ST. PAUL (AP) — The Minnesota Legislature convened Friday for a special session to finish crafting a $48 billion, two-year state budget that appeared likely to last at least three days because of objections by House Republicans to the way top leaders negotiated the bills in a rush behind closed doors.

But House Democrats were already looking ahead to next year’s session and how they might turn Republicans’ blocking of key priorities against them in next year’s election.

House Speaker Melissa Hortman said Democrats “fought until the very last minute” to try to include some of their top priorities in the final bills but ran out of time before Monday’s mandatory adjournment for the regular session. She cited driver’s licenses for everyone regardless of immigration status, making it easier for workplace sexual harassment victims to sue and making emergency insulin supplies more affordable.

House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler said they could raise their issues again next year — and use them against Republicans in the 2020 campaign when they hope to hold the House and retake the Senate. He cited gun control, paid family and medical leave and some education measures.

“We feel like we’ve made some progress this year and we have marked out where we want to go in the future,” Winkler said.

Hortman acknowledged that the end of a session can be a “pretty crazy, frantic time” but put a positive spin on the marathon closed-door budget talks between her, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and Republican Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka.

“We will enact a two-year budget for the state of Minnesota that has really strong funding for our schools, and secures the health care for more than a million Minnesotans,” Hortman said.