House Special Election Primary Winners
In what has become a record setting year for special elections, two additional primary elections were held last week for seats in the Minnesota House of Representatives. With special elections in House Districts 64A and 47A set for January 27, 2026, Democrats in St. Paul and Woodbury went to the polls to pick nominees with the winner of each primary overwhelmingly likely to become state legislators. In HD 47, which covers parts of Woodbury and Maplewood, Shelly Buck won the Democratic nomination and is almost certainly going to replace Sen. Amanda Hemmingsen-Jager (DFL-Woodbury) in the House of Representatives as no Republican filed for the seat. Buck is a nonprofit leader and longtime Prairie Island Tribal Council Leader. She beat two other candidates in the primary.
In HD 64A, Meg Luger-Nikolai emerged from a crowded DFL field to win the Democratic nomination as she seeks to replace St. Paul’s Mayor-elect Koahly Her. Luger Nikolai is a labor attorney for Education Minnesota and will face Republican nominee and small business owner Dan Walsh in January.
Walz Executive Orders on Firearms
Last week Gov. Tim Walz held a press conference to promote a series of gun control measures in advance of the 2026 legislative session. In what he described as the start of “incredibly aggressive executive actions,” Walz signed two gun related executive orders intended to help reduce gun violence in the state. The first order expands education on “extreme risk protection orders,” also known as “red flag” orders. The second order is related to safe gun storage and directs the Department of Commerce to collect data from insurance companies on the “costs of gun violence.” It also creates a Statewide Safety Council with a stated goal of preventing “mass violence, targeted attacks, and domestic terrorism.”
Republican leaders criticized these actions, saying they are “not actual solutions to keeping kids safe in school.” Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mark Johnson (R-East Grand Forks) and others have advocated for measures to support mental health, school security, and stricter penalties for violent crimes, among other things.
Minnesota Political News & Updates
As we look toward the 2026 legislative session and the 2026 elections, the political landscape continues to evolve as individuals announce retirements or new political endeavors. The following are a few developments from the past week:
