St. Cloud legislative races could shape balance of power at Minnesota Capitol

Control of the Minnesota Legislature could depend on the outcome of a handful of competitive races in next month's election, including three contested seats in the St. Cloud area.

Many legislative districts in Minnesota are safely Republican or Democrat. But the St. Cloud region’s divided electorate makes it an unpredictable battleground. Voters will decide whether to return an incumbent to the Minnesota Senate and choose two new state representatives.

“This St. Cloud area is most likely going to decide the majority in the Minnesota Legislature,” said Matt Lindstrom, political science professor at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University in central Minnesota.

The mixed politics of St. Cloud-area voters have led to some razor-thin outcomes in past elections, and make the area a target for campaign spending. This year, the race for Senate District 14 has attracted more than $1 million from outside groups, even before the political parties and candidates report their spending.

“They draw a lot of outside money in particular from organizations that are aligned with one party or the other,” Lindstrom said. “That’s the sort of money that’s called dark money, because it’s harder to trace.”

Judging by the amount of campaign money being spent, both sides see opportunities to win the seats, said King Banaian, an economics professor at St. Cloud State University and a former Republican state legislator.

The surrounding central Minnesota region tends to vote Republican, but there is more political diversity within St. Cloud and its surrounding cities, Banaian said. Those districts got more competitive after the legislative boundaries were redrawn through redistricting after the 2010 and 2020 censuses, he said.

“That has meant that we’ve had more focus on the races here than we had 20 to 30 years ago,” Banaian said.

Republicans hoping to flip Senate seat

Aric Putnam, a Democrat, is seeking his third term in the Minnesota Senate. District 14 includes St. Cloud, Waite Park, St. Joseph, St. Augusta and Sauk Rapids.

Putnam is a professor of rhetoric at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University. He is being challenged by state Rep. Bernie Perryman, a Republican who has served two terms in the Minnesota House.

This year, Perryman, a businessperson who owns two Batteries Plus stores, decided to run for Senate instead.

“I love this area, and I'm seeing things change that I'm not happy with,” Perryman said. “I think people are kind of saying, ‘We need some common sense back.’”

Putnam is no stranger to close elections. He first won his seat in 2020 by just over 300 votes.

Two years ago, the district backed Donald Trump for president. But Putnam said this year, voters are frustrated by rising costs of food, fuel and other expenses — and he said they blame Trump.

"We're seeing prices going up even more as a direct result of a decision made by our federal government,” Putnam said. “The attack on Iran has made real, real issues for folks in our community. And they don't like Donald Trump anymore."

Trump isn’t on the ballot this year, although he’s told supporters at campaign rallies that they should pretend he is. Perryman is trying to focus her campaign message away from the president.

“(Trump) can say all he wants, but that doesn’t affect the reason and the solutions I’m bringing to help our community,” she said.

Perryman said she's hearing a lot from voters about affordability, but also fraud in state government programs.

"How can we have given out so much money and not seen any results for it, for the whole state?” she asked. “Then (voters) relate it to why their property taxes are going up, and all the other things around them expensewise."

Putnam noted that he helped sponsor a bill creating an independent Office of the Inspector General to combat fraud. And he supported efforts to modernize computer systems that counties use to process claims for public assistance.

ICE enforcement could play a role

The controversy over the federal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown in Minnesota has divided state and local politics and is influencing the upcoming midterms.

St. Cloud has experienced a demographic shift in recent decades, driven largely by growth in the city's Somali American population. This year, the city was a target of ICE enforcement action, which created a climate of fear and hurt immigrant-owned businesses in the community.

Putnam said there’s been a lot of focus on East African immigrants, “but there are tons of folks from all around the world in St. Cloud.”

“Some of them are engaged politically, and some of them aren't,” he said. “I think one of the things that (Operation) Metro Surge did is some of those other populations are becoming more engaged politically than they have been in the past.”

Perryman said the ICE action hasn’t been a top issue for voters while she’s been knocking on doors.

Two House seats up for grabs

Along with the Senate race, St. Cloud-area voters also will be choosing two new state representatives.

Abdi Daisane, a Somali American business owner, is running as a Democrat for Perryman's District 14A seat. He's facing off against Republican Mike Conway, a St. Cloud City Council member.

In District 14B, Republican Sue Ek is challenging former legislator Zach Dorholt, a Democrat. That seat was left vacant by Rep. Dan Wolgamott, who made an unsuccessful bid for state auditor.

Dorholt is a St. Cloud school board member who served one term in the Minnesota House. Ek is a communications professional who ran unsuccessfully for the House twice, losing to Wolgamott by just 191 votes two years ago.

With three competitive seats on the ballot, St. Cloud-area voters can expect to see plenty more campaign ads before the Nov. 3 election.

The goal is less about changing voters’ minds than it is about getting them to the polls, Lindstrom said.

“It's more about getting you informed about the issues and activated to actually get out there and vote,” he said.

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