All eyes are on Minnesota, and its historic female ballot come November

Minnesota is breaking records and rewriting history these days. The state reported its highest-ever number of ballots cast in the primary election on Aug. 11, with the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office reporting more than 1.1 million ballots cast, up from the previous record of 925,554 set in 2018.

What’s also historic are the results.

“For the first time, the major candidates both for governor and U.S. Senate, they’re all women,” said Monique Garza, Cottage Grove City Councilmember.

Minnesota is one of 18 states that have never elected a woman as governor. DFL nominee Sen. Amy Klobuchar faces Republican nominee Lisa Demuth (currently Minnesota's House Speaker). Whichever party wins, Minnesota will elect its first female governor. Demuth would also be the first governor in state history who is a person of color. 

The setup is the same in the U.S. Senate with DFL Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan facing Republican nominee and former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya. If elected, Flanagan would become the first Native American woman elected to the U.S. Senate in American history. If Tafoya wins, she would be the first Republican woman elected by Minnesotans to the chamber. 

Minnesota women are leading almost every top-of-ticket option facing Minnesota voters, with major third-party candidates also including female nominees, like libertarian Rebecca Whiting and independent Marisa Simonetti in the Senate race.

The fight to November for all of the female candidates will not be easy. “It was something that was very intimidating to do,” added Garza. She was encouraged to consider city council based on her vast volunteer work in Cottage Grove. She was first selected and appointed in 2023, to fill a vacancy left by resigning council member Steve Dennis. She then ran and won in 2024. “I ran unopposed, but I had almost 15,000 votes, which helped me understand I’m doing the right thing and I’m in the right place,” Garza added.  

Garza is running this November again for a full four-year term and has competition this time. Garza will run against Michael D. Haatved and Tony Khambata for a total of two seats on the council.

So far, Garza has helped address her community’s top concern of public safety with the addition of an embedded social worker who works directly with the city’s Case Management Unit (CMU) to handle calls and situations involving mental health, behavioral crises and social service needs. “We’re working hard to get funding to add another embedded social worker to our team and not just for Cottage Grove, but for all of Washington County,” Garza added.

From now until then, like the female candidates at the top of the November ticket, Garza said she’s got her work cut out for herself. “It’s not just knocking on doors; it’s really being out there and building relationships, listening to the community, listening to what their needs are and bringing that back to my council.”

To learn more about the female candidates and all candidates on the ticket for November’s general election in Minnesota, please go to the Minnesota Secretary of State's “What’s on My Ballot” page: https://www.sos.mn.gov/elections-voting/whats-on-my-ballot.