Special election results

Special election returns are in, and Republicans can't be terribly happy about the results: the DFL picked up a seat in the Senate by capturing a seat covering Plymouth and Minnetonka that was formerly held by a Republican. The other election, in Wright County, was not very surprising, as the Republican candidate won in a three-way race.

The Republican loss in Senate District 43 was not due to a weak candidate: Judy Johnson was the mayor of Plymouth. Although Republicans will talk about how a low-turnout special election doesn't mean anything, it is still troubling for them that they lost by nine points in what has traditionally been a Republican district.

Next up is the special election in St. Cloud. The Democrats have another very good pickup opportunity here for the Senate, as Tarryl Clark is the DFL candidate, who has come close to beating Dave Kleis in the past. We'll see what happens.