ST. PAUL 鈥� Two special elections are set to take place Tuesday, Jan. 28, for House seat 40B in Roseville and Senate District 60 in Minneapolis.
In a primary for the Minneapolis Senate seat on Tuesday, Jan. 14, Republican Abigail Wolters won the candidacy with 72% of the vote and Democrat Doron Clark won the candidacy with 38% of the vote. The candidates for Roseville鈥檚 House seat in 40B are Republican Paul Wikstrom and DFL David Gottfried.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Minneapolis Senate seat opened after the death of DFL Sen. Kate Dziedzic, leading the Senate to a temporary 33-33 tie. The seat is expected to remain blue, as it has been since 1970. Despite this, the Senate on the session鈥檚 opening day on Jan. 14 including co-presidents and equal control of committees.
The Roseville House seat opened after the GOP filed a lawsuit challenging the residency of former DFL Rep.-Elect Curtis Johnson. A judge ruled to unseat Johnson, and the GOP gained a temporary 67-66 majority in the House, where negotiations for a power-sharing agreement When Republicans would not sign on to their agreement, House Democrats decided to boycott the legislative session until the special election later this month.
The alleging Gov. Tim Walz issued a writ too early for the House鈥檚 special election. The Republican Party鈥檚 petition aimed to halt the special election and argued that under Minnesota state law, Walz should have waited 22 days after the start of the legislative session to issue a writ, leaving five days for candidates to file.
Walz maintained that because the special election was not triggered by an election contest lawsuit, but by Johnson pulling out from his position as representative-elect, it was lawful for him to call the special election as soon as possible. The state Supreme Court heard oral arguments from both parties on Wednesday, Jan. 15, and a decision is expected swiftly but at an unknown date.
Senate candidates
Republican candidate Wolters is a lifelong Minnesotan, software engineer and a 2021 graduate from the University of Minnesota.
Some of her top priorities are public safety, fiscal responsibility and investments in education and the economy, according to her
DFL candidate Clark lives in northeast Minneapolis, works full time in ethics and compliance at Medtronic and served as Senate D60 DFL Chair in 2022.
ADVERTISEMENT
Some of his top priorities are public education, health care and housing for all, according to his
House candidates
Republican candidate Wikstrom has lived in Roseville for 28 years and works in engineering and management. Some of his top priorities are affordability, public safety and public education, according to his
DFL candidate Gottfried lives in Shoreview and works as a pro-bono specialist. Some of his top priorities are education, environment, and gun control, according to his
Absentee voting for both elections started on Jan. 10. An absentee ballot can be requested on the , but due to the tight timeline, those opting for absentee ballots are encouraged to drop off ballots at one of the in-person voting locations.
Voters can cast ballots early in person at the Ramsey County Elections office in St. Paul for the Roseville House seat and at the Hennepin County Government Center or the Elections and Voter Services office in Minneapolis for the Minneapolis Senate seat.
Early voting times vary 鈥� check the . Registration can be done by Jan. 21 or on Election Day, Jan. 28, at a polling place.
The Trust Project
