The Minnesota Capitol Building. Courtesy of Minnesota House Public Information Services.
Minnesota House Democrats are steaming into the final 40 days of the election campaign with a $2.5 million cash advantage over House Republicans, according to campaign finance reports released Wednesday.
Labor unions and wealthy individuals with a long history of generous giving to Democrats combined to give the DFL a huge cash advantage going into the stretch run, allowing the party to open more offices with more field staff around the state and spend more on snail mail and digital advertising — all of which can tip races that will be decided by just hundreds or sometimes dozens of votes.
All 134 seats in the closely divided House will be on the ballot in November, but the two parties are focused on no more than two dozen battleground districts. Democrats currently hold a five-seat majority, and Republicans are fighting to gain control of the House to break up the DFL’s trifecta.
The latest batch of campaign finance reports are only from political party units and political action committees, not candidates, who will report their fundraising totals 10 days before the November election.
The House DFL caucus reported $3.5 million cash on hand as of Sept. 17, while the Minnesota House Republican Campaign Committee reported over $1 million. The House DFL has raised over $5.5 million since the beginning of the year, while House Republicans have raised over $1.8 million.
House Democrats in a statement said the caucus set a new fundraising record.
“We’re feeling the energy from voters at the doors as well, and we will be working hard to communicate with them until the polls close on election night,” House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said in a statement.
House Republicans also said they broke fundraising records in their latest campaign finance report; $1.8 million raised this year broke a previous 2018 fundraising record by nearly $500,000.
“House Republicans are seeing record-setting support as we work to restore balance to Minnesota,” said House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, in a statement. “I’m grateful for the generous support we’ve seen from donors, grassroots supporters, and our members who have stepped up to build a strong campaign operation that has knocked nearly a quarter million doors and will be holding Democrats accountable for their extreme and expensive agenda.”
House Democrats received hundreds of thousands from political action committees of multiple labor unions, including over $400,000 from LIUNA — which represents construction workers across North America — and $110,000 from the Minnesota AFL-CIO. House Democrats have dished out hundreds of millions of dollars in public works projects across the state in recent years, including a $450 million project to renovate and expand the State Office Building, which is where House members have their offices.
Alida Messinger, ex-wife of former Gov. Mark Dayton and frequent DFL donor, gave the House DFL caucus $100,000 in February, and Vance Opperman gave House Democrats $100,000 in June.
House Republicans also received hefty donations from groups and individuals, including over $57,000 from the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, over $15,000 from the Minnesota Business Partnership and $51,000 from the Minnesota Multi-Housing Association.
Control for the Minnesota Senate is also on the November ballot since former Sen. Kelly Morrison, DFL-Deephaven, resigned in June to focus on her congressional campaign. The Senate is now evenly split 33-33 between Democrats and Republicans, so the special election for Senate District 45 will likely draw millions in outside spending. The Republican running for the seat is Kathleen Fowke and the Democrat is former state Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart.
Minnesota Senate Democrats reported nearly $2 million cash on hand in their latest campaign finance report, and the Senate Republican caucus — known as the Senate Victory Fund — reported nearly $1.5 million cash on hand.
Labor unions also gave heavily to Senate Democrats. The Minnesota Association of Professional Employees donated $120,000 to the Senate Democratic caucus; Education Minnesota, the state’s teachers union, gave the caucus $75,000.
Large donors to the Senate Republicans include Stanley Hubbard, founder of Hubbard Broadcasting, which owns KSTP. Hubbard donated $60,000 so far this year to the Senate Republican caucus.
The Minnesota DFL Party reported over $2 million cash on hand, while the state Republican Party reported $38,000 cash on hand.
Large donors to the state’s DFL Party include Messinger, who has given the party $300,000; George Soros, who donated $125,000 to the DFL; and the Ohio Democratic Party, which gave its Minnesota counterpart $180,000 earlier this month.