Minnesota Legislature’s revolving door keeps turning as Senate is full but House seats open
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The Minnesota Legislature has two new members thanks to Tuesday’s election. But it will again see vacancies in a pair of House seats after a pair of lawmakers won other offices.
The state Capitol has experienced a lot of churn as lawmakers died, faced criminal penalties or experienced other unusual circumstances that took them out of office.
Gov. Tim Walz said the new — albeit temporary — composition of the Legislature could also doom a potential special legislative session to take up new firearm restrictions. Republicans will hold 67 votes to Democrats’ 65.
“Because of those two Democratic seats that have been opened up, it's actually a Republican majority (in the House),” Walz told reporters Wednesday. “And the Republicans have been absolutely clear with me, with you and with everybody in Minnesota that they are not interested in having a discussion around guns. And they are certainly never going to allow us to have a vote on it.”
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Despite what Walz said, Republicans don’t have an outright majority because bills require 68 votes to pass.
Still, the political calculus was tricky for the proposals even before Tuesday’s special elections. The results in the Wright County and Woodbury area races restored a 34-33 split in the Senate with Democrats holding a narrow edge. Democrats didn’t have the votes there to pass legislation without Republicans, and even some DFLers were skittish about new gun laws.
Heading into Tuesday, the House was in a 67-67 tie. But Rep. Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger won the Senate race in Woodbury. Her seat and another held by Rep. Kaohly Her will come open. Her won the race for St. Paul mayor.
House DFL Leader Zack Stephenson, of Coon Rapids, said he’s confident that Democrats can keep the seats in the districts that have track records of backing DFL candidates. He said that the temporary vacancies don’t change the fact that GOP votes would be necessary to bring bills to the floor — and to pass them.
“The truth of the matter on gun violence prevention, as I've been saying all along, is in order to pass meaningful gun violence measures, we will need Republican votes in the House,” Stephenson said.
Republicans have said they would participate in a special session if Walz calls one. They have prioritized funding for mental health and school security measures over gun restrictions.
Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said closed-door talks about an agreement to bring lawmakers back stalled weeks ago.
“The governor is the only one that's able to call that special session,” Johnson said. “He hasn't approached me at all for a special session.”
While a special session has been elusive, special elections are on the horizon. Walz said the contests in Woodbury and St. Paul will take place on Jan. 27 with primaries scoped out for Dec. 16.
Minnesota has tied the record number of legislative special elections set in 1994. But it won’t break that mark because the upcoming contests spill into next year. The campaign will straddle the two years with the filing period for candidates just weeks away.
Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, said she’s optimistic about those races and the campaign in 2026 when all 201 legislative seats will be up for election. She pointed to Louis McNutt, the Democrat who ran against Sen.-elect Michael Holmstrom, Jr. in Wright County.
“He moved the needle by nearly six points in a very red district that Democrats haven't represented for more than 30 years,” Murphy said. “I mean, I’m encouraged by that.”
Republicans said there was some fall-off in GOP support there since it was a special election. The senator who’d held the seat for three decades died over the summer, leaving the vacancy.
Johnson, the Senate minority leader, said he’s not reading too deeply into the results or what they could foretell for 2026.
“I don't think it looked like there was a massive wave,” he said. “This wasn't overwhelming results in one way or another. But we just keep fighting, keep looking at what the districts are needing and finding candidates that really match up with those issues here locally and in ‘26. That's our focus.”
