The 2024 general election is two weeks away and with Minnesota featured prominently on the national level, this election could fundamentally transform the entirety of state government despite only the Minnesota House of Representatives being up for election this cycle. The Larkin Hoffman Public Affairs team has prepared a guide to key races across Minnesota, both federal and state, that we believe are most likely to determine who is in power come January 2025. The LHPA 2024 General Election Guide is available here.
The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board recently released the most recent pre-election campaign finance reports detailing spending on state House and Senate races. As of September 17, 2024, the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party (“DFL”) led all fundraising efforts raising approximately $6.8 million and spending over $4.7 million during this election cycle. The Minnesota Republican Party raised $339,000 and spent roughly $300,000 over the same period.
The political gap in campaign spending is slightly narrower, however, with respect to the legislative caucuses with the House DFL Caucus raising $6.7 million and spending $3.2 million while the House Republican Campaign Committee raised $2.5 million and spent $915,000. Similarly, the Senate DFL Caucus raised $2.5 million and the Senate Republican Caucus raised $1.8 million. While the Senate isn’t on the ballot, these strong off-year fundraising totals demonstrate the significant investment both caucuses are making in the Senate District 45 special election as it will determine the political majority of a currently evenly split (33-33) Minnesota Senate.
