Minnesota Democrats will return to their one-seat majority in the state Senate following two special elections on Tuesday for open seats in the chamber.

The two districts — covering Wright County and Woodbury — have had vacancies since the summer due to the death of Republican Sen. Bruce Anderson in the former and the resignation of former DFL Sen. Nicole Mitchell in the latter following a felony burglary conviction.

Mitchell was the 34th vote for the DFL, delivering Democrats a one-seat majority. Rep. Amanda Hemmingsen-Jager, one of the two DFL representatives for the district in the House, defeated Dwight Dorau, a Republican. Hemmingsen-Jager received 62% of the vote to Dorau's 38%, according to unofficial results from the Minnesota Secretary of State's office with all precincts reporting.

The Wright County seat will stay in GOP hands after Michael Holmstrom prevailed by 24 points against DFL challenger Louis McNutt.

The outcomes were largely expected since neither district is a battleground. Senate District 29, covering Wright County and three communities in neighboring Hennepin and Meeker counties, is a historically deep red district that voted for President Trump by wide margins in 2024.

Meanwhile, Senate District 47, encompassing Woodbury, has trended more blue in recent elections; nearly 60% of voters there supported Vice President Kamala Harris.

This means the Senate will soon return to its full strength after being down two members for a few months during the legislative off-season. Lawmakers return to the Capitol in February for the next session.

Senate DFL Majority Leader Erin Murphy celebrated the victory, which restored the true majority for Democrats. Due to the vacancies, the DFL has a one-seat edge 33-32, but 34 votes are required to pass any legislation.

"I think we have demonstrated over and over again our ability to actually move forward an agenda for people in Minnesota, and we do it without a lot of flash. We do it in compromise with our colleagues across the aisle with our colleagues in the House. We have been the one and only majority in this narrowly divided legislature and I think we have used that with a focus on the people of Minnesota," Murphy told WCCO in an interview late Tuesday. "Tonight is a joyful moment. I feel some relief and a real commitment to get back to work."

The House remains equally tied between Democrats and Republicans, with both parties sharing power.

These two special elections marked the fifth and sixth for open seats in the Legislature this year, matching a record set in 1994, according to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.

In September, there was a special election for the Brooklyn Park seat left vacant by the death of DFL House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, who was killed in a political assassination in June.

There were three others during the legislative session, including for the districts of the late DFL Sen. Kari Dziedzic, who died of cancer, and former GOP Sen. Justin Eichorn, who was arrested and criminally charged for allegedly soliciting a minor for prostitution.

There will be yet another special election scheduled for Hemmingsen-Jaeger's House seat once she is sworn into the Senate.