Republicans look to hold onto majority in Minnesota Senate

Republicans in the Minnesota Senate hoping to hold onto their majority likely picked up two seats they previously didn’t hold – but also might be looking at giving up two seats they had heading into Tuesday.

Sen. Matt Little, DFL-Lakeville, will likely lose his seat to Republican challenger Zach Duckworth. Little was trailing by 12 points early Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, neighboring State Sen. Greg Clausen, DFL-Apple Valley, was trailing by 2 points, or about 1,093 votes to Jose Jiminez, a Republican.

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But DFLers picked up an open seat, previously held by State Sen. Paul Anderson, R-Plymouth, and will likely unseat State Sen. Dan Hall, R-Burnsville.

Republicans headed into Tuesday’s contest with a 35-32 Senate majority.

DFLers are poised to keep their majority in the House, likely keeping Minnesota as a divided state government – currently the only one in the nation.

A number of districts had 100% precincts reporting but winners weren’t officially declared.