Minnesota State Senator David Tomassoni (I) died on Aug. 11, 2022, at Solvay Hospice. Tomassoni represented District 6 from 2001 to 2022. Prior to joining the state Senate, Tomassoni served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1991 to 2001.
Tomassoni was elected to the state Senate in 2000. At the time of his death, he was serving as senate president pro tempore. He had previously served as president of the senate in 2020. On Nov. 18, 2020, Tomassoni and Sen. Thomas Bakk announced that they were leaving the Democratic-Farmer-Labor caucus to form a new independent caucus.
Since the legislature’s session has already concluded, no special election will be called to replace Tomassoni since he had already announced he would not run for re-election. A new state senator for the district will be elected in the November election.
As of Aug. 18, Ballotpedia has identified 156 state legislators who have switched parties since 1994. Of those 156, 41 were state senators and 115 were state representatives. Tomassoni was one of eight state legislators to switch parties in 2020. Of the eight, two switched from Democratic to independent, one from Democratic to Republican, one from Republican to Libertarian, one from independent to Republican, and three from Democratic to independent. Additional reading:
- Minnesota State Senate
- Minnesota State Senate District 6
- State legislators who have switched political party affiliation
