Democrats to restore tie in Minnesota House after two special elections

Unofficial results for two special elections held Tuesday show the Minnesota House will remain tied heading into the 2026 legislative session.

Kaohly Her resigned from St. Paul's House District 64A after winning the city's mayoral election. DFL-er and labor lawyer Meg Luger-Nikolai won 95% of the vote over the GOP's Dan Walsh, a small business owner.

The district, which includes the Merriam Park and Summit Hill neighborhoods, is a heavily Democratic-leaning area.

The other vacancy is in House District 47A, which covers parts of Woodbury and Maplewood. Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger won the seat by 20 points in 2022 and represented the area before she was elected to the Minnesota Senate, replacing former DFL State Sen. Nicole Mitchell, who was convicted of burglary last year.

The DFL's Shelley Buck, a leader of the Prairie Island Indian Community, is the lone candidate on the ballot. No Republicans filed in the race. She received 98% of the vote.

The Minnesota House is set to return to a tied chamber, as it was during the 2025 session. In the Senate, state Democrats hold on to a one-seat majority.

Tuesday's special elections cap off a tumultuous year of turnover in the Minnesota Legislature marked by unexpected deaths of lawmakers — including the assassination of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman – and legal challenges for members, including the arrest of former GOP state Sen. Justin Eichorn, charged with soliciting a teen for sex. 

Minnesota's legislative session is set to begin on Feb. 17.

  
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• Minnesota Legislature
• Election