The state Republican Party and conservative Minnesota Voters Alliance have asked the state Supreme Court to void Gov. Tim Walz’s decision to hold a special election Jan. 28 for a DFL-held House seat.
The legal challenge is among the unsettled issues that will determine which party controls the Legislature in the 2025 session, which starts in just more than a week. Republicans will begin the session with a 67-66 advantage in the House because the Roseville-area seat was left open after a court order voided a DFLer’s victory.
The stakes are tremendous for both parties and set the table for an historically rocky start of the Legislature on Jan. 14.
Until the December court order, the DFL and GOP were to open the session tied at 67 members each and had been discussing a power-sharing agreement. But now Republicans say the 67-66 advantage will allow them to elect a speaker and control committee assignments. DFLers disagree; they say 68 votes are needed for any House action, including the election of a speaker.
The GOP petition seeks to delay the special election — and prolong the party’s advantage. Regardless of when the election occurs, the DFL is heavily favored to retain control of the seat, returning the House to a 67-67 tie.
The GOP petition claimed Walz prematurely called the special election before the seat was vacant because incumbent Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn, DFL-Roseville, remains in office.
Becker-Finn didn’t seek re-election in November, and DFLer Curtis Johnson won her seat by beating Republican Paul Wikstrom by 30 percentage points. Wikstrom is running for the seat again.
But Ramsey County District Judge Leonardo Castro ruled last month that Johnson was ineligible to run for or hold the post because he lives in a house in Little Canada, not the Roseville apartment he had rented and claimed to call home. Johnson chose not to appeal Castro’s ruling and said he would resign.
