On November 3, millions of people all across the country raised their voices and stood in line for hours to vote. The most noteworthy election contested this year was the one for the presidency, but there were several thousand other elections nationwide, including many here in Minnesota. As the final absentee votes trickle in, let’s take a look at what the results currently look like.

Minnesota was considered one of the battleground states in the hotly contested 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden was declared the national winner on Saturday. Despite President Trump’s many campaigns in the state with the goal of turning it red, Biden was able to hold onto Minnesota’s 10 electoral votes, winning by a margin of 7 percent (52.6 to Trump’s 45.4). 

Two other big national elections took place as well – these being the races for the Senate and House of Representatives. The Senate race was a crucial one for the Democrats in order for them to regain the majority they lost in 2014. In Minnesota, incumbent Senator Tina Smith was challenged by Jason Lewis, who hoped to widen the Republican majority in the Senate. Ultimately, he came up short as Smith was reelected with a 5 percent margin.

The House of Representatives race was the opposite: with a Democratic majority, it was the Republicans trying to get ahead. All 435 seats were up for election, including Minnesota’s 8 representatives. 7 of those chose to reelect their incumbent candidates (including Democrat Dean Phillips, representing the 3rd district, where Eden Prairie is located). The 7th district, serving much of the western half of the state, was the only one to dethrone their current representative. Republican Michelle Fischbach was able to defeat Congress veteran Collin Peterson in a race not as tight as one would expect.

Meanwhile, there were state legislature elections on the ballot alongside the more visible national ones. Eden Prairie is located in two of the 67 districts for the state Senate. The majority of our town falls into the 48th (won by former EPHS teacher Steve Cwodzinski), while the northeastern portion is represented by the 49th (won by Melisa Franzen). Both elects were incumbent Democrats.

In the state’s House, Eden Prairie is the home of 3 districts. All were Democrats reelected to serve another term. The lucky elects are Laurie Pryor from District 48A, Carlie Kotyza-Witthun from District 48B, and Steve Elkins from District 49B.

If you look even closer to home, you’ll notice Eden Prairie also had two city elections: the races for the school board and the city council. Six nonpartisan candidates ran for the school board for a chance at winning three seats. Together, Beth Fletcher and Kim Ross received nearly half of the total vote count, earning the first two seats with 25.5% and 22.7%, respectively. CJ Strehl rounded out the bunch to claim the last seat, receiving roughly 17% of the vote.

Finally, there’s the city council election. Like the school board election, the three candidates were nonpartisan and there were multiple winners (two could be elected). The sole incumbent, PG Narayanan, joined the all-around victor Lisa Toomey to finish off the city elections. 

As you can see, Minnesota’s reputation as a blue state remains intact following the 2020 elections. Most of the elections had either a nonpartisan or Democratic win. In the more rural parts of the state, they tend to favor a more Republican approach to politics, shown in the statewide elections for the legislature. 

Did you vote? Who did you vote for? Were there any results that surprised you? Let us know by messaging us on Twitter or Instagram at @enneagles.