Minnesota Capitol control remains in flux after senator’s death, House seat vacated

Minnesota will close out this election year with control of the Capitol in a temporary state of upheaval.

Two special elections are scheduled for Jan. 28. One is a tiebreaking race in the Senate and another is for a House seat that could solidify or break a temporary advantage for Republicans. 

The death of Sen. Kari Dziedzic, a former majority leader, spurred the Senate vacancy and the decision of DFLer Curtis Johnson not to appeal a challenge to his election prompted the opening in the House.

Questions also remain about additional special elections in the new year with a Shakopee-area House seat still subject to a legal challenge and a state senator due to stand trial for burglary next month.

Here’s how the situation is shaping up with just two weeks until lawmakers return to St. Paul.

Two seats up for special elections

Gov. Tim Walz set the timing for special elections in a Roseville-area House race and a Minneapolis-area Senate race. Both will take place on Jan. 28 and the filing period to run for the seats closed Tuesday.

Both elections will have crowded fields at the outset.

Thirteen candidates filed for the Senate seat.

The Democrats who filed are: Doron Clark, Peter Wagenius, Iris Grace Altamirano, Mohamed Jama, Monica Meyer, Joshua Preston, Amal Karim, Emilio César Rodríguez, Clay Morgan and Harold Melcher.

The Republicans who filed are: Jonathan Kraemer, Abigail Wolters and Christopher Robin Zimmerman.

The party nominees will need to win a Jan. 14 primary to advance to the election two weeks later.

For the House seat, DFLers who filed and headed to a Jan. 14 primary are: Mark Pitman, John Doan, David Gottfried, Jasmine Carey and Kaying Thao

Republican Paul Wikstrom, who was his party’s nominee in November, again filed to run for the seat.

The fields could still narrow. Candidates have until Thursday evening to pull their names from consideration.

Meanwhile, Republicans criticized Walz for requiring such a short turnaround for candidates to decide on a run and file before the end of the day. Both special elections were announced within the past few days, including the Senate sat on Monday.

“One-day notice is absurd,” state Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, wrote on X.

A Walz spokesperson said the unusual situation called for the quick timeline, suggesting people living in the affected districts shouldn’t have to go without representation for an extended period of time at the start of a legislative session.

Agreements over power-sharing between the political parties could also be reopened as the Senate prepares to kick off the legislative session with a 33-33 tie. Republicans in the House enter with a one-vote lead — 67 to 66 over Democrats — pending the special election outcome.

Johnson, who handily prevailed in November’s election, said Friday he wouldn’t appeal a court defeat that bars him from filling the seat. His decision to stand down paved the way for a quick special election. 

It brings an end to a court challenge brought by his Republican rival over an unusual living arrangement. Just before Christmas, a Ramsey County District Court judge agreed that Johnson didn’t properly establish residency in the district he hoped to represent. The judge declared Johnson ineligible to take office.

Republican House Leader Lisa Demuth has said that a majority is a majority — even if it’s temporary. She said that could position her to become House speaker when lawmakers gavel in on Jan. 14.

Democrats disagree with even calling the single-seat edge a majority, and there is debate about what the parties can do with a lead that’s short of the 68 needed to pass any bills.

Other swings possible

More twists could be on the horizon, too: A court challenge in a Shakopee-area House race remains open and a DFL state senator is also due to stand trial on burglary charges next month.

Attorneys for Republican House candidate Aaron Paul and DFL Rep. Brad Tabke filed closing argument briefs with the court after a short trial this month in Scott County.

Paul argued that there should be a new election in the Shakopee district because 20 missing ballots could have put him over the top. Tabke won by 14 votes.

“The only thing certain about the House District 54A race is that more votes were lost than the margin between Aaron Paul and Brad Tabke,” Paul’s attorney Reid LeBeau II wrote in his brief. “Many questions remain, and many will likely go unanswered.”

Tabke said that’s mathematically impossible because there was sworn testimony from enough voters whose ballots went missing to prove his lead would hold up even if those ballots resurfaced.

"Contestant must present evidence demonstrating that it is not possible to know how the uncounted ballots were cast; a burden which he simply cannot sustain on this record,” Tabke’s lawyer David Zoll said in a written brief. “To the contrary, the evidence demonstrates the opposite — the evidence proves who the voters are and for whom they voted for."

Judge Tracy Perzel is expected to rule soon in the case, which will determine what happens next. But even with an order in the case, the House could override Perzel because members decide who gets seated.

Also looming is a trial involving first-term DFL Sen. Nicole Mitchell of Woodbury. She faces a felony burglary charge. Attorneys representing Mitchell and prosecutors from Becker County updated a judge Tuesday and said they had not resolved the case. If they don’t reach agreement, a multi-day jury trial is scheduled to start Jan. 27, about two weeks after the legislative session kicks off.

In April, Mitchell was arrested at her stepmother’s home in Detroit Lakes. She was charged with felony burglary after trying to retrieve several items that belonged to her late father.

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