.35 | ||||
| B | Republican | Isaac Schultz | 2,997 | 58.04 | ||
| Blake Paulson | 1,718 | 33.27 | ||||
| John Ulrick | 449 | 8.69 | ||||
| DFL | Hunter Froelich | 751 | 100.0 | |||
| 20A | Republican | Pam Altendorf | 2,898 | 51.81 | ||
| Jesse Johnson | 2,695 | 48.19 | ||||
| DFL | Laurel Stinson | 2,738 | 100.0 | |||
| 21B | Republican | Marj Fogelman | 2,672 | 82.42 | ||
| Jayesun Israel Sherman | 570 | 17.58 | ||||
| DFL | Michael Heidelberger | 1,323 | 100.0 | |||
| 26B | Republican | Greg Davids | 3,268 | 75.91 | ||
| Laura H. Thorson | 1,037 | 24.09 | ||||
| 27B | Republican | Kurt Daudt (incumbent) | 2,189 | 73.19 | ||
| Rachel Davids | 802 | 26.81 | ||||
| DFL | Brad Brown | 793 | 100.0 | |||
| 33B | Republican | Mark Bishofsky | 1,637 | 59.99 | ||
| Tina Riehle | 1,092 | 40.01 | ||||
| DFL | Josiah Hill | 3,170 | 100.0 | |||
| 48A | Republican | Jim Nash (incumbent) | 1,993 | 100.0 | ||
| DFL | Nathan Kells | 709 | 52.25 | |||
| Arian Brinkmeier | 648 | 47.75 | ||||
| 50B | Republican | Beth Beebe | 2,206 | 100.0 | ||
| DFL | Steve Elkins (incumbent, old 49B) | 3,179 | 61.09 | |||
| Andrew Carlson (incumbent, old 50B) | 2,025 | 38.91 | ||||
| 52A | Republican | Fern Smith | 1,408 | 100.0 | ||
| DFL | Liz Reyer (incumbent) | 2,037 | 60.86 | |||
| Sandra Masin | 1,310 | 39.14 | ||||
| 54A | Republican | Erik Mortensen (incumbent) | 1,474 | 55.00 | ||
| Bob Loonan | 1,206 | 45.00 | ||||
| DFL | Brad Tabke | 1,207 | 100.0 | |||
| LMN | Ryan Martin | 15 | 100.0 | |||
| 62A | DFL | Aisha Gomez (incumbent) | 4,167 | 69.44 | ||
| Osman Ahmed | 1,834 | 30.56 | ||||
| 65B | Republican | Kevin Fjelsted | 602 | 100.0 | ||
| DFL | Maria Isa Pérez-Hedges | 3,613 | 81.71 | |||
| Anna Botz | 809 | 18.29 | ||||
| 66A | Republican | Trace Johnson | 646 | 100.0 | ||
| DFL | Leigh Finke | 4,034 | 63.17 | |||
| Dave Thomas | 2,352 | 36.83 | ||||
| 67A | Republican | Beverly Peterson | 432 | 100.0 | ||
| DFL | Liz Lee | 2,168 | 88.93 | |||
| John Thompson (incumbent) | 270 | 11.07 | ||||
| Source: Minnesota Secretary of State[26] | ||||||
Incumbent Republican John Burkel was first elected in 2020. District 1A is located in northwestern Minnesota covering the northernmost portions of the Red River Valley. Large cities in the district are Roseau, Thief River Falls, and Warren.
Incumbent Republican Debra Kiel was first elected in 2010. District 1B is located in northwestern Minnesota and includes East Grand Forks, Crookston, and Red Lake Falls.
Incumbent Republican Matt Grossell was first elected in 2016. District 2A is located in northwestern Minnesota, stretching as far south as Bemidji and as far north as the Northwest Angle.
Incumbent Republican Matt Bliss was elected in the 2020 election. Bliss previously represented District 5A from 2017 to 2019, but lost to John Persell by 11 votes in the 2018 election. District 2B is located in north-central Minnesota.
Incumbent DFLer Rob Ecklund was first elected in a 2015 special election. District 3A is located in northeastern Minnesota, covering large portions of the Iron Range and the northern Arrowhead Region. Cities in the 3A district include International Falls, Ely, Silver Bay, and Grand Marais. It is the largest house district by area.
Incumbent DFLer Mary Murphy was first elected in 1976. She had represented District 3B since 2012. District 3B surrounds the city of Duluth.
Incumbent DFLer Heather Keeler was first elected in the 2020 election. District 4A covers most of the city of Moorhead.
Incumbent DFLer Paul Marquart, who was first elected in 2000, chose not run for re-election. The district, located in northwestern Minnesota, surrounds the city of Moorhead and includes Glyndon and Detroit Lakes.
District 5A is located in north central Minnesota. The largest city in 5A is Park Rapids.
District 5B is the only district in which the Independence Party of Minnesota fielded a candidate. The district is located in central Minnesota and covers all of Todd County plus portions of Morrison, Cass, and Wadena counties.
District 6A, located in north central Minnesota, stretches from Grand Rapids to Garrison.
Incumbent Republican Josh Heintzeman was first elected in 2014. District 6B's largest city is Brainerd.
Newly created District 7A had two incumbents: DFLer Julie Sandstede, first elected in 2016, and Republican Spencer Igo, first elected in 2020.
Incumbent DFLer Dave Lislegard was first elected in 2018.
Incumbent DFLer Liz Olson was first elected in 2018. District 8A covers the southwestern portion of the city of Duluth.
Incumbent DFLer Jennifer Schultz, who was first elected in 2014, instead ran for Minnesota's 8th congressional district.
Incumbent Republican Jeff Backer was first elected in 2014.
Incumbent Republican Anne Neu Brindley ran for re-election. District 28B covers the southern portion of Chisago County and includes the cities of Lindström, Chisago City, and Stacy, as well as the eastern part of North Branch.
In the DFL primary for District 50B, incumbent Steve Elkins (formerly representing District 49B) defeated fellow incumbent Andrew Carlson (of the old District 50B) with over 60% of the vote.
Incumbent Sydney Jordan was first elected in a 2020 special election caused by the death of DFL member Diane Loeffler.
District 66A includes parts of north eastern Saint Paul as well as Roseville, Falcon Heights, and Lauderdale. Incumbent DFLer Alice Hausman retired. Leigh Finke, the DFL endorsed candidate, became the first transgender member of the Minnesota Legislature.
House District 66B covers north central Saint Paul. Incumbent Athena Hollins ran for re-election.
District 67A includes the northeast corner of Saint Paul. The incumbent John Thompson failed to secure the DFL endorsement after a string of scandals. He received only 11% of the vote in the primary election, losing to Liz Lee. Following the primary, the Republican nominee, Beverly Peterson, passed away, and Scott Hesselgrave was chosen as the new nominee.[27]
District 67B covers the easternmost portion of Saint Paul. Incumbent Jay Xiong ran for re-election. He was first elected in 2018.