MN State House
By Eric Ostermeier on December 10, 2010
After the 2010 election, GOP holds 311 of 497 lower chamber seats in IA, MN, ND, SD, and WI (62.2 percent) - the highest level since 1968 election (68.0 percent)
By Eric Ostermeier on December 9, 2010
Only New Hampshire, Alabama, and Michigan gained a larger percentage of House seats in 2010 than Minnesota Republicans (+18.7 percent)
By Eric Ostermeier on November 1, 2010
GOP looks to notch biggest gains in Minnesota House since 1978
By Eric Ostermeier on September 23, 2010
Study of midterm elections since 1954 finds party out of power in the White House makes double digit gains in Minnesota House more than 60 percent of the time
By Eric Ostermeier on September 21, 2010
HD 35 has averaged a 28-point GOP tilt in top of the ticket races since redistricting in 2002
By Eric Ostermeier on May 23, 2010
Republican presidential and gubernatorial candidates have won the conservative House District 11B by double-digit margins since 2002
By Eric Ostermeier on May 17, 2010
Republicans account for 63 percent of open seats over the last four election cycles; percentage of open GOP seats is more than twice that of DFL seats since 2004
By Eric Ostermeier on May 13, 2010
Partisan attacks by Winkler against GOP have more than quadrupled in press releases from 1st to 2nd term in office
By Eric Ostermeier on April 4, 2010
Last week, on the 82nd Legislative Day of the 86th Legislature, the Minnesota Legislature set a new record for the most days in session in a decade
By Eric Ostermeier on March 25, 2010
GOP loses veteran Representative who staved off DFLers in five consecutive competitive races
By Eric Ostermeier on March 3, 2010
Minnesota HD 17B has had a double-digit tilt for Republican candidates against their statewide average across several offices since 2002
By Eric Ostermeier on February 25, 2010
Many of the 11 DFL defectors represent vulnerable House districts; Norm Coleman carried nine of these districts in 2008, including eight by double digits
By Eric Ostermeier on January 3, 2010
Potential tidal wave election year for the GOP in D.C. is no guarantee for similar gains in the Minnesota House
By Eric Ostermeier on November 29, 2009
Democratic-controlled legislatures in the spotlight, facing largest budget shortfalls across the nation
By Eric Ostermeier on September 8, 2009
For better or for worse, during the past decade Minnesota has developed a national reputation for being a bit of an 'oddball' state - politically, that is. And, at first blush, the Gopher State is an easy target for even easier punchlines for having elected a former pro-wrestler to the...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 2, 2009
This week Smart Politics has issued two reports profiling the battle for the Minnesota House in 2010, first by documenting the barriers the GOP faces to cut into the the DFL's 40-seat advantage, and then by highlighting the 94 'stronghold' districts where the DFL and GOP have remained undefeated respectively...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 1, 2009
In Monday's first part in a series of reports looking ahead to the battle for the Minnesota House in 2010, Smart Politics outlined several significant hurdles the Republican Party faces to not simply make a long-shot run at taking back the lower chamber in St. Paul, but to even make...
By Eric Ostermeier on August 31, 2009
While few Minnesota political pundits - or officeholders - are projecting a GOP takeover of the House of Representatives in November 2010, the Republican party leadership is very optimistic they are going to make gains into the DFL's current 40-seat advantage in the lower chamber. The DFL, meanwhile, is hoping...
By Eric Ostermeier on August 27, 2009
Last month Smart Politics conducted a case study as to how one Minnesota lawmaker, Republican Representative Laura Brod, utilized the social networking site Twitter during the last legislative session. That study found the plurality of Rep. Brod's tweets were about substantive policy issues, with approximately one-sixth about her own personal...
By Eric Ostermeier on July 15, 2009
Minnesota politicians (and the news media) increasingly used Twitter to communicate to their respective audiences during the 2009 legislative session in St. Paul. Some news outlets, such as Politics in Minnesota, tweeted thousands of policy updates and commentaries on the burgeoning social network, while politicians used it, at times, as...
