| District: | 37 |
| Chamber: | Senate |
| Percent White: | 83.1 |
| Percent Black: | 4.8 |
| Percent Latino: | 3.9 |
| Percent Asian: | 6.9 |
| Percent Native American: | 0.6 |
| Percent Pacific Islander: | 0.1 |
| Percent Other Race: | 1.2 |
| Percent Remainder Of Multiracial: | 3.4 |
| Population: | 83,278 |
| Population Year: | 2016 |
| Voting Age: | 62,858 |
| Citizen Voting Age: | 59,882 |
| State: | Minnesota |
| Representative: | Warren Limmer |
The Minnesota Senate, District 37, encompasses portions of Anoka County in the northern Twin Cities metropolitan area.[1] It has formerly included Brown, Lac qui Parle, Lyon, Redwood, Yellow Medicine, Chippewa, Swift, Carver, Ramsey, Hennepin, Dakota, Washington, Goodhue, and Scott counties; and served Ramsey County for the longest. The district is currently represented by Republican Senator Warren Limmer.
The district stretches along the southern edge of Anoka County from the Ramsey County and Hennepin County borders, excluding the cities of Fridely, Hilltop, and Columbia Heights.[2]
Due to redistricting, the 37th district has been moved around various counties in the southern part of the state. The current iteration resulted from the 2010 redistricting by the Minnesota State Legislature, which became effective in 2012.[3]
Part of Anoka County
As of 2016, the population of the 37th district was split 49.1% male and 50.9% female, with 48.2% of men and 51.8% of women being eligible to vote.[4] 93.9% of residents were at least a high school graduate (or equivalent), and 30.5% had earned a bachelor's degree or higher. 31.8% of the population is of German ancestry, the largest ethnic group in the district, followed by Norwegian descent at 13.5%.[5] The unemployment rate was at 4.8%.[6]
| Race | Population (2016 est.) | Share of total population | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 83,278 | 100% | |
| One race | 80,469 | 96.6% | |
| White | 69,174 | 83.1% | |
| Black or African American | 3,962 | 4.8% | |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 493 | 0.6% | |
| Asian | 5,769 | 6.9% | |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 44 | 0.1% | |
| Other races | 1,027 | 1.2% | |
| Two or more races | 2,809 | 3.4% | |
| White and Black or African American | 994 | 1.2% | |
| White and American Indian and Alaska Native | 499 | 0.6% | |
| White and Asian | 804 | 1% | |
| Black or African American and American Indian and Alaska Native | 9 | 0.0% |
| Ancestry | Population (2016 est.) | Share of total population | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 83,278 | 100% | |
| German | 26,513 | 31.8% | |
| Norwegian | 11,205 | 13.5% | |
| Irish | 8,799 | 10.6% | |
| Swedish | 7,139 | 8.6% | |
| Polish | 5,606 | 6.7% | |
| English | 4,080 | 4.9% | |
| French (except Basque) | 3,169 | 3.8% | |
| American | 3,066 | 3.7% | |
| Italian | 2,162 | 2.6% | |
| Subsaharan African | 1,947 | 2.3% | |
| Czech | 1,582 | 1.9% | |
| Scottish | 1,186 | 1.4% | |
| French Canadian | 1,132 | 1.4% | |
| Arab | 1,005 | 1.2% | |
| Danish | 885 | 1.1% | |
| Russian | 790 | 0.9% | |
| Ukrainian | 486 | 0.6% | |
| Swiss | 419 | 0.5% | |
| Scotch-Irish | 340 | 0.4% | |
| Welsh | 262 | 0.3% | |
| Greek | 212 | 0.3% | |
| Hungarian | 203 | 0.2% | |
| Slovak | 154 | 0.2% | |
| Lithuanian | 74 | 0.1% | |
| Portuguese | 56 | 0.1% | |
| West Indian (excluding Hispanic origin groups) | 29 | 0.0% |
| Session | Senator | Party | Term start | Term end | Home | Counties represented |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14th | William Pfaender Sr.[7] | Republican | January 2, 1872 | January 6, 1873 | New Ulm | Brown Lac qui Parle Lyon Redwood Yellow Medicine |
| 15th | J.S.G. Honner[8] | January 7, 1873 | January 4, 1875 | Redwood Falls | ||
| 16th | ||||||
| 17th | John Winslow Blake[9] | January 5, 1875 | January 1, 1877 | Marshall | ||
| 18th | ||||||
| 19th | Shadrach Azariah Hall[10] | January 2, 1877 | January 6, 1879 | Yellow Medicine City | ||
| 20th | Minnesota Falls | |||||
| 21st | Knud H. Helling[11] | January 7, 1879 | January 3, 1881 | Madelia | ||
| 22nd | Samuel D. Peterson[12] | January 4, 1881 | January 1, 1883 | New Ulm | ||
| 23rd | Ziba B. Clarke[13] | January 2, 1883 | January 3, 1887 | Benson | Chippewa Lac qui Parle Swift | |
| 24th | ||||||
| 25th | Hiram Eugene Hoard[14] | Republican | January 4, 1887 | January 5, 1891 | Montevideo | |
| 26th | ||||||
| 27th | Joseph W. Craven[15] | Democratic | January 6, 1891 | January 7, 1895 | Norwood | Carver |
| 28th | ||||||
| 29th | Frederic "Fred" Iltis[16] | Republican | January 8, 1895 | January 2, 1899 | Chaska | |
| 30th | ||||||
| 31st | Andrew Ryan McGill[17] | January 3, 1899 | October 31, 1905 | Saint Paul | Ramsey | |
| 32nd | ||||||
| 33rd | ||||||
| 34th | ||||||
| 35th | Joseph Malcome Hackney[18] | January 8, 1907 | January 4, 1915 | |||
| 36th | ||||||
| 37th | ||||||
| 38th | ||||||
| 39th | Joseph Ansgar Jackson[19] | Nonpartisan Election | January 5, 1915 | January 3, 1927 | ||
| 40th | ||||||
| 41st | ||||||
| 42nd | ||||||
| 43rd | ||||||
| 44th | ||||||
| 45th | Lloyd E. Lilygren[20] | January 4, 1927 | January 5, 1931 | |||
| 46th | ||||||
| 47th | Beldin H. Loftsgaarden[21] | Republican | January 6, 1932 | January 4, 1943 | ||
| 48th | ||||||
| 49th | ||||||
| 50th | ||||||
| 51st | ||||||
| 52nd | ||||||
| 53rd | Emery A. Johnson[22] | Nonpartisan Election | January 5, 1943 | January 6, 1947 | ||
| 54th | ||||||
| 55th | Everett L. Peterson[23] | January 7, 1947 | January 1, 1951 | |||
| 56th | ||||||
| 57th | Harold W. Schultz Sr.[24] | Nonpartisan Election-Liberal Caucus | January 1, 1951 | January 7, 1963 | ||
| 58th | ||||||
| 59th | ||||||
| 60th | ||||||
| 61st | ||||||
| 62nd | ||||||
| 63rd | Harmon T. Ogdahl Sr.[25] | Nonpartisan Election-Conservative Caucus | January 8, 1963 | January 1, 1973 | Minneapolis | Hennepin |
| 64th | ||||||
| 65th | ||||||
| 66th | ||||||
| 67th | ||||||
| 68th | William G. Kirchner[26] | January 2, 1973 | January 1, 1981 | Richfield | ||
| 69th | Nonpartisan Election-Independent Republican Caucus | |||||
| 70th | Independent Republican | |||||
| 71st | ||||||
| 72nd | Steven O. Lindgren[27] | January 6, 1981 | January 3, 1983 | |||
| 73rd | Darril Wegscheid[28] | Democratic-Farmer-Labor | January 4, 1983 | January 1, 1989 | Apple Valley | DakotaWashington |
| 74th | ||||||
| 75th | ||||||
| 76th | Patricia Pariseau[29] | Independent Republican | January 3, 1989 | January 6, 2003 | Farmington | |
| 77th | ||||||
| 78th | Dakota Goodhue Scott | |||||
| 79th | ||||||
| 80th | Republican | |||||
| 81st | ||||||
| 82nd | ||||||
| 83rd | David L. Knutson[30] | January 7, 2003 | June 29, 2004 | Burnsville | Dakota | |
| Chris Gerlach[31] | July 21, 2004 | January 7, 2013 | Apple Valley | |||
| 84th | ||||||
| 85th | ||||||
| 86th | ||||||
| 87th | ||||||
| 88th | Alice M. Johnson[32] | Democratic-Farmer-Labor | January 8, 2013 | January 2, 2017 | Spring Lake Park | Anoka |
| 89th | ||||||
| 90th | Jerry Newton[33] | January 3, 2017 | January 4, 2021 | Coon Rapids | ||
| 91st |
The candidate filing deadline was May 31, 2016. Incumbent Alice Johnson did not seek re-election. The primary election took place on August 9, 2016; both Jerry Newton and Brad Sanford ran unopposed.[34] The general election was held on November 8, 2016, resulting in Newton's victory.[35]
Elections for the Minnesota State Senate occurred after state-wide redistricting from 2010. The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 5, 2012. Alice Johnson defeated incumbent Pam Wolf in the general election, neither of whom faced opposition in their primaries.[36]