A special election will be held Jan. 28 to fill a vacancy in the Minnesota Senate created following the death Friday of former Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic.
Special election set for seat held by the late Sen. Kari Dziedzic
Another special election in a suburban Minnesota House district to replace newly elected Democrat Curtis Johnson will be held the same day.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
December 30, 2024 at 8:30PM
Gov. Tim Walz on Monday set the special election to fill the vacancy in Senate District 60, which includes most of northeast and southeast Minneapolis, Cedar-Riverside, the University of Minnesota and Augsburg University.
Dziedzic, 62, died Friday from ovarian cancer. She was first elected in 2012 and became leader of the Senate DFL caucus 10 years later.
If necessary, a special primary election for the seat will be held Jan. 14, according to the writ signed by Walz. Those interested in running for the office must submit their affidavits of candidacy and nominating petitions with the Minnesota Secretary of State or the Hennepin County auditor on Tuesday by 5 p.m.
Monday’s announcement of the one-day window to file to run for the seat drew criticism from some Republicans, including State Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove.
“This is absurd. Requiring people to file with one day’s notice over a holiday week when many are traveling is not good for democracy,” Robbins wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “People should have time to learn about the opening and have more than a day to consider if they want to file.”
Dziedzic’s death means the Senate will be evenly split at 33 members each for the DFL and Republicans when the 2025 session begins Jan. 14.
Another special election will be held Jan. 28 for a seat in the Minnesota House to replace newly elected Democrat Curtis Johnson. If needed, a primary for that seat will be held Jan. 14, and the window to file is also Tuesday.
Johnson stepped down Friday following a recent court decision that found him ineligible to serve because he failed to meet the state’s residency requirement.
Johnson’s Republican opponent, Paul Wikstrom, contested his election victory, saying Johnson didn’t live in an apartment in his Roseville-area House district. Ramsey County District Judge Leonardo Castro agreed, and Johnson said last week he wouldn’t appeal the ruling to the Minnesota Supreme Court.
That means partisan power in the House will shift to Republicans for the time being, since they will now have control by one vote. Before Castro’s ruling, the House was expected to be tied with 67 DFLers and 67 Republicans for the first time since 1979.
After two Republican legislators claimed 30 people voted twice in the race between DFL Rep. Brad Tabke and Republican Aaron Paul, county election officials said the allegations were “erroneous.”
