The Democratic National Committee will elect a new party chair this weekend. Minnesota’s Ken Martin, the current state DFL Party leader, is vying for the job.

MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst and his guests talk about Martin’s run for the national party’s top post at a time where Democrats are regrouping.

And Republicans in the state have a new leader, too. Minnesota Republican Party Chair Alex Plechash was elected to lead Minnesota’s conservative party in December. He joins the conversation to share the state of his party.

Meanwhile, the oddity of the session continues as the chamber in the House fails to reach a quorum and DFLers will take back the Senate after a special election. We’ll get the latest news, and a roundup of voices, from the state Capitol with reporters Clay Masters and Peter Cox.

Guests:  

• Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison 
• Minnesota Republican Party Chair Alex Plechash
• MPR News senior politics reporter Dana Ferguson

Subscribe to the Politics Friday podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.   

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.   

The Legislature opened its session on Jan. 14. But the House hasn’t been able to operate at full capacity.  

Democrats are boycotting and Republicans have declined to cut a deal to share power or commit to leaving a DFL win in a contested House election intact.

Now the Minnesota Supreme Court is involved. 

Will a ruling by justices settle things or could the standoff linger deeper into the session? 

MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst talked to the two Minnesota lawmakers with a role in the power struggle.

Later, he spoke with two legal scholars about how the constitutional tug-of-war is playing out. 

The tied Minnesota Senate got under way in amicable fashion with senators notching a power-sharing deal to avoid problems.

The House is another story. Democrats boycotted and republicans went full steam ahead — despite legal questions about their ability to do so. It’s a bit messy.

MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst and his guests talk about the first week of the 2025 legislative session from a panel discussion he recorded with a pair of lawmakers at the Minnesota’s Chamber of Commerce annual session issues forum earlier in the week.

Plus, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who just put out his budget plan, joined the conversation.

Guests:

• Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz
• Sen. Judy Seeberger, DFL-Afton
• Rep. Andrew Myers, R-Tonka Bay

Subscribe to the Politics Friday podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcast.  

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

The Minnesota Legislature will gavel-in a new session on Jan. 14 at noon, and MPR’s politics team is at the Capitol to cover it all. MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst and his guests talk about the 2025 legislative session.

MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst speaks with senior politics reporter Dana Ferguson about her interview with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for a special episode of Politics Friday.

After a whirlwind bid for vice president, Walz returns to Minnesota and reflects on what went wrong for Democrats in November.

Walz also talks about his approach to working across the political aisle and passing a two-year state budget amid a changed political dynamic in St. Paul. Republicans were able to break up the DFL trifecta at the Capitol, tying Democrats for control of the House of Representatives.

The Senate maintains a one-vote DFL advantage. And finally, the governor introduces a plan to curb fraud and abuse in state government programs and speaks to the delay in the state’s roll out of the nascent cannabis industry.

MPR News senior politics reporter Clay Masters looks back on the 2024 election campaign for the Iowa Caucus to election events leading up to this week when President-elect Trump stepped back into the White House.

MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst and his guests talk about the Minnesota Legislature and how the state will govern in 2025 with both chambers split virtually down the middle.  

It’s now November and Election Day is almost here.  

MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst talks with Minnesota’s Secretary of State about what’s being done to make sure the balloting and the counting goes smoothly, and when might we know who won races up and down the ballot.  

Later, Minnesota DFL and Republican Party chairs share their closing takes on an unconventional campaign year, and seasoned political pros stop in for an election night preview. We’ll learn what they’re watching for and how the state Capitol might look when the dust settles. 

Guests:  

• Steve Simon is the Minnesota Secretary of State.   
• Ken Martin is the Minnesota DFL Party chair. 
• David Hann is the chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota. 
• Chas Anderson is the CEO and senior principal at Park Street Public. 
• Todd Rapp is the CEO and President of Rapp Strategies Inc.  

Subscribe to the Politics Friday podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcast.  

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. 

Presidential election years can make for unpredictable outcomes down the ballot. 

For Minnesota, the party that turns out its base — and connects with independents best — has the inside track to gain the gavels at the state’s Capitol. 

The Senate majority will be decided by a single, winner-take-all race in the western suburbs. As for the House, key races in northern Minnesota and some in the south could determine if the DFL trifecta will live on into 2025.  

MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst talks with Minnesota Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman, a Democrat and House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, a Republican, about their party’s prospects in next month’s election.  

Later, a look at a northern Minnesota congressional race that features a rematch from two years ago.    

Guests:  

• House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park   
• House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring 
• Jennifer Schultz, a DFL candidate for Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District seat. 

Subscribe to the Politics Friday podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcast.  

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. 

With fewer than three weeks left until Election Day, campaign ads for the presidency down to the Legislature have flooded the airwaves from your TV to your phone.  

But judges are on the election ballot, too. Judicial candidates are running for judgeships in local District Courts, the Court of Appeals and even the Minnesota Supreme Court. There are 100 races, although fewer than a tenth of them have multiple candidates to choose from. 

Most judges in Minnesota tend to be appointed by the governor, so why are those races on your ballot?  

Friday at noon, MPR News politics editor and his guests discuss judicial elections, and why incumbent judges rarely face serious challenges.  

Later, is the approaching election and partisan politics raising anxiety or straining your relationships? The creator of MPR’s Talking Sense initiative shares tips on how to weather the remaining weeks and the aftermath. Then, a sneak peek at the Walk a Mile in My News project.  

Guests:  

• Samuel Edmunds is the president of the Minnesota State Bar Association and a partner at Sieben Edmunds Miller, focusing on criminal defense and injury law. 
• Douglas Keith is a senior counsel in the Brennan Center’s Judiciary Program and the founding editor of State Court Report, a publication focused on state courts and state constitutional law.   
• Catharine Richert is an MPR News reporter and Talking Sense lead correspondent.