A Democrat has won a special election for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives. This election has brought the power balance in the chamber to an even split during a tense legislative session.
The contested seat is located in a mostly Democratic region north of St. Paul. It became part of a struggle for control that led House Democrats to boycott the beginning of the state’s lawmaking work. David Gottfried, the winning Democrat, is a Minnesota native and works at a law firm. He defeated Republican Paul Wikstrom, an engineer who had previously tried for this seat.
With this win, both parties now hold 67 seats each in the House. This marks the end of a brief moment when Republicans had a slight majority. Despite gaining this seat, Democrats do not control the Legislature or the Governor’s office as they did in the past two years.
The Minnesota Senate is also closely divided. At the start of the session, it was an even split, but a special election in late January gave Democrats a slight lead. The recent special election was held after a judge ruled that the previous Democratic winner, Curtis Johnson, did not meet residency requirements for the district. In the earlier race, Wikstrom lost by a significant margin—30 percentage points.
This ongoing fight for control in the Legislature presents challenges for Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, especially after he spent much of the last year campaigning for vice president.
The start of this legislative session was chaotic. In January, Representative Lisa Demuth was elected as speaker, marking a historic moment as the first Republican woman and the first Black person to hold that position. Before this, a Democrat had led the chamber since 2019.
After the Democratic boycott ended, both parties agreed to share leadership of legislative committees if a Democrat won the special election, which is exactly what happened.
Recently, Republicans have taken advantage of their narrow majority to push bills on hot-button issues, such as a proposal aimed at preventing transgender students from competing in female sports. This proposal was introduced but ultimately failed.
Looking ahead, the main focus for Minnesota lawmakers is to develop a state budget. Officials have warned that Minnesota may face a nearly $6 billion shortfall by 2028, especially as the Trump administration reduces federal grants and funding programs.
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Minnesota,State Legislatures
