How long can the DFL make this majority last?

Good morning! Too soon to talk about 2028? Sorry, we’re going there anyway. Today, we look at whether Democrats can make this trifecta last, a possible Blue Dog comeback for Minnesota and a deeper look at what happened in Minnesota’s First District. Plus, the governor brings in a little help to transition out of office. Sign up to get Hot Dish Politics delivered to your inbox twice a week for the inside scoop on Minnesota politics and campaigns. Twice in the last two decades, Minnesota Democrats have won full control of state government , used it to pass an ambitious agenda and then lost that power in the next election. They have not held the governor’s office and both legislative chambers (shorthand: trifecta) for more than two consecutive years since a stretch in the late 1980s. Last week’s victories give them another chance to extend that run and a much bigger cushion heading into 2028. Advertisement Gov.-elect Amy Klobuchar and state senators won’t face voters again for four years, leaving the House as likely the only opportunity Republicans have in the next general election to break unified DFL control. Democrats are projected to have a total of 77 House seats, pending possible recounts. That means Republicans would need a net gain of 10 seats to force a tie and 11 to take the majority outright. That kind of swing would require a major reversal in the party’s fortunes in two years, but Minnesota Republicans have done it before. In 2014, they picked up exactly 11 seats to end the DFL trifecta, even as voters re-elected Gov. Mark Dayton and swept Democrats into every statewide office. Ten of those pickups came in rural districts, where Republicans argued that Democrats in St. Paul had lost touch with the rest of Minnesota. In 2024, Republicans needed just three additional seats to leave the House tied and end another two-year stretch of unified DFL control. One big difference this time: Both of those losses came for Democrats at a time when a member of their own party sat in the White House. In 2028, Republican President Donald Trump will be finishing his second term, and the race to replace him will be on the ballot with all of Minnesota’s House contests.