Car tabs, Cybertrucks and guns: How a rematch in an east metro district could determine control of the Minnesota Senate

In a 2022 state Senate contest, DFLer Judy Seeberger beat Republican Tom Dippel by a grand total of 321 votes. 

Dippel was subsequently elected to the Minnesota House in 2024 and is again challenging Seeberger this year. He hopes voters in Cottage Grove, Hastings and other District 41 communities will blame rising prices on the DFL Party and vote for him. 

“People made a different choice at that time and now they have higher property taxes, car tab fees and food prices,” Dippel said in an interview at Lion’s Park in Hastings. 

Seeberger, meanwhile, faults Trump administration policies like the U.S. i...