Democrat David Gottfried defeated GOP opponent Paul Wikstrom in a Tuesday special election to fill a vacant House seat representing Roseville and Shoreview.

The Associated Press called the race about 30 minutes after polls closed. The unofficial results will require certification before Gottfried joins the House.

But the result brings the House into a tie – with 67 Republicans and 67 Democrats – and prompts a reset at the Capitol under a bipartisan power-sharing agreement reached earlier this year.

Under that deal, Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth will retain that role and the GOP will also keep a majority on a new committee focused on proposals to fight fraud and abuse in government-funded programs. In her role, Demuth gets to rule on motions and amendments as members debate bills and resolutions.

But other committees will come under joint leadership with even numbers of Republicans and Democrats represented. Those committees will have co-chairs. That rule applies to conference committees formed to iron out differences between Senate and House bills.

“My hope would be that to the extent some of the bipartisanship has been missing or a little light in the committee and on the floor, that we would find more opportunities to work together,” House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said. 

More broadly, the Legislature will be at full force for the first time this year when Gottfried takes his seat, probably next week. 

That means the House will refocus on bills that have bipartisan backing. That’s a change from the predominantly GOP-backed proposals that have come up for consideration the past month and failed to gain enough votes for passage.

Republicans sought to elevate their top priorities during their phase of control to put Democrats on the record. The votes on issues such as transgender athlete participation in sports, immigration laws, mass transit spending and more could be fodder for future campaigns.

“We think it's important that where there are those areas of difference, that the people of Minnesota see what responsible Republican governance looks like, and what Democratic opposition to those ideas looks like,” House GOP Leader Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, said last week.

Members of the House Rules Committee, which stages bills for votes, will be bound by new scheduling rules. That means leaders can’t try to slow down proposals from one side or the other.

The agreement also spells out that GOP and DFL caucuses will appoint members to councils, boards and commissions in equal numbers. If there is an odd number of appointments, caucus leaders will have to agree on appointees or leave vacancies.

Republicans have been in the Minnesota House minority since 2019. They flipped three seats in November’s election, which had resulted in a membership tie between the parties.

But Wikstrom challenged the victory of Curtis Johnson in House 40B, which covers parts of Roseville and Shoreview. Wikstrom argued that Johnson’s apartment arrangement in the district was fake and a judge ruled that there were residency problems. Johnson stepped aside rather than appeal the decision.

That meant an open seat. For a time, Republicans have held a 67-66 edge that allows them to go through the House motions. Several bills have fallen short of 68 votes required for passage, however.

An effort by Walz and DFLers to call a Jan. 28 special election was blocked by the state Supreme Court following a Republican lawsuit. It was reset for March 11.

Gottfried’s seating will come as the 2025 session reaches its midpoint. Lawmakers must adjourn by May 19.

Collected from Minnesota Public Radio News. View original source here.