Minnesota DFL and GOP Hold Caucuses Across the State

Members of Minnesota’s DFL and Republican parties met Tuesday at precinct caucuses across the state to pick delegates and to help decide party platforms ahead of the November general election.

In Beltrami County, DFL members met at Bemidji Middle School and four other sites to propose resolutions the party would consider adopting in their action agenda. Anything that ends up being in the party platform must come from a caucus on caucus night.

“Anybody can turn in any number of resolutions tonight,” said Beltrami County DFL Chair Curtiss Hunt. “All of those resolutions are sorted by category. And then at the next convention, those resolutions – typically there’s about 120 or so – our unit, the Beltrami County unit, is allowed to forward 20 of those on to the next level, at the state level.

The Beltrami County DFL will be having its convention on March 23 in Bemidji.

Meanwhile, Forestview Middle School in Baxter was the site for one of four Republican caucuses in Crow Wing County. Delegates were chosen to be representatives to endorse party candidates, and those delegates will go on to represent their respective precincts at conventions. They will then decide who will be endorsed candidates for the general election.

While Minnesota has kept the process to nominate statewide office holders the same, it has seen a change regarding another elected position.

“Minnesota has now become a primary state for the presidential selection. So while that’s different, the process is still the same for folks like me,” said District 6B Rep. Josh Heintzeman. “I continue to come back every election cycle and ask for that endorsement from my grassroots.”

The presidential primary in Minnesota will be on Tuesday, March 5.

Zy’Riah Simmons contributed to this report.