The 2016 Minnesota House of Representatives election was held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on November 8, 2016, to elect members to the House of Representatives of the 90th Minnesota Legislature. A primary election was held in several districts on August 9, 2016. The election coincided with the election of the other house of the Legislature, the Senate.
The Republican Party of Minnesota won a majority of seats, remaining the majority party, followed by the Minnesota DemocraticâÂÂFarmerâÂÂLabor Party (DFL). The new Legislature convened on January 3, 2017.
The last election resulted in the Republican Party of Minnesota winning a majority of seats, after losing a majority to the Minnesota DemocraticâÂÂFarmerâÂÂLabor Party (DFL) only two years earlier in the previous election. This resulted in split control of the Legislature for the first time since 2006, ending eight years of unified control by either the DFL or the Republicans as well as ending two years of all-DFL control of the Legislature and governorship.
The 134 members of the House of Representatives were elected from single-member districts via first-past-the-post voting for two-year terms. Contested nominations of the DFL and Republican parties for each district were determined by an open primary election. Minor party and independent candidates were nominated by petition. Write-in candidates must have filed a request with the secretary of state's office for votes for them to have been counted.
According to MinnPost, the Star Tribune, the Pioneer Press, and MPR News, a total of 25 districts were competitive. MinnPost considered 17 districts to be competitiveâÂÂ12 of which were held by the Republicans and five by the DFL, the Star Tribune 22âÂÂ16 of which were held by the Republicans and six by the DFL, the Pioneer Press eightâÂÂseven of which were held by the Republicans and one by the DFL, and MPR News 14âÂÂ11 of which were held by the Republicans and three by the DFL.