After rising to speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives in the wake of the 2010 election, Rep. Kurt Zellers was stung two years later by his caucus’s demotion to minority status. The Republican from Maple Grove struck an unassuming profile at the Capitol this past spring.

Catching up with four former GOP legislators.

When it comes to spending by Minnesota’s political parties, the state DFL has emerged as the No. 1 player in the 2012 battle for control of Legislature.

GOP freshman Vogel contends with local teacher, union head Sawatzky

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie predicted a low voter turnout for Tuesday's primary election, putting his estimate at around 15 percent participation from eligible voters. As it turns out, the state didn't even reach that number.

The last two election cycles have witnessed wave elections for both parties that tilted the Minnesota House of Representatives in polar opposite directions.

In recent weeks, local party activists around Minnesota have commandeered many a school auditorium to endorse candidates for state House and Senate races.

Nobody knows what the legislative maps will look like in 2012. The politically charged redistricting process will almost certainly be decided by the courts, most likely in February. But that uncertainty over legislative district boundaries hasn’t stopped numerous challengers on both sides of the aisle from declaring their candidacies.

The House health and human services finance bill passed in the wee hours of the morning on a nearly party-line 70-62 vote. But four legislators strayed from their party's voting block.

Today's 2010 campaign finance reports indicate some state legislative races were spendy affairs. We survey some of the marquee races.