Minnesota DFL Glossary
Political terms and acronyms
If you've sat through a DFL meeting, read a campaign email, or tried to follow a legislative session and found yourself drowning in alphabet soup — this page is for you. Minnesota politics has its own vocabulary, and knowing it makes everything else easier to follow.
On this page:
The DFL and party organization
Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) — Minnesota's affiliate of the national Democratic Party. The name reflects a 1944 merger between the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer-Labor Party, which had separately represented labor and agricultural interests in the state. Learn more: What is the DFL?
Senate District (SD) — One of 67 legislative districts in Minnesota. Each is represented by one state senator in the Minnesota Legislature. Senate District 14 covers parts of Stearns, Benton, and Sherburne counties in central Minnesota. Learn more: What is a senate district?
House District (HD) — Each Senate District is divided into two House Districts, each represented by one member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. There are 134 House Districts statewide.
Congressional District (CD) — One of eight federal districts in Minnesota, each represented by one member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressional Districts are larger than state legislative districts and used only for federal elections.
Basic Political Organizing Unit (BPOU) — The local building block of DFL party organization. Depending on geography and population, a BPOU may be organized around a county, a senate district, or a house district. BPOUs hold caucuses, elect local party officers, and send delegates to conventions.
Organizing Unit (OU) — Another term for BPOU. The two are used interchangeably in most DFL contexts.
State Central Committee (SCC) — The governing body of the Minnesota DFL between state conventions. Made up of elected representatives from each congressional district, the SCC handles ongoing party business, policy decisions, and organizational matters between the larger convention gatherings.
Precinct — The smallest official unit of election administration in Minnesota. Each precinct has its own polling place, its own set of DFL precinct officers, and its own allocation of convention delegates. Learn more: What is a precinct?
Precinct Chair / Vice Precinct Chair — Elected DFL officers at the precinct level, chosen at precinct caucuses for two-year terms. They are responsible for local organizing, voter contact, and attending Central Committee meetings on behalf of their precinct.
Delegate — A person elected at a precinct caucus or convention to represent their precinct at the next level of the party convention process — from precinct to senate district, from senate district to congressional district, and so on up to the State Convention.
Alternate — A person elected to step in for a delegate who is unable to attend a convention. Alternates are seated if the delegate they back up is absent.
Conventions and the endorsement process
Caucus — A neighborhood meeting where DFL members gather to discuss resolutions, elect precinct officers, and elect delegates to the next level of the convention process. The precinct caucus is the most accessible entry point for most DFL participation. Caucuses are not the same as primary elections — they are party organizing events, not official government elections.
Convention — A formal gathering of elected delegates at the senate district, congressional district, or state level. Conventions endorse candidates for office, elect party officers, and pass platform resolutions that shape the party's official positions.
Endorsement — Formal party support for a candidate, granted by a vote of convention delegates. In the DFL, endorsement requires 60% of delegate votes. Endorsed candidates receive party resources and organizational backing. Candidates who do not receive endorsement may still appear on the primary ballot. Learn more: How candidates get endorsed
Platform — The official statement of the party's values and policy positions, adopted at the State Convention. The platform is built from resolutions passed at every level of the convention process, from precinct caucuses up to the state level.
Trifecta — A political situation in which one party controls the governorship, the state senate, and the state house simultaneously, giving it the ability to pass legislation without needing support from the other party.
Elected offices
Secretary of State (SOS) — Minnesota's chief elections officer. The Secretary of State oversees voter registration, election administration, and business filings for the state. This is a statewide elected office.
Attorney General (AG) — Minnesota's chief legal officer. The Attorney General represents the state in court and has authority over consumer protection enforcement, Medicaid fraud investigations, and other areas of state law. The AG's jurisdiction is state law — the office does not handle federal prosecutions.
Lieutenant Governor (LG) — The second-highest executive officer in Minnesota state government. The Lieutenant Governor assumes the governorship if the Governor is unable to serve. In Minnesota, the LG runs on a joint ticket with the Governor and is elected together with them.
Democratic National Committee (DNC) — The governing body of the national Democratic Party. The Minnesota DFL is a state affiliate of the DNC, which sets national party rules, organizes presidential nominating conventions, and coordinates national electoral strategy.
Republican National Committee (RNC) — The governing body of the national Republican Party. Minnesota's counterpart to the DFL is the Republican Party of Minnesota (RPM), which is affiliated with the RNC.
Independence Party of Minnesota (IP) — A third party that has appeared on Minnesota ballots. It is distinct from both the DFL and the Republican Party of Minnesota. The party has been active at various points in recent decades, most notably in gubernatorial races.
The Minnesota Legislature
House File (HF) — A bill introduced in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Bills are numbered sequentially within each two-year legislative session. For example, HF 123 is the 123rd bill introduced in the House during that session. Most House bills have a companion Senate File covering the same subject. Learn more: How a bill becomes a law
Senate File (SF) — A bill introduced in the Minnesota Senate. Like House Files, Senate Files are numbered sequentially each session. An SF and its companion HF address the same policy but move through their respective chambers independently until a unified version is reconciled and sent to the Governor.
House Resolution (HR) — A formal statement or action taken by the U.S. House of Representatives at the federal level. HR is a federal designation; it is not used in the Minnesota Legislature, which uses HF and SF for its bills.
Senate Bill (S.) — A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate at the federal level, written as S. followed by a number. Like HR, this designation applies to federal legislation and is separate from Minnesota's SF system.
Omnibus bill — A single piece of legislation that bundles together many related appropriations or policy changes. Omnibus bills are common at the end of Minnesota legislative sessions — for example, a single omnibus education bill may contain dozens of distinct policy items and the full education budget for the biennium.
Committee — A subgroup of legislators assigned to review bills in a specific subject area before they advance to a full floor vote. Bills typically must pass through one or more committees ( including a finance or appropriations committee if they involve spending) before the full chamber votes on them. Learn more: How a bill becomes a law
Markup — The committee process of reviewing, amending, and editing a bill before voting on whether to advance it. The term comes from federal legislative practice and is used informally in coverage of state legislatures as well.
Veto — The Governor's constitutional power to reject a bill passed by the legislature. A vetoed bill does not become law unless the legislature overrides the veto.
Line-item veto — The Governor's power to reject specific spending items within an appropriations bill without vetoing the entire bill. Minnesota's Governor has line-item veto authority over appropriations.
Pocket veto — A situation in which the Governor allows a bill to expire without signing or vetoing it after the legislature has adjourned. Because the legislature is no longer in session, the bill cannot be reconsidered.
Override — A legislative vote to enact a bill despite a Governor's veto. In Minnesota, an override requires a two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate.
Sine die — Latin for "without a day." The formal end of a legislative session. When the Minnesota Legislature adjourns sine die, the session is over and no further business can be conducted until the next session convenes.
Concurrent resolution — A resolution passed by both chambers of the legislature that does not carry the force of law. Concurrent resolutions are typically used for procedural matters or expressions of legislative intent.
Memorial resolution — A Minnesota-specific type of resolution used to express the legislature's sentiment on a matter, such as honoring a person, commemorating an event, without creating law or appropriating funds.