Biden Wins Presidency, Minnesota Maintains Only Divided Legislature in Country
Election Day 2020 saw record turnout for Presidential, Congressional and legislative races across the country. Americans went to the polls in droves in one of the most highly anticipated Presidential elections of a generation. With Donald Trump and Mike Pence seeking their second terms in office, they faced former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Senator Kamala Harris in a race to determine which party would occupy the White House for the next four years. And while final electoral votes have still not been decided in several states, the Biden-Harris ticket has obtained the necessary 270 electoral votes to declare victory. President Trump has not indicated a willingness to concede the election, and as a result he is advancing lawsuits in a handful of states, contending voting law infractions were committed. The fate of these challenges is unknown, but legal experts anticipate they will be unsuccessful in changing the results of the election.
In Minnesota, several Congressional races were highly contested heading into Election Day. One of the most highly anticipated showdowns was between House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson and former Lieutenant Governor Michelle Fischbach in the 7th Congressional District. Fischbach prevailed in a district that had been held by Peterson since 1990. The remainder of the state’s Congressional delegation saw all incumbents maintain their seats. In addition, Sen. Tina Smith won re-election against former Congressman Jason Lewis.
The undercard this election season in Minnesota did not disappoint either. With all 201 seats in the Legislature up for grabs, control of both the Minnesota House of Representatives and Senate hung in the balance for several days after the final ballots were tallied. When the dust settled, the Senate GOP maintained their majority with a razor-thin 34-33 margin. In the House, the DFL majority shrunk to a 70-64 margin in which five DFL incumbents lost. One of the incumbents who lost was House Agriculture Committee Chair Jeanne Poppe (DFL – Austin).
AgriGrowth would like to thank both Congressmen Peterson and Representative Poppe for their tireless work on behalf of Minnesota’s ag and food sectors during their years of service and we wish them well in the future.
As the majorities in the Minnesota Senate and House confirm committee leadership and assignments, AgriGrowth will continue to set-up meetings with existing and new lawmakers to discuss our legislative priorities for the 2021 session. If there are any issues that you would like us to be aware of, please contact AgriGrowth’s Director of Government & Member Relations Patrick Murray at pmurray@agrigrowth.org or (651) 238-0089.
AgriGrowth Public Policy Advisory Committee to Meet Virtually on December 3
AgriGrowth’s Public Policy Advisory Committee will be meeting virtually from 9:30-11:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 3 to discuss the organization’s 2021 state and federal public policies. This meeting will give AgriGrowth members an opportunity to review the existing state or federal public policy documents to determine any necessary modifications for next year. These proposed 2021 Public Policy Statements will be presented to the AgriGrowth Board of Directors in January of 2021 for final approval. With the 2021 legislative session set to convene on January 5, these policies will help guide our government affairs efforts with lawmakers in St. Paul, as well as with their counterparts in Washington, D.C. If you plan to attend the meeting or have any questions, please contact AgriGrowth’s Director of Government & Member Relations Patrick Murray at pmurray@agrigrowth.org or (651) 238-0089.
There is Still Time to Take the 2020 AgriGrowth Public Policy Survey!
In order to further determine AgriGrowth’s public policy priorities for the 2021 legislative session, we recently asked members to take our 2020 AgriGrowth Public Policy Survey. We would like to thank all of you who have responded so far and we are continuing to look for input! This short three minute survey will be open through November 20th. If you have any questions or additional feedback, please contact AgriGrowth’s Director of Government & Member Relations Patrick Murray at pmurray@agrigrowth.org or (651) 238-0089.
