Five Minnesota political figures to watch after the 2024 election

A politically bruised governor, an ascendant congresswoman and a powerful Republican in Washington are among Minnesota’s political figures to watch after the 2024 election.

Here’s a look at five Minnesota political power players who could make waves in the coming years.

Instead of heading to the White House as America’s next vice president, the Democratic governor returned to Minnesota earlier this month politically bruised by Kamala Harris’ loss to Donald Trump. Walz now must prepare to negotiate the state’s next two-year budget in the legislative session that begins in January.

He’ll have to deal with a Minnesota House likely to be politically tied for the first time since 1979. Everything that goes through the chamber will be subject to intense bipartisan negotiation, likely putting the brakes on the more progressive items in Walz’s agenda.

Politically, Walz is likely to remain a prominent national voice as Democrats prepare to oppose a second Trump administration. His political future beyond when his second term ends in 2026 is unclear. He hasn’t said whether he’ll run for a third term as governor, or if he’s considering throwing his hat into the presidential ring in 2028.

The calm and confident leader of the state House GOP Caucus is poised to play a more influential role over the next two years now that Republicans are no longer in the minority. Ahead of the January legislative session, Demuth and House Democratic Leader Melissa Hortman are negotiating on how the tied chamber will operate.

They’ve already determined that legislative committees will be evenly divided and led by Republican and Democratic co-chairs. One of the remaining orders of business is to choose which of them will be speaker of the House. If chosen, Demuth would be the first person of color to be speaker of the Minnesota House.

Demuth and House Republicans will almost certainly try to stifle the DFL’s agenda after being left out of the process for the past two years. Democrats passed several progressive laws while they wielded full control of the Legislature without needing a single Republican vote. It’s unclear how well the two parties will work together in the tied chamber after the bitter partisan meltdown that occurred at the end of last year’s session.

The congressman representing Minnesota’s Sixth District will be one of the highest-ranking Republicans in Washington, D.C., over the next two years as he continues in his role as House majority whip, the No. 3 role in the chamber. He and his fellow Republicans will no longer face the roadblock of a Democratic-controlled Senate. Trump’s victory this month ushered in a red wave that helped Republicans take full control of Congress.

“President Trump delivered the greatest political comeback in American history based on his proven record and promise to make this country great again,” Emmer said at a news conference earlier this month. “Voters also gave him a Republican Senate and a Republican House to help him do it. So now it’s our turn.”

Emmer strengthened his relationship with Trump in the lead-up to the 2024 election and is now considered to be in the president-elect’s inner orbit, giving him a line to the soon-to-be most powerful man in the country.

Democrat Angie Craig has locked down what was widely seen as Minnesota’s most competitive congressional district. She’s represented the Second District, which encompasses suburbs south of the Twin Cities and all of Dakota, Scott and Le Sueur counties, since 2018. After fending off close challenges in her first few terms, Craig cruised to a landslide 13-point victory in this year’s election, stunning political observers who had expected another competitive race.

Craig vastly outperformed the top of the ticket in her district; the Harris-Walz campaign won the Second District by just under 6 percentage points. The congresswoman’s moderate brand of politics has set her apart from other Democrats. She was among the first to call for Joe Biden to exit the presidential race, and she has unapologetically taken conservative positions on issues such as immigration and public safety.

Her dominant victory in this election prompted some to wonder: Could she one day run for governor or U.S. Senate?

Martin has built the Minnesota DFL into one of the most successful state parties in the country since he became its chairman in 2011. He’s helped raise $210 million for the party over the course of a decade. The DFL has twice won trifecta control of state government during Martin’s tenure, and Minnesota Democrats haven’t lost a statewide election since 2006.

Now, Martin is hoping to replicate those Democratic wins at the national level. He announced Tuesday that he is running for chair of the Democratic National Committee, a role that would put Martin in charge of the national party’s messaging during a second Trump administration.

“We have to focus on building our party all over the country,” Martin said.