The Magic Number: Eight
The simple answer is eight. Minnesota will send eight representatives to the U.S. House for the 120th Congress, which convenes in 2027 following the 2026 elections. This number has been stable since the 2010 Census, but it was a close call. After the 2020 Census, Minnesota was on the verge of losing a seat due to population shifts across the country. In fact, it was the very last state to be allocated a seat in the reapportionment process; had New York counted just a few dozen more people, Minnesota would have dropped to seven districts. This process, known as reapportionment, happens every 10 years and divvies up the 435 seats in the House of Representatives among the 50 states based on their population. Minnesota's population growth was just enough
to hang on to its eighth seat for the entire decade, from the 2022 election through the 2030 election.
Who Draws the Lines?
Once a state knows how many seats it has, the next step is redistricting—drawing the actual boundary lines for each district. Under Minnesota law, this task officially belongs to the state legislature, requiring a bill that must be passed by both the House and Senate and signed by the governor. However, it rarely works out that way. For the sixth decade in a row, the legislature's politically divided chambers failed to agree on a map by the legal deadline. As has become tradition, the job fell to the judicial branch. In 2021, the Minnesota Supreme Court appointed a five-judge Special Redistricting Panel to take over. This panel held public hearings and, on February 15, 2022, issued the final congressional map that is in effect for the 2026 elections. The court's stated goal was a 'least-change' approach, aiming to preserve the core of previous districts while adjusting for population changes to ensure each district had a nearly equal number of residents.
A Quick Tour of Minnesota's Eight Districts
The eight districts reflect Minnesota's diverse geography and population centers. The 1st District covers southern Minnesota, while the vast 7th and 8th Districts span the rural western and northern parts of the state, respectively. The core of the Twin Cities metro area is split primarily between the 4th District (St. Paul and its suburbs) and the 5th District (Minneapolis and its suburbs). The surrounding suburban and exurban counties are covered by the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th Districts. Following the 2020 redistricting, some boundaries shifted. For instance, the 8th District grew geographically larger to account for population declines in some rural areas, while more legislative districts were pushed toward the growing metropolitan area. As of late 2026, the delegation is evenly split with four Democrats and four Republicans.
What It Means for 2026 and Beyond
The map established in 2022 will be used for all U.S. House elections in Minnesota this decade, including the one on November 3, 2026. All eight seats are up for grabs. Seven of the eight races feature an incumbent seeking reelection. The 2nd Congressional District is the state's only open-seat contest in 2026, as the incumbent is running for U.S. Senate. While some minor legislative boundary adjustments were made in 2022 and 2023, the congressional map has remained fixed. The current political landscape, with its four Republican-held and four Democrat-held seats, sets the stage for competitive races. However, looking ahead, population trends suggest Minnesota may once again be at risk of losing a seat after the 2030 Census, making the next count crucial for the state's future representation in Washington.
