Congressional seat at stake in upcoming Census

 

MINNEAPOLIS — New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show Minnesota’s population growth slowed down slightly in 2019. And, that has some concerned the state could lose a congressional seat after the 2020 Census.

The spring census will determine how the country’s 435 congressional seats are divvied up.

Minnesota’s population grew by about 0.6% last year, or about 33,000 people. That was down slightly from 0.7% the prior year.

State demographer Susan Brower said she’s less confident Minnesota will keep the seat, but that it’s still within reach.

Election Data Services, a Virginia consulting firm that studies reapportionment, projects the state will fall about 21,000 and 25,000 people short of keeping the seat.

But, consultant Kimball Brower said the number of people Minnesota needs to keep its seat is not insurmountable.

“That’s very much within both of the (margins of) error that’s built into the (population) estimates and … what we could make up with a really good count,” Brower said.

Minnesota, which has about 5.6 million people, outperformed neighboring states. The state’s annual growth has been about four times the growth in the Midwest region overall in recent years.

State officials will learn in December 2020 if Minnesota will lose the seat based on the census results. There’s more than just a seat at stake because Minnesota could also lose one of its 10 votes in the Electoral College, diminishing its power in presidential elections.