Lobby Day takes new direction for 2026

Lobby Day 2026 will look different to the hundreds of members expected to participate at the Capitol this year. This is due to the shorter length of the legislative session and the policy year focus.   

MAPE’s annual rally will be held on March 24 on the Capitol lawn instead of inside the Capitol Rotunda. To focus on our legislative agenda and messaging on revenue, we will have smaller delegations of up to five members per House district lobby visits and 10 members for Senate districts. Lobby visits for districts in Greater Minnesota will take place on March 24, and lobby visits for districts in the metro area will take place over a couple of weeks. 

The Lobby Day Rally will begin at 12 p.m. on March 24 – sign up now! Since the rally is held over the lunch hour, MAPE Central will not cover lost time for the rally. However, Locals can choose to include lost time funding for the Lobby Day Rally in their 2026 budgets.  

“Last year, we brought out record numbers, but this year, we really wanted to link Lobby Day visits to our precinct caucus turnout initiative,” Political Council Vice Chair Jon VanOeveren, Local 1002, said. “Priorities focused on going to caucus and the endorsement conventions. It makes sense to build those relationships directly and consistently with your elected officials.” 

VanOeveren emphasized the importance of elected officials being able to put a face to MAPE and building relationships over time. “I’ve built good relationships with my representatives, Senator John Marty and Representative David Gottfried. I’ve worked with them on securing delegate support for Senate District Convention endorsements. I’ve also helped them door knock and campaign. When I send an email, they respond quickly. In turn, they contact me regarding what MAPE thinks on issues.”  

Political Council members and/or MAPE Political and Legislative staff will be attending the lobby visits to support the work and help with follow-up. If you are interested in being selected for the lobby visits, sign up here. 

Members will have the opportunity to meet with other members who live in their Senate districts before the meetings take place. VanOeveren and Local 801’s Rachel Beise met at their Senate District (SD) 40 meeting last year at Lobby Day. A handful of them have continued meeting and texting over the past year.  

Beise and other members met before the primary caucus to discuss the labor resolutions being presented. “It’s important for legislators to see constituents engaged in issues. My senator and representative have both told me they want to see MAPE people in their offices on Lobby Day,” Beise said. She also serves as a Civic Engagement Officer and a member of the Contract Action Team.    

“Getting together before meeting Senator Marty makes more people relaxed and more likely to show up. They ask what to expect. The buddy system is so important – we can be lost in the Capitol together,” Beise joked.  

“I also send emails to my MAPE cohort, ‘Let’s do Lobby Day, let’s do caucus’ and members thank me for doing this.”  

“We all need to stick together, and we all need to take care of each other. My favorite quote is paraphrased from a cultural ecologist in the 1950s, ‘to see through the differences to see the similarities.’”  

“Lobby Day is one of many days we should be engaging with our elected officials. We should have that relationship we can reach out to them when we run into telework and other issues. Building those relationships is the only way we can have success on our issues,” VanOeveren added.