That’s a wrap, 2024! From a full legislative session – where our progressive leaders fought to deliver victories for Minnesota’s working families – to the 2024 general election, where Minnesotans stood firm at the ballot box to defend our communities and build a better Minnesota for everyone, it’s been a whirlwind of a year.
Here are our top five progressive moments from 2024:
Governor Tim Walz Represented Minnesota on the National Stage
Our very own Governor Tim Walz was the Vice Presidential candidate alongside Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. Even though the Harris-Walz ticket wasn’t voted into office, we’re proud of how Gov. Walz represented Minnesota by highlighting the many progressive accomplishments we’ve seen in the last few years, from Universal School meals to abortion rights.
Despite her national loss to Donald Trump, Kamala Harris won Minnesota’s ten electoral votes in the 2024 election, maintaining a streak of progressive victories in presidential elections since 1972.
Minnesotans’ rejection of Donald Trump solidifies what we already knew: Minnesotans won’t stand for leaders who want to roll back reproductive rights, ban abortion, and put large corporations over the needs of our families and communities.
The First Kenyan Legislator in U.S. History will Lead in the Minnesota House
Huldah Momanyi Hiltsley made history when she became the first Kenyan immigrant to win a state assembly seat anywhere in the United States.
Hiltsley’s first major leadership role in Minnesota was serving as the president of Mwanyagetinge, Minnesota’s largest organization of Kenyans. Now, as a legislator, she promises to work towards building a Minnesota with high-quality education, affordable housing, and accessible health care for all.
She’ll represent Minnesota House District 38A in the upcoming legislative session.
Progressives Delivered Free College for Low-Income Minnesotans
Fall 2024 was the first semester of a flagship program passed by progressives in the Minnesota legislature to provide free college to low-income Minnesota residents.
The North Star Promise is a scholarship that covers the remaining cost of college tuition for low-income undergraduates after all other grants or scholarships have been applied. Minnesota’s “low income” threshold is a household-adjusted gross income of $80,000 or less two years before applying for the program.
Under the scholarship, students are eligible for a free education across Minnesota public higher education institutions, including:
- All Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
- All University of Minnesota campuses
- All Tribal Colleges:
- Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College
- Leech Lake Tribal College
- Red Lake Nation College
- White Earth Tribal and Community College
Read more about how to get free college in Minnesota.
Minnesota Boasted the Most Equitable Tax System in the Country
Thanks to the work of progressives in the Minnesota Legislature and Governor Tim Walz, Minnesota passed a series of historic measures to support working families and reduce childhood poverty. The result: a national study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy determined that Minnesota has the most equitable tax system in the country.
The study noted that Minnesota’s tax system has the lowest rates for low—and middle-income earners of all 50 states.
And Minnesotans are seeing the many benefits enacted by progressives in the legislature, including a nation-leading Child Tax Credit that is helping nearly 400,000 children across the state and reducing Minnesota’s child poverty rate by one-third.
Minnesota is a Beacon of Access to Abortion Care in the Midwest
As president, Donald Trump overturned Roe v. Wade, which eliminated Americans’ constitutional right to abortion, established over 50 years ago, and opened the door for Republicans in states across the country to ban and criminalize access to abortion care.
Since then, twenty states have enacted near-total or total abortion bans, including Minnesota’s neighbors in Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Minnesota abortion providers say that out-of-state abortion patients have doubled since the decision.
That’s because here in Minnesota, our progressive leaders have taken major steps to protect our access to reproductive health care and the rights of those traveling from out of state.
Our right to safe, legal abortion is protected by a Minnesota Supreme Court decision and was codified into law by progressives in the Minnesota Legislature.
The Reproductive Freedom Defense Act also protects out-of-state patients who come to Minnesota to seek care. Now, progressives in the Minnesota Legislature are advocating for IVF and other forms of fertility treatment to be covered by health insurance.
Progressives understand that building a better Minnesota means empowering doctors and patients to make the best possible health care decisions together.
Continue the Fight to Build a Better Minnesota
Though we saw many progressive victories this year, 2024 was not without its headwinds. Going to 2025, Progressives and conservatives in the Minnesota Legislature will share power in the House of Representatives. We know that Minnesota conservatives want to roll back reproductive rights and push policies that benefit corporations while hurting working families. With Donald Trump’s second presidency on the horizon, it’s more important than ever that we work together to protect our schools, families, and communities and build a stronger and more equitable Minnesota for everyone.
Join us in the fight to build a better Minnesota.
