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? Both parties ran strong campaigns, but money was a key factor. 

The national Republican Party achieved its goal of regaining control of the U.S. Senate, and Minnesota Republicans did the same in the state House of Representatives.


Tom Emmer, Rep. Erik Paulsen and Rep. John Kline chalked up Republican wins in the U.S. House of Representatives. And in the Minnesota House, DFL Speaker Paul Thissen conceded early Wednesday that his party had lost its control.


Even as Republicans surged into legislative power, Minnesota Democrats did well in major races. Sen. Al Franken and Gov. Mark Dayton won their re-election bids, as did Reps. Keith Ellison, Betty McCollum, Tim Walz and Collin Peterson. In Minnesota's 8th District, Rep. Rick Nolan was declared the winner early Wednesday morning in his battle with challenger Stewart Mills. Democratic Auditor Rebecca Otto won re-election.
 

Listen as political commentators Maureen Shaver, a Republican, and Todd Rapp, a Democrat, offer their analysis of the results: How can the now-Republican house work with a DFL governor and senator? Where were votes concentrated for both parties? What kind of influence did outside groups have on the results?


So: Now what? A guide to how it happened and what's next for Minnesota politics.


Senate Democrats went down in flames across the U.S. on Election Day. But Minnesota DFL Sen. Al Franken not only survived, he easily beat his Republican challenger. How did he do it?

 Franken's people were determined to avoid the thin margins and recounts of 2008. Two years ago, they started raising enormous sums of money. That $19 million scared off some potentially stronger candidates Republicans wanted to recruit.

 The cash let Franken build his campaign early. He put a manager and staff in place in the summer of 2013. By the spring, he had field staff positioned across the state. Ads he put up in early May showcased his Senate work and boosted his job approval ratings. The spending also likely helped DFL U.S. House Rep. Rick Nolan win his tight race.

 Republicans were caught up in endorsement and primary skirmishes through mid-summer. When they emerged from those to fight Franken, he gave them little to work with. In 2008, the GOP had tried to paint him as a foul-mouthed clown, based on his former career as a comedy writer. In Congress, though, he avoided national media, stuck to consumer issues and built a reputation as a workhorse, not a show horse. In 2014, it paid off.

Minnesota Republicans' 11-seat pickup underscores the effectiveness of a strategy the party set out on months ago. By painting the powers that be in St. Paul as out of touch with rural Minnesota on everything from transportation to health care, Republicans sealed their victory by nabbing 10 seats in greater Minnesota. Some of these races were on the margins of the GOP's radar until late in the election.

"Rural Democrats who were representing those areas came to Minneapolis and St. Paul and voted with Minneapolis and St. Paul and not really for their districts, and we feel that they suffered the consequences last night," said House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt.

House Republicans were bolstered by independent groups that targeted money at eight districts where voters chose Mitt Romney for president in 2012, but also voted for a Democrat for the state House.

But Republicans weren't just looking at historical margins of victory.

Winning big in greater Minnesota involved a multipronged strategy of polling, message testing, get-out-the vote efforts, risky bets and an unpopular president.

Same-sex marriage vote little factor for GOP lawmakers

Who will lead the newly Republican House?

House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt says he's seeking the position of speaker. Former House Majority Leader Matt Dean, R-Dellwood, has also been mentioned as a candidate for speaker. He would not say whether he's going to run for the job.

Whoever becomes speaker will be the person to select committee chairs, dictate the caucus agenda and automatically become the face of the caucus.

There will be a contest for majority leader. Rep. Tara Mack, R-Apple Valley, says she's been approached to seek the leadership position. Rep. Joyce Peppin, R-Rogers, is also interested in running for majority leader.

House Republicans meet on Friday to elect leaders

Minnesotans elected Democrats to every statewide office Tuesday, but gave Republicans back the majority in the Minnesota House. 

DFL Gov. Mark Dayton told reporters Wednesday that a return to a divided state government is a prescription for gridlock that hopes to avoid. 

In 2011, a clash between Dayton and Republicans in the Legislature over the budget led to a government shutdown. Dayton said he hopes to work with Republicans to avoid a similar episode, but added that Republicans will also have to compromise with him.

"We have a challenging situation ahead of us, but we'll make the best of it," he said. "Minnesotans are the judge and jury and they've voted, they've decided. So we'll do our very best to carry it out as they've constructed it."

Although Dayton said he's taking a conciliatory tone, he continued to blame the GOP for the 2011 shutdown.

In his concession speech Tuesday night, Dayton's Republican challenger, Jeff Johnson, said Republicans should continue to seek changes in government programs such as those that change how health care is delivered.

"The fight doesn't end to make sure that the people who work in government understand that their job is not to control and regulate and punish but to actually serve the taxpayers who pay their salaries," he said. "Government should be a servant of the people, not the other way around." 

Dayton, who won 50 percent of the vote compared to Johnson's 44 percent,  invited people who voted against him to work to improve the state, despite differences.  

Dayton is the first Democrat since 1986 to win a second term as Minnesota governor. In his victory speech he said he would work to represent the people who didn't vote for him as well as the people who did as he made a call for unity. 

"At the end of the campaigning, at the end of the election, at the end of the legislative session, we're all Minnesotans," he said. "Our futures and our fortunes are intertwined. Our children and our grandchildren will all inherit the same state. It will be the state that we together make for them.""

Minnesota's two DFL senators, including Al Franken — who won a comfortable re-election Tuesday — will be going back to a different U.S. Senate in January.

Republicans have won control of the U.S. Senate, putting Minnesota's delegation in the minority. 

Despite the division, Minnesota's senior U.S. senator, Democrat Amy Klobuchar, said the state's delegation will still have a role to play in the upcoming Congress. She said there is bipartisan interest in infrastructure investment, immigration reform and action on tax reform and corporate inversions. The looming 2016 election may play a role, as well, she said.

"You also have a number Republicans that will be up next time," she said. "The map is reversed. Much more blue-state. Republicans in Ohio are up, Missouri, Wisconsin. And so they might have a reason, because of that, to want to be more conciliatory and work with us on these issues."

Minnesota's Congressional delegation stayed mostly the same this election. Seven incumbents were re-elected and former state legislator Tom Emmer was picked to replace retiring Congresswoman Michele Bachmann in the 6th District.

Lots of money and a single re-election in Minneapolis school board

the most expensive race in Minneapolis school board history

, voters have re-elected one member — Rebecca Gagnon, who received 33 percent of the vote — and chose former city councilman and former mayoral candidate Don Samuels to join her.

Iris Altamirano had 26 percent of the vote and Ira Jourdain received 11 percent. 

The race brought in an unprecedented half-million dollars in campaign funds for Gagnon, Samuels and Altamirano. 

The race pitted Gagnon's major backers, members of the district's teachers union, against Samuels' supporters in the education reform movement. 

One reform group, the Minneapolis Progressive Education Fund, raised $228,000, and was blasted by critics for taking a $100,000 donation from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. 

Nelson Inz won the school board seat being vacated by Alberto Monserrate.  He defeated challenger Jay Larson with a 52 percent to 46 percent return. 

Board incumbent Jenny Arneson ran unopposed and retains her seat. Candidate Siad Ali also ran opposed for a seat being vacated by Mohamed Noor.

Half of eligible Minnesotans went to the polls

Just over 50 percent of eligible Minnesotans cast a ballot in Tuesday's election. Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said that turnout is down from 56 percent at the last midterm election four years ago, and from 60 percent in 2006.

Minnesota legalized no-excuse absentee voting this year for the first time, letting voters cast their ballots early without having to offer an explanation about why they couldn't make it to the polls. It also fully legalized online voter registration and absentee ballot requests for the first time. Ritchie said about 200,000 of voters in the midterm cast absentee ballots.

The election's full turnout will be counted when the State Canvassing Board meets in a few weeks.

After Election Day, what's next?

Go Deeper.

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