Seismic shift

Over the past month or so I had heard persistent rumors of two certain MN state senators on the DFL side contemplating a party switch. 

On Wednesday, it became official. 

Two influential state senators from the Iron Range including a former majority leader announced Wednesday that they are splitting from the DFL Party to form an independent caucus in the narrowly divided state Senate.

The decision by Sen. Tom Bakk of Cook, a longtime Capitol power broker, and Sen. David Tomassoni of Chisholm will likely further shift dynamics at the state Legislature next year. The decision means that instead of 34-33 split in the GOP-led chamber, the Senate will be comprised of 34 Republicans, 31 Democrats and two independents. Democrats will retain a majority in the state House.

In a statement, the two breakaway legislators cited growing political polarization and an opportunity to "chair committees and makes sense to better serve their districts within the legislative framework" as reasons for the split.

"People are going to wonder why I'm doing this — and to be honest, there are several reasons. I'm very disappointed by the extreme partisanship going on nationally and right here in Minnesota," Bakk said in a statement on the move, which was first reported by KSTP and MPR News. "Both political parties are to blame. The constant negative and sharp rhetoric is undermining voters' confidence in our public institutions. It doesn't have to stay this way."

Despite the Iron Range evolving into a stronghold for today's Republican party, Bakk and Tomassoni still won their respective races by double digits last month. However, it would appear both seats would flip to the GOP once both decide not to seek reelection. That would explain the chess move Senate Republicans played last week by voting then DFLer Tomassoni to the role of President of the Senate despite his being in the minority party. This was done in the event Sen. Amy Klobuchar is selected for a post in the Joe Biden administration. The speculation is that Gov. Tim Walz would then appoint Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan to replace Klobuchar in the U.S. Senate, thus elevating the President of the Senate (in this case, Tomassoni) to the lieutenant governor post. If that were to happen, Tomassoni's vacated MN Senate seat would be up for special election which the GOP believes they could win, enhancing their majority. 

I have no inside knowledge as to how long Bakk and Tomassoni have been contemplating this move, but I suspect the final straw occurred last February. Just prior to the 2020 legislative session, the DFL ousted Bakk as leader of their caucus in favor of Woodbury's Susan Kent. This sent a very clear signal that the Metrocrat agenda of gun control, higher taxes, etc. far outweighed the more moderate desires of outstate DFLers. 

For the constant talk of how there are multiple factions within the Republican party doing battle with one another, it's amusing to see this play out on the Democrat side. I guess time will tell if this is merely a symbolic move or if this has an impact beyond 2021.

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