Dec/Jan 2026 Newsletter
Take an Hour (or so) to Help Save Democracy
The 2026 Olmsted 20/24 DFL precinct caucuses will be held February 3 at 7 PM. Precinct caucuses, which mark the beginning of activities for the election year, are the most grassroots events in Minnesota politics. We’ll have caucuses for each city, township and Rochester precinct in our boundaries. At their caucus people can meet, elect a chair and two associate chairs for their area, elect delegates who will represent them at the Olmsted 20/24 DFL and appropriate Senate District conventions, as well as debate and vote on resolutions that could end up in the state DFL platform. We’ll have caucuses in three schools this year.
If you live in Byron, Pine Island, or Kalmar, New Haven, or Salem Townships, your caucus is at Byron Middle School.
If you live in Stewartville, High Forest Township, Pleasant Grove Township, or Rock Dell Township, your caucus is at Stewartville High School.
If you live in Chatfield, Dover, Eyota, Rochester, Rochester Township, or any of the other townships in the eastern half of Olmsted County, your caucus is at Mayo High School.
After January 14, our website will have a link to a caucus finder where you can find the room your caucus will be in.
If you’re thinking about coming to caucus, but want to know more about caucuses, we will have caucus training sessions Saturday, January 17 12:30-1:30 PM and Saturday, January 31 2:30-3:30 PM at the DFL office after DFLs of Olmsted County campaign kickoff event). We are planning a virtual caucus training session from 1-2 PM using Google Meets-more information on that to follow.
We still need conveners for many of the precincts in Rochester. It doesn’t require experience and we will train you how to do that. Please email olmsted2024dfl@gmail.com if you are willing to convene a precinct on February 3. Once you commit to convening, we’ll send you the training schedule and get you oriented quickly.
Precinct caucuses are only held in-person, but if you are unable to attend and want to run to be a delegate to the first level conventions or to be a local DFL officer, you can complete the non-attendee form. Send the completed form to chair@olmsteddfl.com by the end of January. You can send in resolutions to be considered at your caucus by using the resolutions form that is also available on the website.
What’s Happening in Local Races?
There was a big upset in southeast Minnesota politics when Senator Steve Drazkowski announced he was retiring earlier this month. Here’s where the races are currently.
Senator, District 20: Republican Steve Jacob (currently the Representative in House District 20B) vs. DFLer Jason Lohmann (supervisor, Zumbrota Township and member of the Zumbrota-Mazeppa School Board) (lohmannformnsenate20.com)
Senator, District 24: Republican Carla Nelson (incumbent) vs. DFLer Simon Glaser (simonglaser.com)
Minnesota House, District 20B: Republicans Sara Bertschinger and Brady Rouhoff vs. DFLer Michael Hutchinson (vote4hutch.com)
Minnesota House, District 24A: Republican Duane Quam (incumbent) vs. Heather Holmes (heatherholmes4mnhouse.com)
Minnesota House, District 24B: DFLer Tina Liebling (incumbent) (tinaliebling.com) vs ?
No Republican has announced a run against Tina Liebling or any of the three DFL legislators in Senate District 25.
DFL candidates for Senate District 20 and House District 20B will be endorsed at the Senate District 20 DFL convention in Plainview the afternoon of March 14. DFL candidates for Senate District 24 and House Districts 24A and 24B will be endorsed at the Senate District 24 DFL convention in Kasson the afternoon of April 26.
2026 DFL Conventions: Here Sooner Than You Think
The Olmsted 20/24 DFL convention will be the afternoon of Saturday, March 21 at Mayo High School. That convention will elect officers and directors for the unit, elect delegates to the 1st Congressional District and state DFL conventions (which will be particularly important this year because of contested endorsements for several offices, including the U.S. Senate and perhaps Governor), debate and vote on the resolutions that were passed at precinct caucuses, and elect delegates to the Minnesota DFL Central Committee. Resolutions passed at this convention go to the state DFL convention.
People elected from precinct caucuses to be delegates to the Olmsted 20/24 DFL convention will also be delegates to their Senate District conventions. The Senate District 20 DFL convention will endorse their candidates for Minnesota Senate and House on Saturday, March 14 in Plainview. The Senate District 24 DFL convention will endorse candidates on Sunday, April 26 at Kasson-Mantorville Middle School.
Delegates elected at the Olmsted 20/24 DFL convention are delegates to the 1st CD DFL convention Sunday, May 3 at Stewartville High School. There they will endorse a DFL candidate to run for Congress against Brad Finstad and elect people to many positions in the 1st CD DFL and to committees of the state DFL. They are also delegates to the state DFL convention in Rochester May 29-31, where candidates for U.S Senate, Governor, and other constitutional offices will be endorsed. The races for U.S. Senate and Auditor are competitive with two strong candidates for Senate and four for Auditor. Delegates will also vote on platform resolutions, elect some positions in the DFL, and consider changes in the state DFL constitution. We’ll see if there is a contested endorsement for Governor.
The 1st Congressional District Race
Jake Johnson is stll the only DFL candidate in the race. He has outraised Representative Brad Finstad in the last two quarters and has raised almost $750,000 so far! He has now visited every county in the district, and continues to make positive impressions and win votes along the way. His opponent, Finstad has continued to support Trump’s unpopular agenda on almost all issues. There has not yet been any polling in the race.
A Larger Look at Minnesota Politics
Governor: Governor Walz shocked Minnesota and the DFL by announcing on January 5 he was no longer running for re-election. While Senator Amy Klobuchar is seriously considering running for Governor, there are currently no serious DFL candidates for Governor. There are 14 Republicans running for Governor, including Mike Lindell.
Auditor: Auditor Julie Blaha is not running for re-election. Four people are running for the DFL endorsement: Zack Filipovich, a former Duluth Council member; Adam Jennings, the mayor of Tonka Bay; Ben Schirier, the former mayor of Fergus Falls; and state Representative Dan Wolgamott. Two Republicans are running: state Rep. Eliot Engen and Nate George.
Attorney General: Attorney General Keith Ellison is running for re-election. Ronald Schulz is running for the Republican endorsement.
Secretary of State: Secretary of State Steve Simon is running for re-election. Tad Jude, who ran against Kelly Morrison last year; Wendy Phillips from Oronoco, who lost to Kim Hicks in a 2022 race for the Minnesota House; and John Howe, who served two years in the Minnesota Senate and was the Republican candidate for this office in 2018, are running for the Republican endorsement.
At the Congressional level outside our area
Congressional District 2: Representative Angie Craig is running for the Senate, so is not running for re-election. Three DFLers are competing for the DFL endorsement, all current or previous DFL state legislators: Rep. Kaela Berg, Sen. Matt Klein, and former Sen. Matt Little. There are two Republican candidates: Sen. Eric Platt and previous candidate Tyler Kistner. This is one of the most competitive districts in Minnesota
Congressional District 3: Representative Kelly Morrison is running for re-election. There is no known Republican candidate.
Congressional District 4: Representative Betty McCullom is running for re-election. There is no known Republican candidate.
Congressional District 5: Representative Ilhan Omar is running for re-election. She is being challenged for the DFL endorsement by Latonya Reeves, a member of the Democratic National Committee. Two Republicans are running, but this is an overwhelmingly DFL district, where no Republican has been elected since 1960.
Congressional District 6: Representative Tom Emmer is running for re-election. He has a Republican challenger for the endorsement. Doug Chapin and Sierra Grandy are candidates for the DFL endorsement.
Congressional District 7: Representative Michelle Fischbach is running for re-election. There are three DFLers competing for the DFL endorsement: Jared Adams, state Rep. Heather Keeler, and Eric Osberg
Congressional District 8: Representative Pete Stauber is running for re-election. Three DFLers are competing for the DFL endorsement: Emanuel Anastos, Cyle Cramer, and John-Peter McBride.
Minnesota Senate: 7 DFLers, including two women first elected to the Legislature in 1984, and 5 Republicans are retiring or running for another office.
Minnesota House: 10 DFLers and 9 Republicans are retiring or running for another office.
Polling Stats
In the most recent poll, Trump’s approval rating in Minnesota was 42% with a disapproval rating of 55%. In another recent poll, his approval rating was 35% in Minnesota. He has a net approval of -17% in an average of two recent polls. Nationally, his approval is 36% and his disapproval is 61%. His approval rating is lower than his disapproval rating on almost every issue.
A recent poll had Governor Walz’s approval and disapproval ratings at 48%. In a September poll, they were both 47%. However, in a June poll by the same pollster, his favorable rating was 58% and his disapproval rating was 39%.
In the latest generic Congressional poll, nationally about 6% more people support a Democrat for Congress than support a Republican.
Don’t Miss Your Chance to Donate $75 or $150 and Get Refunded Quickly
Even if you contributed to a state candidate or party unit last year, you can donate $75 per person or $150 for a married couple this year to qualify for Minnesota’s Political Contribution Refund program.
Soon after you contribute, you’ll get a receipt for the donation. Once you’ve donated up to $75/$150, send the receipts and the Form EP-3 [Political Contribution Refund form] (which you can print if needed) to the Minnesota Department of Revenue and you’ll get your money back in a few weeks. **Don’t send it in yet if you haven’t donated the full refundable amount as you can only apply for a refund once a year.
Our local candidates and party unit can take donations eligible for refund at:
Jason Lohmann (Senate District 20) online at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/jason-lohmann-1
Michael Hutchinson (House District 20B) online at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/vote4hutch or by check at Vote For Michael Hutchinson 884 Golfview Ave, Zumbrota, MN 55992
Simon Glaser (Senate District 24) online at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/simonglaser or by check at Simon Glaser for Senate P.O. Box 8155, Rochester MN 55903
Heather Holmes (House District 24A) online at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/holmes-for-house or by check at Friends of Heather Holmes P.O. Box 360, Byron, MN 55920
Tina Liebling (House District 24B) online at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/liebling-for-state-house or by check at Liebling for State House P.O. Box 6332 Rochester, MN 55903
Olmsted 20/24 DFL online at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/olmsted-20-24-dfl-1 or by check at P.O. Box 9044 Rochester, MN 55903
If you made donations in 2025 and haven’t applied for a refund yet, you must do so by April 15, 2026.
Food Drive Needs Continue
In November, Olmsted 20/24 DFL started a food drive for local immigrant communities because of reports that many people in those communities were unable to afford food and even those who had money were scared to go out and buy food due to fears of ICE encounters. Due to the generosity of DFLers, we have supplied a tremendous amount of food. In November, we gave it to COPAL, an organization supporting our Latino community. In December, the food went to Pamoja Women, an organization supporting our East African community. We’re back to COPAL this month and will be alternating between the two organizations or potentially others on a monthly basis. You can donate inside the office from 1-4 PM on weekdays. At other hours there is a box outside the south exit to the office to leave food. Please be generous. The needs are so high.
