Democrats had an outstanding night on Tuesday. They won back control of the Minnesota House and Senate, picked up a congressional seat, and defeated two contentious amendments that most political observers expected to prevail.

Next month DFL activists will gather in Duluth to endorse a candidate in the 8th Congressional District. The outcome is in little doubt: Former Congressman Rick Nolan is widely expected to walk away with party backing.

Both Kath and Ward are the sole incumbents in their respective new House districts that were announced two weeks ago in the redistricting maps. But there are special factors that might lead them to run for the Senate.

By the standard political barometers, Paul Gazelka should be a runaway favorite to win the Senate District 12 seat. The former state House member took the GOP primary by 14 percentage points in a district that's seemingly firm Republican turf.

The month of March witnessed several interesting endorsing conventions for state legislative seats. In many instances, the conventions sorted out who will carry their party’s banner in November. In other cases, the endorsed candidates are being challenged in a primary. Here’s a rundown of what occurred at some of the notable conventions from the month past.

Minnesota Republicans, buoyed by national congressional gains and an increasing tide of conservative sentiment, are queueing up to challenge incumbent DFL state legislators this year.

Fifteen more Minnesotans have registered campaign committees with the state to run for the state Legislature this year -- and one has dropped out of a House race in the east metro.