Republicans in Minnesota are attempting to get the state Supreme Court to delay a special election that would likely end their temporary slim majority in the state House.
When the new state legislature begins next week, it will see Republicans with a 67-66 majority after one incoming Democratic lawmaker was blocked from taking his seat after failing to establish residency in his district. After Democratic state Rep.-elect Curtis Johnson said he would forfeit the seat after losing a court battle, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) declared a special election for the seat last month for Jan. 28.
The Minnesota GOP and Minnesota Voters Alliance announced a petition Monday to the state Supreme Court arguing Walz did not follow the timing requirements for calling a special election, alleging it cannot be done until the seat is vacant when the new legislature starts on Jan. 14.
“The attempt by Governor Walz to call a special election for a vacancy that has not yet occurred, but instead is the result of a successful election contest filed by candidate Wikstrom, is a flagrant violation of Minnesota election law,” Minnesota GOP Chairman Alex Plechash said in a statement.
“Issuing a writ that blatantly violates state law is a clear attempt to undermine our elections and harm our democracy. The Democrats supported a candidate they knew to be ineligible for the seat, and now they seek to cover up their past wrongful actions by calling an unlawful and hastily scheduled special election,” Plechash added.
Walz’s office defended his actions in a statement to WCCO, saying that “state law requires the governor to call a special election as soon as possible” and alleging that the GOP is attempting “to prevent democratic legislators from being seated.”
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The seat Johnson was elected to is heavily Democratic and is expected to remain blue whenever the special election is held. Until the seat is filled, Republicans will have a narrow majority, which they hope to use for organizational control of the chamber rather than a power-sharing agreement with Democrats.
Under the current special election timeline, Republicans would only have control of the chamber for roughly two weeks before it would likely end up in a 67-67 tie. Prior to the 2024 election, the chamber was Democrat-controlled.