With GOP in charge of MN leg, what happens to Vikings stadium?
Picking though the story lines of last night's stunning GOP takeover of the Minnesota House and Senate, we started wondering how it changes the odds of a new Vikings stadium bill.
One of the stadium's chief backers - House Ways and Means Chairman Loren Solberg - appears to have lost his seat last night after nearly 30 years in the legislature. With about 82 percent of precincts reporting, the latest results have the DFLer losing his Grand Rapids district 49 to 51 percent, but with less than a 400 vote margin.
Rep. Loren Solberg last spring laid out a Vikings stadium bill, calling the team a "state legacy" and praising the team's impact on the economy.
It's not necessarily a Republican versus Democrat issue. All three of the top governor candidates expressed some support for Vikings aid in the legislature. Gov. Tim Pawlenty said a few weeks ago that it was "highly likely" a Vikings deal would get done in the next legislative session.
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Still, in a down economy, will the new Republican majority be willing to take on the thankless task of helping publicly finance a stadium?
State Rep. Mary Liz Holberg, R-Lakeville, is currently the ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means committee and the most likely candidate to take over the tax panel if it turns out Solberg has been defeated.
Holberg's no stadium fan. She fought the bill that eventually delivered public financing for the Twins stadium.
From the Star Tribune in 2006:
"What are we doing here? It's wrong," said Rep. Mary Liz Holberg, who urged her colleagues unsuccessfully to require a referendum. "Sure, it's an easy vote for all of you who don't live in Hennepin County."
CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this post, we incorrectly reported that state Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, another long time Vikings stadium supporter, was leaving the Senate after a failed run for governor. He was re-elected Tuesday.