Gov. Walz declares election date for race that has left House power struggle

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Gov. Walz has declared the date of a special election for the race for District 40B, after the seat was vacated by a judge, which has led to a showdown in the Minnesota House.

Minnesota House District 40B date declared

What we know:

Gov. Tim Walz issued a writ of special election on Wednesday, setting the date of the special election for House District 40B on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.

A special primary will take place two weeks ahead of the election, on Tuesday, Feb. 25.

This is the second time Gov. Walz has issued a writ for the special election. It was initially scheduled to take place on Jan. 28, but that date was thrown out after a judge ruled Walz had acted prematurely in his order.

The backstory:

Last December, a judge ruled the winner of the District 40B election, Curtis Johnson, did not meet residency requirements. As a result, the seat was vacated in a split Minnesota House.

That gave the House GOP a temporary advantage over the House DFL, 67 members to 66 members, while they waited for the seat to be filled.

A week after the District 40B decision came down, Gov. Walz issued the original writ of a special election, which was ultimately struck down.

District 40B covers parts of Roseville and Shoreview. The seat has historically been held by a DFL member and Johnson easily won his election in November.

MN House power struggle

Big picture view:

The empty 40B seat – along with Republicans disputing Brad Tabke's narrow win in District 54A – sparked a power struggle between the DFL and GOP in the Minnesota House.

The DFL members want GOP members to agree to abide by a power-sharing agreement made after last November's election. But, the GOP members say they have a majority, albeit temporary, and should be able to act with that majority until the 40B seat is filled. That would give GOP members the ability to set leadership and committee roles that the DFL wouldn't be able to overturn for the next two years.

As an end-around, DFL members threatened not to show up to work, to prevent a quorum in the House. A quorum is the minimum number of members needed to conduct business.

That, in turn, sparked another legal battle over what exactly constitutes a quorum.

The DFL has argued a quorum is a majority of the full body of the Minnesota House, meaning 68 members are needed for a quorum. The GOP argued that a quorum is a majority of sitting members, which would mean 67 members is enough to do business. And since there are currently 67 GOP members in the House, they could move forward with business without the DFL.

The Minnesota Supreme Court ultimately heard the case and sided with the DFL, ruling 68 members are needed for a quorum. The DFL has skipped each day of the session so far, rendering the House unable to move forward with business.

While negotiations have been ongoing, no deal has been struck between the DFL and GOP.