‘The chamber that chose cooperation’: Minnesota Senate sees smoother sailing under temporary tie

On the opening day of the year’s session last week, Sen. Jeremy Miller remarked on just how good the vibes felt. 

The Winona Republican had just been elected co-president of a tied Senate, at least on a temporary basis.

“Our leaders could either choose chaos or cooperation, and I couldn’t be more proud to be a member of the chamber that chose cooperation,” he said. “We’re going to have to compromise in order to get these things done. And I am confident. I’m optimistic.”

Miller’s co-president, DFL Sen. Bobby Joe Champion of Minneapolis, nodded in approval and then thanked the caucus leaders for “the opportunity to come together and figure out how to go forward together. To me the operative word is ‘forward.’”

Champion added, “We’ve been entrusted with making sure this body and this institution will run and is respected and is respected by all of us.”

On the other side of the Capitol, the GOP and Democrats remain deadlocked over operations.  With all the tumult in the Minnesota House, it’s easy to overlook how smoothly things have gone so far in the Senate. 

There, Republicans and Democrats are sharing power because right now they have an equal number of seats: 33 apiece.

Republicans want to use their time with equal power to highlight concerns they have around spending and accountability under the administration of Gov. Tim Walz. 

But the clock is ticking on their shared power with the DFL. A special election next week to fill a vacant seat very well could tip power in favor of Democrats. 

Sen. Zach Duckworth, R-Lakeville, said that in his district voters have concerns about the costs associated with a slew of new laws passed when Democrats controlled everything at the Capitol. 

“We have a high level of professionalism in the Senate, but people should know that that does not replace accountability,” he said. “We’re going to look at the cost of tuition, the cost of health care. We’re going to look at lowering taxes. There’s a whole host of issues that we hope to raise awareness about and also make some meaningful changes to as we, you know, have an interesting layout regarding the Legislature in this session.”

While they have a share of the committee gavels, Republicans are convening hearings on other issues they want to talk about — like how public schools are funded, a proposed expansion of nuclear power, and oversight lapses that have contributed to fraud in programs. 

Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, co-chair of the Human Services Committee, said shedding light on these issues can be productive even if the GOP’s gavel sharing with Democrats is short lived. 

“I think we can bring attention to it, and also highlight ideas to actually address waste, fraud and abuse,” Rasmusson, R-Fergus Falls, said. “We’re going to be holding these agencies accountable for the actions they’re taking and making sure that they are listening to the recommendations from the nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor.”

But even though Senate Republicans are pushing topics that may be uncomfortable to the DFL, the power-sharing pact and spirit of cooperation that started the session appear to be holding.

There have been no showdowns, shouting or antics on the floor. Almost 500 bills have been introduced, many of them with bipartisan sponsorship; that’s compared to just 193 in the House, all by Republicans. 

And while Democrats are heavily favored to win a special election in Minneapolis next Tuesday, some DFLers say they want to keep their Republican colleagues in the fold.

Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown, said he welcomes the GOP perspective on a host of issues — especially on spending, which gets a lot of attention from voters in his large rural district along the North Shore and the Iron Range.

“How do I make sure that that money actually gets to my rural communities, that places that have small capacity can access the same funds as larger cities, larger communities, larger businesses? That’s really my focus, and I think there’s a lot of commonality with Republicans on those issues,” he said.

For his part, Hauschild said he hopes that the same good will and compromising spirit that kicked off the Senate’s 2025 session remains — even if his party ends up in the majority.