Ann Johnson Stewart wins special election, giving DFL control of Minnesota Senate

Former state Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart won a special state Senate election Tuesday, returning the chamber to a 34-33 DFL majority for the coming session.

Johnson Stewart defeated Republican Kathleen Fowke, a real estate agent who was running for a second time.

The DFLer campaigned on a theme of continuing the party’s agenda at the Capitol that has included free meals for all schoolchildren, protections for abortion access and paid family and medical leave.

“I’m thrilled that you have given me another opportunity to go there again,” Johnson Stewart said at Boom Island Brewing in Minnetonka. “I promise to do the work for you. I promise to speak loud and proud for water and women and schools and health care and jobs and all the things that we all uphold here. So it is a humbling moment.”

All 134 state House of Representatives seats were on the ballot Tuesday. But of the 67 Senate seats, this was the only one up for election.

The seat represents the district surrounding Lake Minnetonka and was up for grabs because Sen. Kelly Morrison, DFL-Deephaven, stepped down to run for the Third Congressional District seat. Morrison resigned the seat after the 2024 legislative session, leaving the Senate at a tie with 33 DFLers and 33 Republicans.

The 2025 legislative session starts Jan. 14, but Johnson Stewart could be sworn in sooner.

Fowke, 60, a real estate agent and entrepreneur, campaigned as a pragmatist and a moderate who would restore balance at the Capitol after two years of the DFL controlling both chambers and the governor’s office.

Johnson Stewart, 60, a civil engineer, asked voters to return her to the Senate. She held a seat from 2021 to 2023 before choosing not to run again when she was paired with Morrison in redistricting.

The district leans DFL so Johnson Stewart was considered the favorite.

With control of the chamber hanging in the balance, Johnson Stewart’s fellow DFLers showed up in force for regular rotations of door-knocking. She said their ability to protect reproductive rights and continue passing progressive policies was on the line.

She will serve the two years remaining on Morrison’s term. The seat is up for a full four-year term in 2026.

President Joe Biden won it in 2020 as did Gov. Tim Walz in 2022. The district’s voters are nearly 90% white. The median household income is $123,000, and poverty levels are low. The Hennepin County district encompasses most of the sprawling shores of Lake Minnetonka and includes Mound, Orono and Wayzata.