This is what they mean by leftward:
But things changed in 2022 when the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, or D.F.L., took complete control of the state government. The centrist governor transformed into a hero of the progressive left, enshrining abortion rights into law, legalizing marijuana, enacting a statewide paid family leave program, offering drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants, tightening gun control laws and passing climate goals.