Senate DFL delays leadership showdown
Democrats in the Minnesota Senate will meet early next month to consider whether a change is needed in caucus leadership.
Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, is facing a challenge from Sen. Susan Kent, DFL-Woodbury. The debate will likely pit rural members of the caucus against urban lawmakers.
A caucus meeting originally scheduled for Tuesday was postponed because several members were unavailable to attend.
Bakk said he heard from many who said they wanted to participate in the discussion.
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“It’s a big deal,” Bakk said. “It’s about more than just a vote. It’s about a conversation. If there are problems, what are they? Let’s talk them through.”
Bakk, a fifth term senator, has been DFL leader since 2013 in both the majority and minority. Kent is serving her second term in the Minnesota Senate and has been an assistant leader.
Republicans currently hold a 35-32 advantage in the Minnesota Senate.
Bakk and Kent appeared together with other colleagues Tuesday at an unrelated Senate DFL news conference announcing a new clean energy and climate caucus.
Afterward, neither would say much about the caucus leadership challenge. Kent described it as a private matter.
“Caucus issues, it’s family, and I don’t talk about what goes on in our family,” Kent said.
Bakk took a similar view. But he added that caucus members will work through the issue and decide what’s best for the Senate DFL moving forward into an election year.
“If we think we’re going to flip the majority in the Senate, everyone has got to be united to work on the campaign.”