By Madison McVan | Reporter
Good morning, Reformers.
The midterm elections end in one week. Sick of all the ads yet? I know I am.
The makeup of the U.S. House will be determined by dozens of gerrymandered Congressional districts, hastily redrawn in 2025 following the red wave of 2024. Texas kicked off the redistricting battle by creating a map favorable to Republicans. California responded in kind, creating enough favorable Democratic districts to offset the GOP’s gains in Texas. Other states followed suit.
The New York Times this morning released an analysis of the most gerrymandered states in the union. Unsurprisingly, the top two spots are held by California and Texas. Minnesota, ever the icon of good-faith political engagement, ranks near the bottom: #29 out of the 44 states with more than one Congressional district.
In fact, according to the Times analysis, the Minnesota map leans very slightly towards Republicans in a state that has been dominated by Democrats in the top offices for 15 years. This is due to our idiosyncratic redistricting history and court-drawn maps: Listen to Max Nesterak’s podcast and read his accompanying story from a few years ago.
A sobering reality: gerrymandering is banned in Florida and Ohio, two of the 10 most gerrymandered states.
To the Reformer:
House Speaker Lisa Demuth, the Republican nominee for Minnesota governor, and her running mate, Ryan Wilson, spoke at a Capitol press conference on Oct. 26, 2026. (Photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer)
By Michelle Griffith
House Speaker Lisa Demuth declined to say Monday whether she would pardon convicted murderer Derek Chauvin if she’s elected governor, after repeated questions from a reporter at a press conference.
Demuth, the Republican nominee for Minnesota governor, convened the Capitol press conference Monday to again criticize Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s response to fraud in Minnesota’s social safety net programs, arguing that Klobuchar’s claim of working to hire more prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office was not enough.
By Melissa Whitler
The Minnesota Department of Education is hiring an outside auditor to examine Fridley Public Schools, according to a letter sent to the district Oct. 20, signed by Commissioner Willie Jett and obtained by the Reformer. The letter details significant concerns about financial management and the potential for the district — whose bonds were downgraded to junk level earlier this year — to “continue into a debt spiral,” of issuing new debt to pay off old debt.
Fridley Public Schools was placed on the state’s list of school districts in financial distress in March, called statutory operating debt under Minnesota law. Despite warnings in 2024 by its then budget director and its auditor, Superintendent Brenda Lewis told the Reformer in an interview last month that the district was surprised in December when the state informed the district that the designation was coming.
By Madison McVan
Former federal and state judges sent a letter Monday requesting the dismissal of a misconduct complaint filed last month by the U.S. Department of Justice against nearly every federal judge in Minnesota.
The DOJ filed the complaint with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which oversees the District of Minnesota, arguing that judges who spoke to the New York Times violated the code of conduct for federal judges by launching a “partisan press campaign” and criticizing the government. The DOJ requested that U.S. Circuit Judge Steven Colloton order the judges to recuse themselves from all cases involving the Department of Homeland Security.
By Amy Perna
Voters need more than assurances. They need to know safeguards are in place, procedures can be observed, and problems can be identified and corrected. That’s why the League of Women Voters of Minnesota is working across the state to make election administration more transparent and accessible, writes Amy Perna, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Minnesota.
The League is training and coordinating more than 200 nonpartisan observers to watch post-election reviews across Minnesota, Nov. 12–17.
IN OTHER NEWS
Most US House races aren’t competitive. What does that mean for how lawmakers govern? | Reformer via States Newsroom’s D.C. bureau
Permits to destroy wild rice are on the rise in Minnesota | Star Tribune
OH BY THE WAY
Today’s song for your Tuesday is from Charlie Parr, who has a new album coming out this week.
That’s all from me. Have a great day!
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