Minnesota House is tied after DFL wins special election. Here’s what changes

Democrat David Gottfried defeated GOP opponent Paul Wikstrom in a Tuesday special election to fill a vacant House seat representing Roseville and Shoreview.

The unofficial results will require certification before Gottfried joins the House. Gottfried received 70.15 percent support with a total of 9,352 votes. Wikstrom received nearly 4,000 votes.

But the result brings the House into a tie – with 67 Republicans and 67 Democrats – and prompts a reset at the Capitol under a bipartisan power-sharing agreement reached earlier this year.

Under that deal, Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth will retain that role and the GOP will also keep a majority on a new committee focused on proposals to fight fraud and abuse in government-funded programs. In her role, Demuth gets to rule on motions and amendments as members debate bills and resolutions.

But other committees will come under joint leadership with even numbers of Republicans and Democrats represented. Those committees will have co-chairs. That rule applies to conference committees formed to iron out differences between Senate and House bills.

Beginning Tuesday, Democrats and Republicans leading the panels will switch off setting agendas and running the committees. House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park,

“I think we're both ready to turn the page and start working together,” Hortman said. “I think you will see a shift. I hope you will see a shift by Republicans, from the partisan bills that are only supported by Republicans that they've been bringing to the House floor, that have failed time and time again, to more bipartisan work next week.”

More broadly, the Legislature will be at full force for the first time this year when Gottfried takes his seat, probably next week. Republican leaders said the election result doesn’t change the fact that they have a seat at the table in budget and policy decision making.

“Everybody has always known, even before the election, that regardless of the outcome, exactly where we are in the House, there's a Democrat governor, there's a Democrat majority in the Senate,” House GOP Leader Harry Niska said. “Republicans are going to have to work with Democrats in order to get the work done that we need to get done for the people of Minnesota.”

That means the House will refocus on bills that have bipartisan backing. That’s a change from the predominantly GOP-backed proposals that have come up for consideration the past month and failed to gain enough votes for passage.

Republicans sought to elevate their top priorities during their phase of control to put Democrats on the record. The votes on issues such as transgender athlete participation in sports, immigration laws, mass transit spending and more could be fodder for future campaigns.

“The people of Minnesota said that they wanted the state to go in a different direction in the last election. They said they didn't like the (DFL) trifecta, and so having an opportunity to do a little bit of work to show Minnesotans what Republican governance would look like was important to our caucus,” Niska, R-Ramsey, said.

Niska said Republicans would bring some proposed changes to Minnesota’s abortion laws Thursday but planned to discuss but press pause on other bills while they undergo more work.

It takes a majority of members present to revive those bills. So if lawmakers from one party are absent we could see those pop up for a vote later this year. Any bill needs 68 votes to pass.

Members of the House Rules Committee, which stages bills for votes, will be bound by new scheduling rules. That means leaders can’t try to slow down proposals from one side or the other.

The agreement also spells out that GOP and DFL caucuses will appoint members to councils, boards and commissions in equal numbers. If there is an odd number of appointments, caucus leaders will have to agree on appointees or leave vacancies.

Republicans have been in the Minnesota House minority since 2019. They flipped three seats in November’s election, which had resulted in a membership tie between the parties.

But Wikstrom challenged the victory of Curtis Johnson in House 40B, which covers parts of Roseville and Shoreview. Wikstrom argued that Johnson’s apartment arrangement in the district was fake and a judge ruled that there were residency problems. Johnson stepped aside rather than appeal the decision.

That meant an open seat. For a time, Republicans have held a 67-66 edge that allows them to go through the House motions. Several bills have fallen short of 68 votes required for passage, however.

An effort by Walz and DFLers to call a Jan. 28 special election was blocked by the state Supreme Court following a Republican lawsuit. It was reset for March 11.

Gottfried’s seating will come as the 2025 session reaches its midpoint. Lawmakers must adjourn by May 19.

In a news release, Gottfried said he’s ready to get to work and glad that communities he will represent in Shoreview and Roseville will have representation in St. Paul.

“It’s never been more urgent that we work together in Saint Paul to shield Minnesotans from the chaos (of federal actions), lower the cost of prescription drugs, and make a smart plan to protect our shared futures in Minnesota,” he said.

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