ST. PAUL 鈥� A special election Tuesday will determine whether the Minnesota House returns to a 67-67 tie or if Republicans will take a majority in the chamber.
DFL candidate David Gottfried is favored to win the Tuesday, March 11, special election for Roseville House District 40B, as 65% of voters in the district backed DFL candidate Curtis Johnson in November, according to the Secretary of State's office.
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The seat became vacant after a Ramsey County judge ruled that former Rep.-elect Johnson had not been residing during the six-month period before the election, as is required by state law.
On the ballot for the 40B seat Tuesday are DFL candidate Gottfried and Republican candidate Paul Wikstrom. Wikstrom has lived in Roseville for 28 years and works in engineering and management. He identifies some of his top priorities as affordability, public safety and public education, according to
鈥淚 look forward to restoring truth and trust in Minnesota,鈥� Wikstrom told Forum News Service in February. 鈥淲e must restore a politically balanced government that will serve the needs of the residents of House District 40B and all Minnesotans. I seek to serve in a Legislature that will return to affordable spending levels, lower our taxes and eliminate the rampant fraud in our state.鈥�
DFL candidate Gottfried lives in Shoreview and works in Minnesota as a pro-bono legal specialist on cases including election protections, civil rights, housing and small businesses, according to
鈥淢y priorities are addressing the needs of working families in Roseville and Shoreview,鈥� Gottfried said in a February statement. 鈥淚鈥檓 ready to hit the ground running at the Capitol so we can lower the cost of prescription drugs and make a smart plan to protect our shared futures in Minnesota.鈥�
Speaker Emeritus Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, told Forum News Service on Monday that election results would likely not be certified until March 17, at the earliest. Hortman said she anticipates the election will return the House to a tie and that she hopes this means some bipartisan work can get done.
鈥淢y hope would be that, to the extent some of the bipartisanship has been missing or a little light in committee and on the floor, that we would find more opportunities to work together,鈥� Hortman said.
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Tuesday's special election was originally set for Jan. 28 but was rescheduled after the Minnesota Supreme Court sided with that Gov. Tim Walz called for the special election too quickly. The Roseville seat has been vacant since, giving Republicans a 67-66 majority in the House for the first months of the session.
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