Minnesota Republicans Wednesday were jubilant about the results of a special U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts, Democrats were disappointed but both sides said there are lessons for the Gopher State from the voters of the Bay State.

Republicans said Republican Sen.-elect Scott Brown's victory marks the beginning of the change that's coming.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty said the election was "like a cannon shot....It is a loud and clear rejection of the direction that President Obama has tried to take this country and it's the beginning of turning it back in the right direction."

He also said Brown was an " inspiration to conservatives across the country to continue our fight for freedom from an overbearing federal government."

On North Dakota talk radio, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Woodbury, also saw the freedom fight.

"This is a notch in all of our belts for those of us who stand for freedom," she said. "This is a win for us, a huge win, because our collective voices led to this Massachusetts revolution. It's the people in Massachusetts who cast the ballot, but it's our collective voices that pushed this ball down the court to the point where we could see a victory."

State Rep. Laura Brod, R-New Prague opined: "Scott Brown's election proves that Massachusetts voters, like most Americans, are tired of the status quo and being ignored by their elected officials. There is no doubt his victory is a referendum on the health care debacle taking place in Washington, with congressional Democrats trying to force their plan on skeptical Americans."

Democrats, mourning their party's loss of the seat Sen. Ted Kennedy held for decades and the brief life of their Senate supermajority, saw the election as a wakeup call.

"I think the Massachusetts election yesterday shows that Democrats are looking for strong leaders who speak their mind and are going to deliver and they're very unhappy with congress and they are unhappy with elected officials in general," said DFL candidate for governor Matt Entenza. "There is a feeling that the leadership isn't delivering."

Entenza also took a shot at U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada: "I think the sort of Harry Reid or weaker kind of leadership, isn't going to cut it."

Gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton said: "It was a sad day yesterday."

He said the results showed: "People are looking for progress....they're expecting results and they have a right to results. I don't think it's about partisanship, I think it's about progress."

Jeff Blodgett, former campaign manager to late Sen. Paul Wellstone and executive director of Wellstone Action, said in a blog post that progressives should draw three lessons from Massachusetts:

  • Quality candidates running quality campaigns still matters the most.
  • Our leaders have to find their populist voice and compete for the populist voter.
  • Politics is not about pundits and predictions; it's about what we do.

Staff Writer Eric Roper kindly contributed to this post.