Rep. Paul Torkelson chats with Randy Schroeder (left) of Frandsen Bank after his talk at the New Ulm Rotary Club.

NEW ULM — Republican legislators in Minnesota were expecting to ride a big “Red Wave” in the 2022 election to take the majority in the Minnesota House and Senate, State Rep. Paul Torkelson (R-Hanska) said Tuesday.

Speaking to the New Ulm Rotary Club, Torkelson said the Red Wave turned into a “red ripple,” and instead of winning control of the Legislature, Republicans lost control of both. Democrats maintained a 4-vote margin in the House of Representatives, and a one-vote margin in the Senate. With Democrat Tim Walz in the governor’s office, were poised to push through an ambitious agenda in 2023.

After the election, the Republican Caucus met to elect new leadership. Former House Speaker Kurt Daudt was replaced and Rep. Lisa Demuth of Cold Spring was elected to be House Minority Leader. She, in turn, asked Torkelson to be her Deputy Minority Leader, a position he accepted.

Even with the slim majorities in the House and Senate, the Democrats, with House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic in charge pushed a list of 30 legislative issues they hoped to achieve through the Legislature, and they were signed by Walz.

Torkelson said that with a $17 billion surplus available to them last year, Democrats still managed to pass an increase in the gasoline tax.

“The Democrats have what we call the trifecta, with a majority in the Senate and House and hold the governor’s office,” Torkelson said. “I’ve been around long enough in the Legislature that that’s happened to me before, in 2013 when Mark Dayton was governor.”

That situation was dramatically different, said Torkelson. Dayton was able to see the political impact of what the Democratic legislators wanted to do, and said no to issues like increasing the gas tax.

“I never thought I’d say that I’m kind of thankful for Mark Dayton, but he kind of pulled back a bit” on issues, said Torkelson.

Under Walz, said Torkelson, Democrats have passed their long wish list and as a result, Minnesota is unique in this region of the U.S. “If you look around, we are kind of a stand alone in may areas,” Torkelson said. “And when we stand out alone, we are alone.”

The state is becoming a sanctuary state in the region, with protection for abortions up until the ninth month of pregnancy, with protections for transgender health care for children, and so on.

With a $17 billion surplus, the state was unable to work out meaningful tax reductions, said Torkelson. People with means are going to see that the cost of living continues to rise in Minnesota and are beginning to move to more reasonable economic climates.

Even on a traditionally bipartisan issue like election laws, Walz has side with his party. In the past, governors from both parties has said they would not sign election legislation unless it had the support of both parties. This year, Walz signed an election bill that was created by Democrats and was passed by Democrats with no Republican support.

Torkelson said Republicans will be working in the upcoming legislative session to push more conservative issues, to raise again the issue of removing the state tax on Social Security, to seek more financial support for nursing homes struggling with economic issues, to revisit the cannabis regulation issue as well other issues that need fixing.

Torkelson said he will continue to work toward building relationships across the aisle. He cited the work done in the last session with a committee set up to work behind the scenes on nursing home and extended care issues. It came up with good ideas but had to fight in the session to get more money for it in the budget.

Torkelson would also like to bring more focus on the funding disparities between rural and metro areas in Minnesota.