The Republican Party of Minnesota is the state affiliate of the Republican Party in Minnesota and Minnesota's oldest active political party. Founded in 1855, it is headquartered in Edina, Minnesota, and its chairman is Alex Plechash.
Since 2011, as a result of the 2010 Minnesota elections, the Republican Party of Minnesota has held no statewide executive offices or U.S. Senate seats. It holds exactly half, or 67, of the 134 seats in the Minnesota House of Representatives, and is the minority party in the Minnesota Senate by one seat. The party controls four of Minnesota's congressional districts, as do the Democrats. The last Republican governor of Minnesota was Tim Pawlenty, who served from 2003 to 2011.
The last Republican presidential nominee to win Minnesota was Richard Nixon in 1972. Minnesota is the state with the longest streak of not voting for the Republican nominee in presidential elections; it was the only state not to vote for Ronald Reagan in either the 1980 United States presidential election or the 1984 United States presidential election.
History
Early history
The Republican Party in Minnesota was the state's dominant party for about the first 70 years of Minnesota's statehood, from 1858 through the 1920s. In the Civil War, Minnesota supported Abolitionism and the Union. Republican candidates routinely won the state governorship and most other state offices, having 12 out of the first 13.
The 1892 Republican National Convention was held in Minneapolis. The party was aided by an opposition divided between the Democratic Party and the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, which eventually merged in 1944.
Independent-Republican era
The Independent-Republicans of Minnesota (I-R) was the party's name from November 15, 1975, to September 23, 1995. The name was changed because the "Republican" brand was widely thought to have been damaged by the Watergate scandal. Polls in the early-mid-1970s indicated Minnesotans were more likely to vote for candidates who identified as Independents than Republicans. During that time, the state party became more dependent on grassroots fundraising and eventually went bankrupt. After the national party pumped money into it in the early-mid-1980s, its image and base began turning more conservative. During this time the party held both of Minnesota's U.S. Senate seats and briefly controlled the state House of Representatives. By 1994, the grassroots had turned socially more conservative, and the name changed back in 1995. Attempts to drop "Independent" had been defeated in 1989, 1991, and 1993.
2000-2010s
In the 2006 U.S. Senate election, the party endorsed Mark Kennedy for United States Senate. He lost to Amy Klobuchar.
In the 2008 U.S. Senate election, incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman lost to Democratic-Farmer-Labor nominee Al Franken by 312 votes out of over 2.5 million cast after a long series of contentious recounts and lawsuits.
The party was fined $170,000 for violating federal campaign finance regulations from 2003 to 2008.http://www.citypages.com, AUGUST 19, 2011, MINNESOTA GOP FINED $170,000 FOR FEC VIOLATIONS BY MIKE MULLEN, Minnesota Republican Party chairman Tony Sutton was convicted of breaking finance laws in the 2010 gubernatorial election recount and fined $33,000.http://www.mprnews.org, July 13, 2012, Minn. GOP, former chairman fined over recount by Tom Scheck
Minnesota's most recent Republican governor is Tim Pawlenty. He was elected in 2002 and reelected in 2006. In 2010, Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer lost to DFL nominee Mark Dayton. While losing every executive race in 2010, the party captured both chambers of the Minnesota Legislature for the first time since the 1970s, and 18-term Representative Jim Oberstar lost to Republican nominee Chip Cravaack in Minnesota's 8th district.
2010 gubernatorial race
In the 2010 statewide elections, the party endorsed State Representative Tom Emmer and Metropolitan Council member Annette Meeks for governor and lieutenant governor. State Representative Dan Severson was the endorsed candidate for secretary of state. Attorney and psychologist Chris Barden was the endorsed candidate for attorney general. Patricia Anderson was the endorsed candidate for state auditor. All five lost their elections.
After the 2010 gubernatorial recount, the party was heavily in debt, owing $2 million primarily for the recount. It had stopped paying rent on its headquarters near the Capitol and the landlord filed an eviction summons once the party fell $111,000 behind in rent. In January 2014, it announced it would move its headquarters to Minneapolis's Seward neighborhood. The new headquarters is diagonally across from the Seward Community Cafe and shares a building with a Pizza Luce. Party Chairman Keith Downey said the party had moved out of St. Paul "to be closer to the people". The headquarters were later moved to Edina. After taking control of both houses of the State Legislature for the first time in three decades in 2010, the party lost them both in 2012.
Recent history
In 2021, the Minnesota Republican Party became a subject of controversy when donor and strategist Anton Lazzaro was indicted for sex trafficking charges.
Minnesota Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan resigned amid the controversy.
Republican nominee Scott Jensen lost the 2022 gubernatorial race to incumbent Tim Walz.* The party also lost its majority in the Minnesota Senate, giving the DFL a trifecta, but kept its four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Ideology and voter base
The Minnesota Republican Party's base is in rural and suburban parts of Greater Minnesota.
2022 party platform
The party's 2022 platform opposed abortion access, calling for the overturning of Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which subsequently happened, and of the Minnesota ruling Doe v. Gomez, which still stands. It also opposed legal recognition of same-sex marriage and supported "prohibition of Ranked Choice Voting in Minnesota." On gun policy, the platform said that citizens who follow the law should "have the right to purchase and possess firearms, free from any gun registration system." On education, the platform opposed "any element of Critical Race Theory or associated curricula and programs."
Current elected officials
The Minnesota Republican Party holds none of the five statewide elected offices, neither United States Senate seat, and four of the state's eight United States House of Representatives seats. It holds a minority of seats in the Minnesota Senate and exactly half the seats in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Members of Congress U.S. Senate None
Both of Minnesota's U.S. Senate seats have been held by Democrats since 2009. Norm Coleman was the last Republican to represent Minnesota in the U.S. Senate.
U.S. House of Representatives Of the eight seats Minnesota is apportioned in the U.S. House of Representatives, Republicans hold four: +DistrictMemberPhoto1st6th7th8th
Statewide offices None
Minnesota has not elected a Republican to statewide office since 2006, when Tim Pawlenty was narrowly reelected governor. Pawlenty opted not to seek reelection in 2010. State representative Tom Emmer was the Republican nominee in the 2010 election and lost to DFL nominee Mark Dayton.
State legislature Senate Minority Leader: Mark Johnson Speaker of the House: Lisa Demuth
List of Chairs P. Kenneth Peterson (1950–1953) Ron Eibensteiner (1999–2005) Ron Carey (2005–2009) Tony Sutton (2009–2011) Pat Shortridge (2011–2013) Keith Downey (2013–2017) Jennifer Carnahan (2017–2021) David Hann (2021–2024) Alex Plechash (2024–present)
Electoral history
President ElectionRepublican TicketTotal VoteVoteshareResult1932Herbert Hoover/Charles Curtis363,95936.29%Lost1936Alf Landon/Frank Knox350,46131.01%Lost1940Wendell Willkie/Charles L. McNary596,27447.66%Lost1944Thomas E. Dewey/John W. Bricker527,41646.86%Lost1948Thomas E. Dewey/Earl Warren483,61739.89%Lost1952Dwight D. Eisenhower/Richard Nixon763,21155.33%Won1956Dwight D. Eisenhower/Richard Nixon719,30253.68%Won1960Richard Nixon/Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.757,91549.16%Lost1964Barry Goldwater/William E. Miller559,62436.00%Lost1968Richard Nixon/Spiro Agnew658,64341.46%Lost1972Richard Nixon/Spiro Agnew898,26951.58%Won1976Gerald Ford/Bob Dole819,39542.02%Lost1980Ronald Reagan/George H. W. Bush873,24142.56%Lost1984Ronald Reagan/George H. W. Bush1,032,60349.54%Lost1988George H. W. Bush/Dan Quayle962,33745.90%Lost1992George H. W. Bush/Dan Quayle747,84131.85%Lost1996Bob Dole/Jack Kemp766,47634.96%Lost2000George W. Bush/Dick Cheney1,109,65945.50%Lost2004George W. Bush/Dick Cheney1,346,69547.61%Lost2008John McCain/Sarah Palin1,275,40943.82%Lost2012Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan1,320,22544.96%Lost2016Donald Trump/Mike Pence1,323,23244.93%Lost2020Donald Trump/Mike Pence1,484,06545.28%Lost2024Donald Trump/JD Vance1,519,03246.68%Lost
State
Governor + Year Candidate Votes % Won 1857Alexander Ramsey 17,550 49.66 1859 21,335 54.82 1861 16,274 60.9 1863Stephen Miller 19,628 60.6 1865William Rainey Marshall 17,318 55.58 1867 34,874 54.17 1869Horace Austin 27,348 50.17 1871 46,950 60.06 1873Cushman Kellogg Davis 40,741 52.90 1875John S. Pillsbury 47,073 56.08 1877 57,071 57.05 1879 57,524 54.18 1881Lucius Frederick Hubbard 65,025 61.59 1883 72,462 53.42 1886Andrew Ryan McGill 107,064 48.54 1888William Rush Merriam 134,355 51.35 1890 88,111 36.58 1892Knute Nelson 109,220 42.68 1894 147,943 49.94 1896David Marston Clough 165,806 49.17 1898William Henry Eustis 111,796 44.26 1900Samuel Rinnah Van Sant 152,905 48.67 1902 155,849 57.53 1904Robert C. Dunn 140,130 46.13 1906Albert L. Cole 96,162 34.78 1908Jacob F. Jacobson 147,997 43.88 1910Adolph Olson Eberhart 164,185 55.73 1912 129,688 40.73 1914William E. Lee 143,730 41.87 1916Joseph A. A. Burnquist 245,841 62.94 1918 166,515 42.73 1920J. A. O. Preus 415,805 53.06 1922 309,756 45.21 1924Theodore Christianson 406,692 48.71 1926 395,779 56.49 1928 549,857 55.00 1930Ray P. Chase 289,528 36.31 1932Earle Brown 334,081 32.34 1934 Martin A. Nelson 396,359 37.72 1936 431,841 38.55 1938 Harold Stassen 678,839 59.92 1940 654,686 52.06 1942 409,800 51.60 1944 Edward John Thye 701,185 61.59 1946 Luther Youngdahl 519,067 58.96 1948 643,572 53.15 1950 635,800 60.75 1952 C. Elmer Anderson 785,125 55.33 1954 538,865 46.80 1956 Ancher Nelsen 685,196 48.18 1958 George MacKinnon 490,731 42.31 1960Elmer Andersen 783,813 50.56 1962 619,751 49.71 1966 Harold LeVander 680,593 52.55 1970 Douglas M. Head 621,780 45.54 1974 John W. Johnson 376,722 29.35 1978 Al Quie 830,019 52.35 1982 Wheelock Whitney, Jr. 711,796 39.86 1986 Cal Ludeman 606,755 43.09 1990Arne Carlson 895,988 50.11 1994 1,094,165 63.34 1998 Norm Coleman 717,350 34.29 2002 Tim Pawlenty 999,473 44.37 2006 1,028,568 46.69 2010 Tom Emmer 910,462 43.21 2014 Jeff Johnson 879,257 44.51 2018 1,097,705 42.43 2022 Scott Jensen 1,119,941 44.61 2026 Lisa Demuth
See also
Republican Party of Minnesota v. White Politics of Minnesota List of political parties in Minnesota
References
External links