GOP sues over timing of special election crucial to Minnesota House power balance
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Minnesota Republicans are suing over the timing of a late-January special election that could determine if the state House moves back into a tie or remains in GOP hands deeper into the new legislative session.
The lawsuit filed with the Minnesota Supreme Court aims to halt the Jan. 28 special election for now. It was called in late December by Gov. Tim Walz to fill a seat covering parts of Roseville and Shoreview. The high court signaled Monday it would move fast to decide the case.
The DFL candidate who won the open seat in November, Curtis Johnson, was later disqualified by a judge over residency problems. He opted against an appeal and said he wouldn’t try to take office.
Walz invoked a seldom-used state law to schedule the special election even before the House convened with 133 members instead of the full complement of 134. The outcome of the case is crucial because Republicans will come into the 2025 session with 67 seats to 66 for the DFL; the race for a seat favoring Democrats could push the House into a tie.
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“Petitioners have found no other example in any special election in the history of Minnesota with similar facts and such an impetuous timeline,” the lawsuit read.
Republicans don’t dispute that a special election is needed, but they take issue with the timing. They say Walz should have waited longer to schedule the race, thereby giving GOP a slight advantage for more of the budget-setting session.
“Issuing a writ that blatantly violates state law is a clear attempt to undermine our elections and harm our democracy,” Minnesota Republican Party Alex Plechash said in announcing the legal action. ”If we didn't think there wasn’t a law being broken here, or that the governor wasn’t following the statute, we wouldn’t be standing here today.”
Walz spokesperson Claire Lancaster said the DFL governor acted within the law to make sure the seat doesn’t remain vacant for longer than necessary.
“State law requires the governor to call a special election as soon as possible. Representative Jamie Becker Finn’s term ends today, and there is no one to take her place,” Lancaster said in a written statement. “Republicans are trying to use the courts to prevent Democratic legislators from being seated.”
The Minnesota Supreme Court set short deadlines for the parties to submit briefs in the case, with the final one due on Friday. Justices plan to hold an oral argument in the case on Wednesday, Jan. 15.
There is another disputed House race that still awaits a judicial ruling. That contest, covering a Shakopee-area seat, involves a race that DFL Rep. Brad Tabke won by 14 votes in the certified tally following a mandatory recount. Republican challenger Aaron Paul sued, centering his case on 20 absentee ballots that went missing before they could make it into the tally.
A December trial included testimony from some voters behind the affected ballots; enough of them said they voted for Tabke to put his lead into safe territory. But Paul’s legal team has said that testimony is no substitute for the actual ballots, which officials say were discarded and probably can’t be recovered. Paul wants a special election.
Once Judge Tracy Perzel rules, her findings will be forwarded to the Minnesota House unless there is an appeal. The House could go along with her recommendations or take another route given that members are ultimately in charge of deciding who gets seated. If it comes to that, state law appears to prevent Tabke from voting on his own status.
MPR News senior politics reporter Dana Ferguson contributed to this story.