Minnesota House Democrats Pick Stephenson as Speaker-Designate in New 77-Seat Majority

The Minnesota House Democratic-Farmer-Labor caucus announced on November 6 that it had chosen Rep. Zack Stephenson as speaker-designate at its organisational meeting on the evening of November 5, with Rep. Jamie Long as majority leader and Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura as majority whip. After the November 3 elections, Democrats flipped the House, ending the 67-67 tie that followed the 2024 election; the new House will have 77 Democratic seats to Republicans' 57, with District 32A still facing a recount.

Stephenson, from Coon Rapids, has served in the House since 2018 and has led the House DFL caucus since 2025. He said he was honoured to become the 60th speaker of the Minnesota House, following in the footsteps of former speaker Melissa Hortman; after Hortman and her husband were assassinated in June 2025, Stephenson took over as caucus leader. The new legislative session opens on January 12, 2027, and House Democrats say they will prioritise lowering health care and housing costs.

(Source: Minnesota House of Representatives)

Source: Minnesota House of Representatives

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：明尼苏达州议会大厦，位于圣保罗。作者：Tony Webster，CC BY 2.0，取自 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul. By Tony Webster. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.