MINNETONKA, Minn — The stakes were high in west metro suburbs going into this election. Voters in Senate District 45 had a special election to determine the balance of power in St. Paul.
Voters in the district chose DFLer Ann Johnson Stewart with 52.43%% of the vote, over Republican Kathleen Fowke, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State.
This was the only Senate District with an election Tuesday. The other 66 districts won't be in play until 2026, because senators currently serving were elected to four-year terms back in 2022. But DFL Sen. Kelly Morrison resigned her seat to run for Congress, prompting a special election to replace Morrison in SD45 the same day as the November 5 General Election.
Morrison's departure left the chamber deadlocked at 33 Democrats and 33 Republicans. Now, when lawmakers come back for the 2025 Session, the DFL will have a one-seat advantage.
Johnson Stewart is a civil engineer who served a two-year term in 2021-2022 Legislature. As a result of redistricting in 2022, she ended up in the same district as Morrison, who won the DFL endorsement in SD45.
She told KARE 11 in an October interview she wants to solve the water supply and wastewater treatment issues in the district, which wraps around Lake Minnetonka.
