For decades, special legislative elections were pretty darn special to the Minnesota GOP.

From 1980 to the spring of 1999, the GOP logged victories in 36 out of 40 special elections.

"Republicans had a tremendous track record of winning special elections," said Michael Brodkorb, former Republican Party deputy chairman.

But that has changed. Of the 25 special elections called to fill legislative vacancies since late 1999, the DFL has won 16. Republicans have won only two of the last 12, according to an analysis of Minnesota Legislative Reference Library data.

That record is unlikely to change soon. The next two special elections will be on Jan. 10, to replace former Rep. Jeff Hayden, who won a Senate seat in a special election last month, and Sen. Larry Pogemiller, who will become director of the state's Office of Higher Education. Both are in the DFL bastion of Minneapolis.

Several of the most recent elections have been in DFL strongholds. But that does not completely explain the turnaround. "Republicans lost seats that they should have won in some of these special elections," said Brodkorb, a state Senate staffer.

The DFLers' attitude about special elections also has changed.

"Part of it is really not taking anything for granted and putting our resources and time and energy into those elections," Party Chair Ken Martin said. DFLers went out of their way to focus on the recent Brooklyn Park/Brooklyn Center race, though it tends to be a strong area for them, he said. The party had lost special elections in that area before and did not want to let that happen again.

DFLers have also built up their database of voters, allowing them to tap partisans more quickly when they need them to turn out for special elections. That's something the Republicans had struggled with over the past few years, although they have recently improved their voter files.

Despite the tougher times for Republicans, the Legislature has gained some GOP members in special elections who went on to powerful positions. Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, R-Buffalo, and House Speaker Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, both first came to office in special elections.

Zellers said such races allow leaders to help very personally because they tend to be the only game in town. That focus can also add to the strain. "At that point, in 2003, we had won one [special] and lost one and I was the last one. It was an extreme amount of pressure," Zellers said. He still recalls his instruction from then-House Speaker Steve Sviggum: "Kurt, don't screw it up."