Supreme Court voids Walz’s decision to hold Jan. 28 special election for House seat

The Minnesota Supreme Court voided Gov. Tim Walz’s decision to hold a special election Jan. 28 for a Roseville-area seat in the state House, saying he called it prematurely.

In a five-page order issued late Friday afternoon, the court sided with the state Republican Party and conservative Minnesota Voters Alliance, saying that Walz’s writ setting a special election for House District 40B issued on Dec. 27, 2024, came too quickly.

The Supreme Court’s order said the special election “therefore must be quashed.”

In the order signed by Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, the court said the state “must take all steps necessary” to cancel the vote set for Jan. 28. During oral arguments in front of the court Wednesday, a Ramsey County official said more than 1,000 absentee ballots had been sent to voters and that significant staff time had been expended on the election.

Walz said Friday night on the Twin Cities Public Television show “Almanac” that he now expects an election to occur on March 5. “We’ll go back. Analyze it. We’ll issue the writ. Get that election done. Let them get to work. It’s going to end up 67-67, and that’s where we go from there,” he said.

GOP House Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said she’s “pleased the court correctly ruled that the governor failed to follow the law in his attempt to speed up the special election to help the political fortunes of the Democrat party.”

“We want the residents of 40B to have representation as soon as possible and look forward to the governor calling a special election pursuant to state law,” she said in a written statement.

House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman applauded the court’s prompt decision but said it’s unfortunate the residents of the Roseville district will wait for representation.

“Attempts by Minnesota Republicans to delay this election are an attempt to delay the inevitable: Democrat David Gottfried will win this election and the Minnesota House of Representatives will return to a 67-67 tie,” she said. “When that happens, Democrats and Republicans must have a plan to govern together.”

The Roseville seat is vital to a power struggle in the state House, and the court’s decision could prolong the battle between Republicans and Democrats for control of the chamber.

When longtime DFL Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn of Roseville didn’t seek re-election last year, DFLer Curtis Johnson ran for the seat and won by 30 percentage points over Republican Paul Wikstrom.

Wikstrom filed a legal challenge claiming that Johnson didn’t live in the district he sought to represent. Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro agreed with Wikstrom, finding that Johnson lived in Little Canada, not the Roseville apartment he rented. Little Canada is outside the district.

On Dec. 27, Johnson said he wouldn’t appeal Castro’s ruling and “resigned” the seat. Walz issued a writ that same day, calling for the Jan. 28 special election. Republicans challenged the timing, saying Walz should have waited until the session started to declare a vacancy and set a date for the special election.

After Castro’s ruling, the GOP abandoned a power-sharing agreement it had with the DFL and claimed control of the House at the start of the session Tuesday. DFLers have been boycotting the Capitol and the House floor in an attempt to deny the GOP a quorum, the threshold needed to conduct business.

Republicans say they’re acting within the law and began the 2025 session Tuesday with a 67-66 advantage. They elected Demuth as speaker and filled other leadership roles in the absence of the DFL members.

On Thursday, the state Supreme Court will hear the DFLers’ challenge to the GOP floor actions.

Although the court halted the election with its order, it has yet to issue a detailed opinion outlining the reasoning for the decision. That will come later.

Six of the seven justices participated in Friday’s decision. Justice Karl Procaccini did not. He didn’t provide a reason, but Procaccini formerly served as Walz’s general counsel before he was appointed to the court in 2023.