In a significant ruling on Friday, a Ramsey County District Court judge declared that newly elected Democrat Curtis Johnson is ineligible to serve in the Minnesota House of Representatives due to failure to meet residency requirements, shifting partisan control to Republicans for the time being. Judge Leonardo Castro ruled in favor of Republican Paul Wikstrom, who contested Johnson’s election victory, asserting that Johnson did not maintain a residence in the Rice Street apartment he rented in early 2024 to establish residency in the Roseville-area House district.
Castro’s 32-page order emphasized that “Johnson’s failure to maintain a residence in District 40B for the entire six months prior to the election was a deliberate, serious, and material violation of Minnesota election law.” He further stated that the six-month residency requirement is “not a suggestion nor an inconvenience.”
Despite Johnson winning the heavily DFL district by a substantial 30 percentage points, the ruling opens the door for a special election, which will not take place until after the legislative session begins on January 14. This means that Republicans could gain temporary control of the chamber by a single vote, enabling them to elect a speaker and manage committee majorities.
House GOP leader and Speaker-designate Lisa Demuth expressed confidence in the ruling, stating, “When there’s not a tie, we don’t need power-sharing.” She indicated that the intention would be to elect a speaker and organize the House under Republican leadership.
Current House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, announced plans to appeal the ruling to the Minnesota Supreme Court, expressing her belief that the decision would be overturned. “The Republicans are seeking to do in court what they were unable to do at the ballot box,” Hortman stated. “Curtis Johnson won District 40B by 7,503 votes, and no court should lightly overturn the will of the voters.”
Prior to this ruling, the Minnesota House was poised to be evenly split at 67 DFLers and 67 Republicans for the first time since 1979, leading to negotiations for power-sharing agreements and committee memberships. However, these discussions were paused due to this court case and another pending in Scott County.
Complicating matters further, passing any legislation in the House requires 68 votes, meaning the GOP will need at least one DFL vote to advance any bills. Meanwhile, the DFL maintains control of the Senate by a slim margin, with Governor Tim Walz also a Democrat.
In a notable reaction, state GOP outreach director and House member Walter Hudson shared a wordless video of himself laughing, indicating the party’s satisfaction with the ruling.
