2024 Election Results Wrap-Up
National & State Level
The results of the 2024 election are settling in. For Minnesota, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz won the state with a 4.25% margin. Operatives on both sides acknowledged that 4% was the likely over-under for a state House flip and it appears the Minnesota House is headed for a 67-67 tie when the chamber convenes on January 14. Two races where DFLers are currently leading will go to automatic recounts, but recounts rarely overturn an election night result.
A tied House hasn’t happened since 1979, so we’re in uncharted waters with questions about power sharing, especially in a chamber that lacks real physical office space as their State Office Building space is under major renovation and expansion for the next two years.
The state Senate will remain in DFL control 34-33 as the Democrats held onto Senate District 45 (deep western suburbs). Woodbury DFLer Nichole Mitchell’s felony burglary charge and pending trial will haunt this chamber in the months to come.
Nationally, Amy Klobuchar returns to the US Senate with a 56-40 win. All of the Congressional incumbents are heading back to D.C., and the DFL keeps the 3rd Congressional District that Dean Phillips vacated with a commanding victory by Kelly Morrison (who vacated Senate District 45 triggering the special election there).
Angie Craig’s Congressional District 2 was supposedly the competitive seat in Minnesota, but she won it 55-42, with a firm majority of Dakota County votes now in her camp. Hers was the lowest margin of victory among all 8 Minnesota congressional races, confirming the power of incumbency, at least in this state.
Tim Walz returns to his current post as Minnesota Governor after campaigning for the White House, so none of the succession dominoes will occur that could have impacted control of the state Senate. Walz’s two-year budget plan is due to the legislature in late January.
School District Level
The election carried a theme of contrast compared to the last election with different outcomes. Public education being on the ballot in terms of operating levies and capital projects/bond election questions speaks to the needs of districts across the state to ask voters for support when state funding lags over time. Overall, the lack of success in securing dollars through the election process puts additional pressure on the upcoming Legislative Session to adequately fund the requirements of the past two Legislative Sessions. Although districts found more success a few years ago in 2021, the 2024 election was unfavorable for rural districts seeking operating dollars.
Operating Referendums
• 28 school districts statewide sought additional operating revenue with 30 questions on the ballot.
• Only 11 questions passed, while 19 failed. A 36.6% statewide pass rate contrasted the 2021 election that saw 74% of operating referendums pass statewide.
• 3 out of 6 (50%) metro districts passed per pupil operating levy questions, while only 7 out of 22 (32%) rural districts were successful. For historical reference, in 2021 rural districts saw 63% of referendum questions pass. Note: Rochester is included in the metro statistics for this comparison.
The operating dollar requests ranged from $250 to $4,546 per pupil, with an average of $1,067 per pupil. As a reference point, the difference between the FY25 formula allowance per pupil and the inflation adjusted formula allowance is $1,364. This ties back to the funding lag over time that is causing stress on school district budgets.
District Operating Referendum Results
| Fridley | Pass | Barnesville Q.2 | Fail | |
| Mountain Lake | Pass | Lakeville | Fail | |
| Inver Grove Heights | Pass | Big Lake Q.2 | Fail | |
| Comfrey | Pass | Barnesville | Fail | |
| Lewiston-Altura | Pass | Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley Q.2 | Fail | |
| Thief River Falls | Pass | Annandale | Fail | |
| Badger | Pass | Cleveland | Fail | |
| Rochester | Pass | Byron | Fail | |
| Grygla Q.2 | Pass | Wheaton Q.2 | Fail | |
| Kittson Central | Pass | Dover-Eyota | Fail | |
| Prinsburg | Pass | Badger Q.2 | Fail | |
| Roseau | Fail | |||
| Fillmore Central | Fail | |||
| Cannon Falls | Fail | |||
| Fisher | Fail | |||
| Crosby-Ironton | Fail | |||
| Dawson-Boyd | Fail | |||
| Farmington | Fail | |||
| Prior Lake-Savage | Fail |
Bond Elections
• 27 school districts statewide sought support for maintenance of existing buildings, capital projects and new buildings with 34 questions on the ballot.
• 18 questions passed while 16 failed; a 53% pass rate statewide. This compares to a 54% pass rate in 2021, showing a commitment in taking care of the existing investment in our public-school buildings.
• The theme of contrast comes in 100% of metro districts passing bond questions (6 for 6) compared to rural areas that found it much more difficult with only 12 out of 28 questions passing for a 43% pass rate. In 2021, rural areas actually had a slightly higher pass rate than metro areas for bond questions.
District Bond Election Results
| Big Lake | Pass | Badger Q.3 | Fail | |
| Brooklyn Center | Pass | Barnesville Q.3 | Fail | |
| Burnsville-Eagan-Savage | Pass | Big Lake Q.3 | Fail | |
| Cook County | Pass | Blue Earth Area | Fail | |
| Ely | Pass | Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley | Fail | |
| Fridley Q.2 | Pass | Cook County Q.2 | Fail | |
| Glencoe-Silver Lake | Pass | Cook County Q.3 | Fail | |
| Grygla | Pass | Fergus Falls | Fail | |
| Grygla Q.3 | Pass | Fergus Falls Q.2 | Fail | |
| Kingsland | Pass | Kingsland Q.2 | Fail | |
| Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial | Pass | Lake of the Woods | Fail | |
| Lewiston-Altura Q.2 | Pass | Lake of the Woods Q.2 | Fail | |
| Minneapolis | Pass | Moorhead | Fail | |
| Northfield | Pass | Rockford Area | Fail | |
| Northfield Q.2 | Pass | Russell-Tyler-Ruthton | Fail | |
| Northfield Q.3 | Pass | Wheaton | Fail | |
| Robbinsdale | Pass | |||
| Shakopee | Pass |
MREA extends congratulations to those who were successful in their votes, knowing these victories help students. The metro success will help form the message around the need for equal support across the state, and we are glad they were successful. As buildings age, we will need to find state support that allows districts to properly keep the community investments protected.
The election process demands significant energy towards planning, communicating, completing the election process, and ultimately responding to the outcome. MREA is grateful for the passion and energy put forth to bring people together as we move forward with the results of our elections.
There will be a lot to learn from this election that will help us continue to advocate for the best interest of students across the state. There are breakout sessions at the MREA Greater Education Summit addressing these topics, and we will be discussing our legislative needs at the Legislative Keynote on Monday at 4 pm. Based election results and MREA Member discussion at the Summit, MREA will be shaping its Legislative Platform between now and the Annual Meeting on December 10 at 6 pm.
MREA is committed to being the Voice of Greater MN Education.
