Election night can bring elation, disappointment and surprise. This year's election results brought all three.
The results clearly reflect a wave of change that's washing over Minnesota and the entire country.
Here in Minnesota, we saw the House of Representatives turn from a slim 68-66 Republican majority over the DFL to a wide 85-49 DFL majority over the Republicans. That's a gain of 19 seats for the DFL.
In the Minnesota Senate, the DFL increased its majority over the Republicans from 38-29 to 44-23 for a net gain of six seats.
These results mean we now have sizable majorities in both houses of the Minnesota legislature friendly to Labor and working family issues, especially when you count our friends on the Republican side of the aisle.
Our challenge will be to make sure these new majorities produce gains for working families on the issues we care about: jobs, education, health care and transportation.
We still will need to contend with Governor Tim Pawlenty, who eked out a narrow victory over Labor-endorsed Mike Hatch in the biggest disappointment of a long election night. If Pawlenty wants his second term to be a success, however, he's going to need to work with the DFL-controlled legislature and find common ground.
Three election night surprises were the early wins for Labor-endorsed candidates Mark Ritchie for Secretary of State, Rebecca Otto for State Auditor and Lori Swanson for Attorney General. These candidates represent a new generation of state leadership. They're each highly competent individuals who will serve the state well and will advance the common good.
Races for U.S. Congress brought expected but still exciting wins for Labor-endorsed Amy Klobuchar for U.S. Senate and Keith Ellison for 5th District Congress. We face a new foe, however, in Michele Bachmann, who defeated Labor-endorsed Patty Wetterling for 6th District Congress. The night's big surprise: an upset win for Labor-endorsed Tim Walz for 1st District Congress in southeast Minnesota.
Our Minnesota delegation will go to Washington, D.C. to be part of a new Congress with the Democrats in control of both the House and Senate for the first time since 1994. We now can push for Congressional action to raise the minimum wage, to address the health care crisis, and to support workers’ rights.
Something historic happened November 7. But it didn't just happen. We created the change… We doorknocked. We made phone calls. We targeted our resources. We got out the vote. Together with our allies, Labor can be proud. Thank you for your part in making history!
Bill McCarthy is president of the Minneapolis Central Labor Union Council, AFL-CIO. Reprinted from the Minneapolis Labor Review.
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