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Minnesota House of Representatives

The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the U.S. state of Minnesota's legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper house, to craft and pass legislation, which is then subject to approval by the governor of Minnesota.

Minnesota House of Representatives

None

January 3, 2023 (2023-01-03)

Melissa Hortman (DFL)
since January 8, 2019
Dan Wolgamott (DFL)
since January 3, 2023
Jamie Long (DFL)
since January 3, 2023
Lisa Demuth (R)
since January 3, 2023

134

2 years

$51,750/year + per diem [1]

Legislative control

Established in 1858, the Minnesota House of Representatives has 134 members elected from single-member districts across the state. Representatives serve two-year terms without term limits, with all seats up for election every two years. The House is led by the Speaker, who is elected by members of the House, while political party leadership is governed by the Majority and Minority Leaders.


The Minnesota House of Representatives meets in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Paul. Member and staff offices, as well as most committee hearings, are in the nearby State Office Building.

History[edit]

The Minnesota House of Representatives was officially established on May 11, 1858, when Minnesota was admitted as the 32nd state in the Union. It replaced the Minnesota Territorial Legislature. It was formed alongside the Minnesota Senate to create the Minnesota State Legislature, the bicameral legislative body of the state.


In 1913, Minnesota legislators began to be elected on nonpartisan ballots. While campaigning and caucusing, legislators identified themselves as "Liberals" or "Conservatives." In 1973, a law change brought party designations back, beginning with the 1974 Minnesota House of Representatives election.[2]


After the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920, women were eligible for election to the legislature. In 1922, Mabeth Hurd Paige, Hannah Kempfer, Sue Metzger Dickey Hough, and Myrtle Cain were elected to the House of Representatives.[3] As of 2023, a record-high 54 women serve in the House.[4]

Elections[edit]

Each Senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B (for example, House district 32B is in Senate district 32). Members are elected to two-year terms.[5] Districts are redrawn after the decennial United States Census in time for the primary and general elections in years ending in 2. The most recent election was on November 8, 2022.

U.S. senator from Minnesota (1976-1978); 33rd governor of Minnesota (1971-1976)

Wendell R. Anderson

26th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1931-1933); U.S. representative from Minnesota's General Ticket Seat One district (1933-1935)

Henry M. Arens

5th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1866-1870)

Thomas H. Armstrong

; 7th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1874-1876)

Alphonso Barto

1st secretary of state of Minnesota 1(858–1860)

Francis Baasen

8th treasurer of Minnesota (1887-1895)

Joseph Bobleter

19th governor of Minnesota (1915-1921); 20th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1913-1915); 21st attorney general of Minnesota (1939-1955)

Joseph A. A. Burnquist

37th governor of Minnesota (1991-1999); 14th auditor of Minnesota (1979-1991)

Arne Carlson

2nd attorney general of Minnesota (1860-1866)

Gordon E. Cole

3rd attorney general of Minnesota (1866-1888); Union colonel during the U.S. Civil War (1861-1863)

William J. Colvill

4th attorney general of Minnesota (1868-1874)

Francis R. E. Cornell

U.S. senator from Minnesota (1887-1900); 7th governor of Minnesota (1874-1876)

Cushman Kellogg Davis

13th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1895-1897)

Frank A. Day

2nd lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1860-1863); U.S. representative from Minnesota's 2nd district (1863-1869)

Ignatius L. Donnelly

10th attorney general of Minnesota (1899-1904)

Wallace B. Douglas

6th auditor of Minnesota (1895-1903)

Robert C. Dunn

U.S. senator from Minnesota (1881-1881)

Alonzo J. Edgerton

30th attorney general of Minnesota (2019-present); U.S. representative from Minnesota's 5th district (2007-2019); deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee (2017-2018)

Keith Ellison

U.S. House of Representatives majority whip (2023-present); chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee (2019-2023); U.S. representative from Minnesota's 6th district (2015-present)

Tom Emmer

18th secretary of state of Minnesota (1971-1975); U.S. representative from Minnesota's 1st district (1979-1983)

Arlen Erdahl

U.S. representative from Minnesota's 1st district (2022-present)

Brad Finstad

50th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (2019-present)

Peggy Flanagan

14th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1897-1899)

John L. Gibbs

9th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1880-1887)

Charles A. Gilman

19th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1911-1913)

Samuel Y. Gordon

19th secretary of state of Minnesota (1975-1999)

Joan Growe

U.S. representative from Minnesota's 1st district (1995-2007)

Gil Gutknecht

18th treasurer of Minnesota (1937-1939)

Carl A. Halverson

25th attorney general of Minnesota (1967-1971)

Douglas M. Head

7th auditor of Minnesota (1903-1915)

Samuel G. Iverson

U.S. senator from Minnesota (1923-1925); U.S. representative from Minnesota's general ticket Seat Five district (1933-1935)

Magnus Johnson

20th secretary of state of Minnesota (1999-2007)

Mary Kiffmeyer

9th treasurer of Minnesota (1895-1901)

August T. Koerner

U.S. senator from Minnesota (1937-1940); U.S. representative from Minnesota's 3rd district (1917-1919); U.S. representative from Minnesota's general ticket Seat Eight district (1933-1935); U.S. representative from Minnesota's 3rd district (1935-1937)

Ernest Lundeen

U.S. representative from Minnesota's 4th district (2001-present)

Betty McCollum

11th governor of Minnesota (1889-1893)

William Rush Merriam

4th governor of Minnesota (1864-1866)

Stephen Miller

46th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (2003-2011)

Carol Molnau

3rd treasurer of Minnesota (1868-1872)

Emil D. Munch

U.S. representative from Minnesota's 8th district (2013-2019); 6th district (1975-1981)

Rick Nolan

26th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1925-1929); U.S. representative from Minnesota's 5th district (1929-1933)

William I. Nolan

11th auditor of Minnesota (1969-1971)

William O'Brien

U.S. representative from Minnesota's 5th district (2019-present)

Ilhan Omar

18th auditor of Minnesota (2007-2019)

Rebecca Otto

U.S. representative from Minnesota's 3rd district (2009-2019)

Erik Paulsen

39th governor of Minnesota (2003-2011)

Tim Pawlenty

23rd governor of Minnesota (1936-1937); 28th lieutenant governor of Minnesota

Hjalmar Petersen

6th treasurer of Minnesota (1876-1880)

William Pfaender

16th attorney general of Minnesota (1927-1928)

Albert F. Pratt

15th treasurer of Minnesota (1917-1925)

Henry Rines

U.S. senator from Minnesota (1883-1889); Chair of the Republican National Committee (1883-1884)

Dwight M. Sabin

4th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1864-1866)

Charles D. Sherwood

22nd secretary of state of Minnesota (2015-present)

Steve Simon

16th treasurer of Minnesota (1925-1927)

Edward W. Stark

27th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1933-1935)

Konrad K. Solberg

15th governor of Minnesota (1901-1905)

Samuel Rinnah Van Sant

9th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1876-1880); U.S. representative from Minnesota's 2nd district (1883-1887)

James Wakefield

U.S. senator from Minnesota (1889-1895); U.S. representative from Minnesota's 3rd district (1879-1883) and 4th district (1883-1885)

William D. Washburn

5th attorney general of Minnesota (1874-1880)

George P. Wilson

U.S. representative from Minnesota's 1st district (1887-1889); Chief justice of the supreme court of Minnesota (1865-1869); associate justice of the supreme court of Minnesota (1864-1865)

Thomas Wilson

6th lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1870-1874)

William H. Yale

12th attorney general of Minnesota (1905-1909)

Edward T. Young

Minnesota Senate

Minnesota Legislature

Past composition of the House of Representatives

Political party strength in Minnesota

List of speakers of the Minnesota House of Representatives

Official website