Minnesota – Politics, Economy, Society

Constitutional framework

Minnesota’s first state constitution was adopted in 1857 and ratified by Congress at the time of statehood in 1858. In 1974 it was revised, and it has been amended several times. The constitution provides for an executive branch comprising a governor, a lieutenant governor, a secretary of state, an auditor, a treasurer, and an attorney general. These six state officials are all elected by statewide ballot for four-year terms. There are more than 100 administrative departments and independent agencies, boards, commissions, and other bodies.

The state’s bicameral legislature consists of a 67-member Senate and a 134-member House of Representatives that meet in regular session in odd-numbered years. Senators are elected to four-year terms, and representatives serve two-year terms.

Three levels of courts constitute the Minnesota judicial system: district (county) courts, the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court. Trial court divisions include conciliation, juvenile, probate, criminal, civil, and family courts. District court judges and the seven Supreme Court justices are appointed by the governor and can be reelected to six-year terms on a nonpartisan ballot.

Counties and municipalities provide most of the local governmental services, but townships assume some authority for planning and zoning and for maintenance of public works, parks, and hospitals. Special districts have been established to provide for waste management, water supply, fire protection, parks, airports, soil and water conservation, and other interjurisdictional needs.

The Twin Cities Metropolitan Council, the members of which are appointed by the governor, is responsible for the development of certain areawide services that local government is unable to provide, including sewage and water systems, transportation, regional parks, and major land uses. It plays a coordinating and regulatory role among the local governmental jurisdictions within the counties of the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area.

Minnesota politics has been characterized by recurring waves of protest and reform, which spawned such national groups as the Granger and Greenback movements, the Antimonopolists, the Farmers’ Alliance, the Populist and Prohibition parties, and the Nonpartisan League. Each of these movements brought about social reforms and influenced the major political parties. The two major Minnesota parties of the late 20th and early 21st centuries—the Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) Party and the Republican Party—are amalgams from this tradition. The DFL Party was formed in 1944 by the more traditional Democrats and the reformist Farmer–Labor Party, founded in 1918. The state’s Republican Party was established in 1855 in an effort to attract more of the substantial, but diverse, independent vote in Minnesota.

The political environment emerged from the traditions of the original New Englanders, who brought their town-meeting form of government to this new frontier. That foundation was reinforced by the Scandinavian and German immigrants, with their ambition and high regard for education. Government has always been widely accepted as the legitimate means for public decision making in Minnesota, and business has played an important role as a strong participant in public decisions.

The traditions of citizen involvement can be seen in the many neighbourhood and community organizations and ad hoc issue-related groups in the state. It has also been reflected in the relatively large number of Minnesotans of national political prominence, including onetime governor Harold Stassen, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination nine times between 1948 and 1992; former U.S. senators and vice presidents Hubert H. Humphrey and Walter Mondale, each of whom was also the Democratic Party’s candidate for president (in 1968 and 1984, respectively); Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy, who ran for the presidency four times between 1968 and 1992; and Sen. Paul Wellstone, a liberal champion of the disadvantaged in the 1990s and early 21st century, whose constituency often seemed to extend beyond the bounds of the state. The last four were all active and influential members of the DFL Party. Minnesota has been a leader in national movements, such as those seeking to guarantee the rights of women, homosexuals, and Native Americans. The state’s political tradition also included the populist governorship of Jesse Ventura (1999–2003), a onetime professional wrestler elected on the Reform Party ticket, as well as Keith Ellison, who in 2006 became the first African American to represent the state in the U.S. Congress and the first Muslim ever elected to the House of Representatives.

Minnesota’s political tradition has produced diverse voting trends. At the gubernatorial level Republicans have dominated, but at the presidential level Minnesota has mostly supported Democratic candidates. Indeed, from 1932 to 2008 the state voted for Republican presidential candidates only three times (1952, 1956, 1972). Still, despite its Democratic leanings in presidential elections, the state is often considered a battleground, particularly as many of the contests have been won only narrowly.