Republican Paul Gazelka Re-Elected As Senate Majority Leader

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- After Minnesota Republicans held their majority in the state senate during this week's elections, the leadership announced Friday that Paul Gazelka has been re-elected as senate majority leader.

"It's a privilege and honor to continue to serve the state as majority leader," Gazelka said in a statement. "Having defended a Republican Majority in the Senate for the first time in history and continuing with divided government in St. Paul, we will work on recovering the economy and balancing the budget while fighting waste, fraud, and abuse, without asking for more sacrifices from hard-working Minnesotans."

Gazelka, of East Gull Lake, has served as senate majority leader since 2017.

This week's elections brought little change to the balance of power in St. Paul. Republicans hold a slight majority in the Minnesota Senate while Democrats have a diminished majority in the House. The results set the stage for further gridlock between Senate Republicans and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.

Senate Republicans also announced Friday that Sen. Jeremy Miller, of Winona, was re-elected as senate president. He's served in that role since 2019.

Republican Kurt Daudt was also re-elected as House Minority Leader in an unanimous vote. "I'm humbled by the support of my colleagues in the House Republican caucus and look forward to utilizing my experience alongside the other legislative leaders and Gov. Walz on the immense challenges facing our state," he said.