The first attendee for the Hastings GOP precinct caucus was Chad Kalis, who arrived just before the event officially opened at 6:30 p.m. in the High School Commons.
Kalis was a first-time caucus attendee, brought out to the event to “bring back common sense.”
Soon a line formed before the tables set up by Will Waggoner, site organizer and Chair of Senate District 41 for the Minnesota GOP.
The 2026 caucus was Waggoner’s third time organizing a GOP caucus and he was frank about how the tides of attendees ebb and flow over the years:
“We can remember years like 2016, 2020, a lot bigger turnout. Presidential years will do that. Last year, it wasn’t anything and we had 21 people for the entire city and for Nininger. I’m hoping we get 75; that would be nice and manageable.”
It was a sentiment echoed by Mary Nehring, site organizer for the DFL caucus in the middle school: “When we last had a caucus, I think we had 20 people.”
Unlike those slow years, both caucuses boasted dozens of attendees who would go on to elect delegates, draft resolutions and hear from their neighbors on issues big and small.
As to the increase in attendees, “It’s a sign of the turmoil in the country,” said Nehring.
Central to the idea of caucuses are passing resolutions that would theoretically make their way up to the state level and change the state party platform. These resolutions range from the wide reaching to hyper-specific like changing the definition within an established pillar.
“There’s a very wide varying of opinions,” said Waggoner. “If you want to get that in, you gotta start it here.”
That wide variety of opinions was reflected in the issues that brought out voters. Many referenced statewide issues like affordability or ending fraud.
Others, like first-time caucus attendee Rochelle McDonald came out explicitly to talk about a single issue: the Manufactured Home Resident’s Bill of Rights which would extend several rights to those living in manufactured home parks like Three Rivers where McDonald lives.
“I figure if I come here and become a delegate, I can get that heard,” said McDonald.
Many caucus attendees, especially first-time attendees, referenced a single issue that brought them out to the event, from expanding social security, banning transgender athletes in high school sports or lowering taxes.
After leading the group in prayer, Rep. Tom Dippel (R – Cottage Grove) opened the GOP Caucus. His message centered squarely on affordability and fraud: “Everybody wonders, why are my property taxes so high? Why is everything getting so expensive? And it’s because of this really, really dishonest and totally unorganized way of running government.”
That message centering on affordability was one that echoed across town in the DFL caucus from Jen Fox, a candidate for House District 41B who spoke to getting state funding for future Hastings water treatment plants: “We need clean water, which is going to take a bonding bill. We need somebody who’s going to fight for communication and collaboration and actually make the bonding bill happen,” said Fox.
William Beck, the GOP candidate for House District 41B, also referenced affordability: “Minnesota used to be a great place to raise a kid, to raise a family. I don’t think it’s that way anymore. Things are far too expensive. There are far too many regulations, and frankly, there’s a lot of social unrest too.”
The GOP Caucus would go on to a straw poll for gubernatorial candidates. Statewide, the GOP frontrunners were Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth, followed by Kendall Qualls and Mike Lindell.
The Hastings DFL Caucus declined a gubernatorial straw poll because Sen. Amy Klobuchar was the only DFL candidate on the ballot.
From there, the caucuses split off to discuss resolutions and elect delegates.
Electing delegates is often a factor of attendance. While some attendees like McDonald came out explicitly to become a delegate in order to shepherd specific issues through the process, during years with low turnout, every caucus attendee might end up being a delegate, said Waggoner.
That was largely not the case last week because of the high turnout across both caucuses.
A group of more than a dozen caucus attendees fell silent at the DFL caucus as the question of who would step forward as the delegate was posed.
“What the hell,” said Kevin Partington, taking up the role.
DFL Caucus structure requires an acceptance speech for incoming delegates, and Partington’s “speech” got a laugh from his group, indicative of the informality often seen in that process.
At the outset of the caucus, Waggoner highlighted academic excellence and fraud as the key issues that resolutions would center around at the GOP caucus. Nehring referenced affordability and climate change.
Some residents, like Don Slaten, arrived with a stack of resolutions. Others quickly penned ideas as the group’s discussion moved forward.
Some resolutions from the DFL caucus included implementing wage ratios for executives based on the lowest paid company employee, expanding social security, and a number of resolutions on federal immigration.
“Over the last month, we’ve seen how Minnesotans gather and support their neighbors and work together to keep people safe. That’s not new. That is what Minnesota is all about,” said Fox.
The caucus structure is one that many have criticized as outdated and exclusionary. Many states forgo caucuses altogether outside of those put on by political parties.
“Some people call it really grassroots, and they love it. Others say it’s an antiquated process that disenfranchises a lot of people who can’t be at a specific location on a specific night,” said Waggoner.
Waggoner said he sees the logic in both sides of the argument but falls somewhere in the middle and is happy to have the event that helps people become more civically engaged.
For Nehring, it was a chance for “spirited but kind” discussion between neighbors on the topics that really mattered.