Minnesota will tie record for legislative special elections. Here’s who’s running so far and what to expect

Three lawmaker deaths a felony burglary conviction and a residency challenge are among the reasons this year Minnesota will at least tie its record for special elections needed to fill seats in the state Legislature While the six special elections three earlier this year and three upcoming are for seats that did not or are not expected to change party hands the state hasn t seen this multiple special elections needed in the Legislature since according to details from the Legislative Reference Library Here s a look at the six special elections for legislative seats in along with the possibility for a seventh Three upcoming special elections Former House Speaker Melissa Hortman s assassination in June Sen Bruce Anderson s unexpected death this month and Sen Nicole Mitchell s felony burglary conviction also in July that s expected to prompt her resignation in August will lead to one House and two Senate special elections starting in September The law dictates that generally the governor must name a date for the special vote so that the individual elected may take office at the opening of the next session of the legislature or at the reconvening of a session of the legislature Walz has explained MinnPost that he does not see a need for another special session focused on federal budget cuts to the states which takes various pressure off of lawmakers and electoral process personnel The next regular session of the Legislature is slated to begin at noon on Feb The governor has scheduled the special polling for Hortman s seat B for Sept leaving plenty of time between polls closing and the Capitol gaveling in months later Four candidates made the July filing deadline Ruth Bittner Republican former small business owner entrepreneur and real estate agent Christian Eriksen DFL Brooklyn Park City Council member Xp Lee DFL former Brooklyn Park City Council member who lately received the DFL party endorsement Erickson Saye DFL Hennepin County prosecutor The three DFLers are expected to face off in an Aug special primary Hortman won reelection in both and by at least percentage points The announcements of the dates for the two Senate special elections appear to hinge on when Mitchell who despite her conviction has mentioned she will serve into early August in order to wrap up her legislative work formally announces her resignation from the District seat State Rep Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger DFL-Woodbury threw her hat in the ring just hours after Mitchell stated her impending resignation Hemmingsen-Jaeger in her second term in the House and a DFL assistant floor leader could face other candidates for the seat once a special ballot is called but if she were to win another special electoral contest would have to be called to fill her House seat Mitchell was first elected in by over percentage points Meanwhile Anderson represented Senate District which includes rural areas northwest of the Twin Cities plus cities like Buffalo Monticello and Delano The last time he took on a DFL challenger in Anderson won by a whopping percentage points Gov Tim Walz has not yet stated special elections for either Mitchell or Anderson s seats as he awaits Mitchell s resignation Already completed special elections There were also special elections for state Senate and House seats in January April and May Sen Doron Clark DFL-Minneapolis was elected in a special polling in January to fill the seat left vacant when DFL Sen Kari Dziedzic died Dziedzic had been a senator for over a decade having first been elected in and serving until her death in following a battle with ovarian cancer Rep David Gottfried DFL-Shoreview won a March special vote in House District B The ballot was called after a court revealed that the winner of the the greater part new general electoral process DFL Rep Curtis Johnson could not be sworn in because he did not live in the district a requirement to represent it in the Legislature Sen Keri Heintzeman R-Nisswa was elected with over of the vote in an April special poll to represent Senate District which includes parts of Cass Crow Wing and Itasca counties in central Minnesota She succeeded Sen Justin Eichorn a fellow Republican who resigned following his arrest for solicitation of a minor The timing of two of those elections delayed legislative business because the House tie and one-seat advantage for the DFL in the Senate meant vacant seats changed the chambers makeup Related Court cases and partisan maneuvering call into question Minnesota Legislature s effectiveness Eventually lawmakers needed a marathon special session to finish their work and passed budget bills in one day So with margins this thin three seats is nothing to scoff at for either party Still since the Legislative Reference Library says there have been special elections for the Legislature thirty-nine of those elections resulted in the incumbent party maintaining control of the district In the remaining seats where a district was flipped DFLers were able to wrest control of five seats from Republicans In that same period Republicans took six seats from the DFL through special elections The post Minnesota will tie record for legislative special elections Here s who s running so far and what to expect appeared first on MinnPost