Voters stand up for students, electing Klobuchar and educator-endorsed candidates
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ST. PAUL, Minnesota. Nov. 4, 2026 — Voters pinched by rising prices rejected corruption and chaos Tuesday and elected candidates who support labor, respect all Minnesotans and value public education and the people who deliver it.
“Voters across the state united to embrace the promise of public schools to deliver a brighter future for all our children by electing educators and pro-education candidates,” said Monica Byron, president of Education Minnesota. “They also rejected two years of hateful, lawless MAGA policies that worked for the billionaires and left the rest of us behind.”
Despite lies from the Trump administration intended to spread distrust in the election, more than 2.8 million eligible voters cast their ballots without significant disruption. Organized labor helped recruit and train hundreds of poll watchers and rallied thousands of volunteers to support pro-education candidates.
“Thank you to everyone who helped ensure all eligible voters could participate in free and democratic elections,” Byron said. “Now, it’s time to ensure every eligible vote is counted, the results are certified and the will of the people prevails.”
Education Minnesota congratulated Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the union’s endorsed candidate, on her election as the state’s first woman governor over House Speaker Lisa Demuth, who supported President Donald Trump’s school voucher scheme.
“Amy Klobuchar made history Tuesday, and voters gave her a clear mandate: keep public money in public schools and keep investing in students and the educators who teach them,” said Byron. “Congratulations, Governor-elect Klobuchar.”
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan also won her race for the seat in the U.S. Senate after U.S. Sen. Tina Smith retired. Flanagan becomes the first Native American woman elected to the Senate.
“Minnesota voters chose a proud Minnesotan who believes in public schools and the people who work in them. Congratulations, Sen.-elect Flanagan,” said Byron.
Jake Johnson, a Rochester high school math teacher and Education Minnesota member, led Republican Rep. Brad Finstad by 323 votes out of about 326,000 cast in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District, according to unofficial results. A recount is likely. Finstad won the district by about 17 percentage points two years ago.
“A teacher coming out even slightly ahead in a district this deep red shows that southern Minnesota communities want an alternative to Trumpism, and they trust a teacher to make it happen,” said Byron. She added that the union will be watching closely as the results are confirmed.
The DFL will take control of both the state House and Senate, giving the party another trifecta.
“Trump’s cuts to the healthcare of millions of Americans will put incredible pressure on the state budget in 2027,” said Byron. “We know it will be a difficult year, but we still expect these new legislators to keep investing in students and their educators. At the top of that agenda must be higher educator pay, pension reform and controlling spiraling healthcare costs. It has become almost impossible to provide more resources to students when most of the new money goes straight to health insurance companies.”
Four Education Minnesota members unofficially won seats in the Legislature on Tuesday: Chris Swanson in House District 11A, Josiah Hill in House District 33B, Mary Frances Clardy in House District 53A and Simon Glaser in Senate District 24.
Minnesota voters also overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to increase disbursements from the Permanent School Fund. “This is a modest but meaningful funding increase for every public school in the state. It is sustainable for generations and comes with no tax increases,” Byron said. “It won’t fix all our funding problems in public education, but it will certainly help.”
An early analysis of school levy referendums supported by Education Minnesota indicated a difficult night, with 15 questions passed and 21 failed. “Our educators made their case to their communities, but with the prices of healthcare, fuel, housing and food soaring, it was a difficult year to ask for more money,” Byron said.
Voters showed the same strong support for educator-endorsed candidates for school board in 2026 as they did in 2024. A preliminary analysis found that this year, 63 of 89 union-endorsed candidates won their races, or 71% “Educators screened the candidates, debated the merits and made their endorsements,” Byron said. “Voters respect their local educators and tend to follow their advice.”
About Education Minnesota
Education Minnesota is the voice for professional educators and students. Education Minnesota’s members include teachers and education support professionals in Minnesota’s public school districts, faculty members at Minnesota’s community and technical colleges and University of Minnesota campuses in Duluth and Crookston, retired educators and student teachers. Education Minnesota is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and AFL-CIO.
