In honor of the change, a sidebar item set somewhat deeply there has been moved to the sidebar top and will be removed at some point between now and commentary here about the Iowa caucusing after it happens.
Now the DFL Senate is better oriented to retake a majority this November.
Progress is great. Bakk isn't. From the MPR report:
The DFL caucus announced the decision after a marathon six-hour meeting Saturday at a carpenters’ union hall on St. Paul’s East Side, not far from the Capitol, where they were meeting behind closed doors.
Senators declined to offer a vote total or characterize the margin of the election as they walked out. Bakk left the meeting without comment about the change or his political future.
In a statement issued Saturday evening, House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said Kent “is a progressive champion, and I look forward to working with her as the new Senate DFL leader to improve the lives of Minnesotans. In his many years in the Legislature, Senator Bakk has been a steadfast ally for working people. As my partner and leader of the DFL Senate, he has been a trusted resource and friend. He deserves our gratitude and appreciation for his service.”
Hortman is a true party insider. The insiders will consistently tell you, "Our schmucks are better than their schmucks." True or not, they will tell you that. That attitude defines an inner party person. The MPR item concluded:
The Senate is set to convene for the 2020 legislative session on Feb. 11. All 67 senators will be on the ballot in November, for 2-year-terms, halved by decennial redistricting following this year’s U.S. Census.
UPDATE: In need of an update - please fix it ASAP folks:
https://www.dfl.org/about/elected-officials/minnesota-senate/
With news such as happened, party reform, DFL delay vexes given the goodness of the news.
FURTHER UPDATE: Dan Burns writes of the leadership upgrade:
This also means that in the more-likely-than-not event that DFLers are in charge of redistricting after 2020, Sen. Bakk won't be able to engineer some sort of Iron Range-friendly, pro-sulfides, pro-gun nuts, pro-etc. gerrymander. Or block votes on progressive priorities unless he gets his way on crap like that.
And Kent also lacks the bullying abrasive personality which played well in Bakk's district perhaps, but which galled others in many other places. "Hortman and Kent" seems to have a better ring to it than "Hortman and Bakk." More urbane. The machine may run smoother with taconite tailings grit washed from the transmission.