Gov. Tim Walz calls special election in seat critical to Minnesota House control

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has called a March special election to fill a vacancy in a state House seat that’s thrown the entire chamber into chaos.

Walz’s writ issued Wednesday sets a March 11 special election date in House District 40B, which includes the cities of Roseville and Shoreview. A primary election is scheduled for Feb. 25.

The seat is open after a Ramsey County judge ruled in December that DFL candidate Curtis Johnson lived in Little Canada, which is outside of the district, and couldn’t take the oath of office. Johnson didn’t appeal the judge’s ruling.

The ruling temporarily shifted a 67-67 split in the chamber to a 67-66 edge for Republicans, who walked away from power-sharing negotiations with Democrats and attempted to take control of the chamber and committees when the session began in January.

Democrats boycotted the session to prevent Republicans from getting a quorum, the number of members needed to conduct business. In a January order, the Supreme Court agreed that 68 votes are needed to do any business in the chamber, voiding any votes Republicans have taken so far this year.

But Republicans prevailed in a petition to the Supreme Court over the timing of the special election. They challenged the Walz administration for issuing an earlier writ of special election in December, before the 2025 legislative session began and there was a vacancy in the seat.

The court ruled the timing violated state law and voided a Jan. 28 special election, which was already underway.

Two candidates had been running in the race before the court’s decision: David Gottfried, a Democrat, and Republican Paul Wikstrom. Democrats won the seat last fall by more than 30 percentage points.

Candidates have until Feb. 11 to register to run for the seat.