Great Night for MN Dems--They wipe out GOP majorities in the House & Senate
DFLers reclaimed control of the Minnesota Legislature on Tuesday, ending two short years of a Republican majority and offering Gov. Mark Dayton a much friendlier climate to pursue his agenda.
Election Day 2012 brought an end to the GOP's brief hold on the Legislature as incumbent after incumbent lost -- many of them the same Republican freshmen who swept the party into control just two years before. The last time Minnesota had a DFL governor and DFL control of both houses was in 1990, the last year of DFL Gov. Rudy Perpich.
Republicans lost their 37-30 majority in the Senate as incumbents like John Howe lost in an upset to DFL challenger Matt Schmit.
With votes still being counted early Wednesday, the list of defeated incumbents also included state Sens. Ben Kruse, Joe Gimse and Pam Wolfe.
On the House side, DFLers knocked out incumbents like Doug Wardlow, Diane Anderson and Bruce Vogel and picked up seats vacated by other GOP retirements.
'It was a rough night'
The GOP had thought the House, with a seven-seat majority, would survive a Democratic surge.
"There's really no way to sugarcoat it," said Sen. Dave Thompson, R-Lakeville. "It was a rough night for Republicans."
http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/177543791.html?refer=y&vi_adid=W
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