David Gottfried projected to win District 40B special election, tying Minnesota House
Democrat David Gottfried won the special election for a Twin Cities metro state House seat, returning the Minnesota House to a rare tie, according to unofficial results from the secretary of state's office.
Gottfried defeated GOP candidate Paul Wikstrom by 40 percentage points in the election Tuesday in House District 40B covering parts of Shoreview and Roseville, which heavily favors Democrats.
The election concludes a political saga that's lasted months and ended up in court. In November, DFL candidate Curtis Johnson won the general election but a judge then ruled in December he couldn't take the oath of office because he didn't live in the district, giving the GOP a one-seat advantage, at least temporarily, until there was a replacement to represent constituents there.
"I couldn't be more thrilled to be headed to St. Paul as soon as possible to get to work for this district and Minnesota," Gottfried said. "We never lost sight of what's at stake. The President is sowing chaos that is increasing the price of basic needs like food, energy, and healthcare. It's never been more urgent that we work together in St. Paul to shield Minnesotans from the chaos, lower the cost of prescription drugs, and make a smart plan to protect our shared futures in Minnesota."
Gottfried is expected to take the oath of office next week after the results are certified. In the weeks since the partisan stalemate ended in the chamber, Republicans have led committees and moved their priority legislation forward, even if some ultimately fell short of the votes needed on the floor.
Power sharing agreement will now take effect
The vacancy prompted DFL lawmakers to boycott the first few weeks of session in order to keep Republicans from seizing total control for two years. In early February, both sides came to a deal to end the stalemate and chart the course for how the House will operate under a power-sharing agreement if they are evenly split 67 to 67.
Now additional parts of that resolution will take effect. Under the deal, Republicans will maintain a new oversight committee tasked with probing the reported fraud in public programs and GOP Speaker Lisa Demuth will remain in that role, though her powers will be somewhat curtailed under the terms of the agreement.
"This win confirms we will be working under the power-sharing agreement we negotiated with House Republicans," Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman said. "Democrats have been ready to work in a bipartisan way for months. It's time for our Republican colleagues to leave the partisan games behind and work with us to craft a budget for the people of Minnesota."
Now, both parties must work together to pass the next two-year budget before session ends in May — a must-do item to keep the government and its services operating. The caucuses will co-chair committees and no bill will advance to the House floor without bipartisan support, and 68 votes are needed to pass.
In a statement, Demuth thanked Wikstrom — who ran in November, too — for running "an incredible race" in a "dark blue Democrat seat."
"While the House will return to a 67-67 tie after tonight, House Republican priorities remain unchanged: we will continue our effort to stop the fraud, protect Minnesotans from harmful tax increases, and work with our Democrat colleagues to pass a responsible and balanced budget," she said in a statement.
See election results below:
