Democrats Win Minnesota Special Election, Restoring Balance

Democrats Win Minnesota State House Special Election, Restoring Balance

Democrats emerged victorious in a Minnesota state House special election on Tuesday night, according to The Associated Press. This win restores a tie in the chamber, putting an end to months of power struggle in the Legislature.

The victory in the reliably Democratic 40B state House district, located in the northern suburbs of St. Paul, means that control of the chamber will be split evenly, with both Democrats and Republicans holding 67 seats. This outcome likely ensures the continuation of the power-sharing arrangement reached by the two parties in February.

The AP projected Democrat David Gottfried as the winner over Republican Paul Wikstrom in the special election. This election was held after a state court ruled that the Democrat who had initially won the race in November, Curtis Johnson, did not meet residency requirements and could not be seated. Johnson had defeated Wikstrom in the November election, but his exit had temporarily granted Republicans a one-seat majority in the state House.

Gottfried's win prevents Republicans from significantly hindering Democratic priorities in the state government, as the Democratic Party already holds the governorship and a narrow one-seat majority in the Senate.

This special election marks the latest chapter in an unusual drama that has unfolded in Minnesota legislative politics. This drama has included a Democratic walkout that turned into a weeks-long boycott of the legislative session, as well as the court ruling that kept the seat vacant for months.

Following the court ruling against Johnson, Republicans devised a plan to take control of the chamber with their temporary one-seat majority. However, state House Democrats staged a walkout in January to deny Republicans the necessary quorum to move forward with this plan. The party's lawmakers refused to show up for the first day of the legislative session on January 14th. Later, the state Supreme Court blocked Republicans' attempt to convene their own session.

State House Democrats boycotted the chamber for nearly three weeks.

In February, Democrats and Republicans reached a new power-sharing agreement, anticipating that Democrats would win the special election and result in a 67-67 tie in the chamber.

Under this agreement, Republican Rep. Lisa Demuth will serve as the speaker for the next two years. The parties agreed to co-chair the House's committees, with each committee requiring an equal number of Democrats and Republicans.

Another key aspect of the deal was that House Republicans agreed not to take action to remove Democratic Rep. Brad Tabke, whose narrow 14-vote win in November was called into question when election officials discovered they had accidentally thrown out 21 absentee ballots without counting them.