Bakk to depart MN Legislature after nearly 30 years

Minnesota Sen. Tom Bakk will retire at the end of the year, closing a political career that saw him become one of the Democrats’ most powerful lawmakers before he eventually left the party.

Bakk announced today (Thu) he would not seek re-election, calling his time representing northern Minnesota at the Capitol “one of the greatest rewards of my life.”

The 67-year-old lawmaker from Cook (MN) has been in the Legislature nearly 30 years, beginning with his election to the House in 1994.

He led the Democratic-Farmer-Labor caucus for nearly a decade and ran for governor as a Democrat in 2010.

But Bakk left the party in 2020, joining fellow DFL Sen. David Tomassoni of Chisholm in becoming independents who caucused with the Republicans in the majority.

AP