Todd Redmann, Chair
Lake County DFL
As you may have heard, Minnesota’s Political Party Caucuses are scheduled for later this month—on the evening of February 27th. For those who have never attended a caucus, you may have questions regarding the purpose of political caucuses, and what happens at a caucus. Traditionally, a caucus is a political party gathering in which party members choose candidates for an election and select delegates to attend and represent their area at political conventions.
While each political party holds its own set of caucuses every 2 years, they usually occur on the same date and at the same time. For example, on February 27th, both the Minnesota DFL and the Minnesota GOP will hold their caucuses at locations across the state starting at 7:00 pm.
In 2016, the Minnesota legislature changed the way in which political parties determine their respective endorsed candidates for president. Presidential candidates are no longer determined through the caucus process. Instead, Minnesota now holds a state-wide primary election in which voters from across the state can vote from among their party’s list of candidates seeking the party’s endorsement. The 2024 Presidential Primary Election for Minnesota is scheduled for Tuesday, March 5th. However, the early voting window is already open, and Lake County voters are free to cast an early ballot at the Lake County Courthouse.
You may be asking yourself, if we now have a primary, why do political parties still hold caucuses? While the endorsed presidential candidates are determined by primary, political parties in Minnesota still select their candidates for other offices through the political caucus and convention process. At your local caucus, you can seek to be a delegate to your local endorsing conventions — where the party’s state House and Senate candidates are selected. Caucuses are also the way individuals can help shape the set of ideas their party supports and prioritizes.
Each party develops what is commonly called a “Party Platform,” a set of stances or positions on a wide variety of issues of the day. While platforms exist at both the state and national levels, they all start at the local level — caucuses are the avenue by which an individual can put forth an idea that might someday be included in his or her state or national party platform.
In the DFL party, caucus attendees are encouraged to bring forth “resolutions” to be discussed and voted on by others. If a majority of support for that idea exists at the caucus, the resolution moves on to the county level, where it is again discussed and voted on. This process goes on all the way up to state or even national-level conventions. You can think of it as grassroots democracy in action!
For those who consider themselves to be in general agreement with the principals of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, we would invite you to attend your local DFL caucus on Tuesday, February 27th. Doors open at 6:30 pm, with the caucus start at 7:00 pm:
Beaver Bay, Beaver Bay Township, Crystal Bay, Silver Bay, and Unorganized Territory 1 residents will caucus at William Kelly High School. Two Harbors, Silver Creek Township, and Unorganized Territory 2 residents will caucus at Two Harbors High School. Stony River Township residents will caucus at the Isabella Community Center, and Fall Lake Township residents will caucus at Vermilion College—Room CL-110.
Editor’s Note:
Cook County Caucus Locations
The Colvill Town Hall, 2965 East Highway 61, will host the Grand Portage, Hovland, Magney, and Colvill precincts.
Gunflint Trail DFlers will caucus at A. Paul and Carol Schapp Community Center, 7401 Gunflint Trail.
The Arrowhead Center for the Arts, 51 West Fifth Street in Grand Marais is the venue for the Croftville, both Grand Marais, Cascade, Maple Hill, and Pike Lake precincts.
Birch Grove Community Center, 9 Good Neighbor Hill Road in Tofte, is the location for the Lutsen, Tofte, and Schroeder Precincts.
