Minneapolis voters choose new state senator as impasse in the Minnesota House continues
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A special election for a Minneapolis state Senate seat is set to break a tie in that chamber as the state House remains paralyzed due to a partisan impasse over power.
Voters in Senate District 60 showed up to the polls Tuesday to select their candidate to fill the seat left vacant by the death of former DFL Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic, who served for 12 years before she passed away last month.
DFL candidate Doron Clark faces off against Republican Abigail Wolters. The deep blue district typically favors Democrats, so the outcome could tip the chamber back to DFL hands and eventually end a power-sharing agreement between both parties that's had the legislative session running smoothly since its start. GOP and DFL leaders came to the deal because the vacancy left the chamber temporarily split evenly 33 to 33.
Meanwhile, across the hall, the House stands in stark contrast: Leaders there are still at a stalemate in a power dispute that's lasted into session's third week. A Supreme Court decision last week nullified everything the Republicans had been doing so far without Democrats there, ruling they did not have a quorum — or the minimum number of lawmakers present that's required to conduct House business.
But Democrats are still boycotting the session despite a favorable ruling because they want a deal with the GOP about how the chamber will move forward if it returns to a tie following another special election for a vacant Roseville seat expected in March. The opening right now gives Republicans a one-seat edge.
In the absence of a deal, DFL leaders say they will continue to deny quorum until those terms are reached and in writing. Because they weren't at the capitol, presiding officer DFL Secretary of State Steve Simon convened the House only to promptly adjourn on Monday and Tuesday.
Rep. Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said she and Rep. Lisa Demuth, who is the GOP leader, met again Tuesday morning to resume negotiations. She was hopeful they could soon meet halfway and chart a course for how the rest of session will operate.
"We talked about a number of the blockers that are preventing a deal," Hortman told reporters. "I do think we're making progress. I tend to be a glass half full type of person and I think the progress we're making on issues is substantial."
Demuth didn't project the same confidence. She and her Republican colleagues have slammed DFL members for not showing up day after day. GOP lawmakers returned on Tuesday, but the chamber was still half empty.
"If they're serious about wanting to do the work, they should be coming into work, providing what it would take for them to get into work," Demuth said. "So we actually have a serious offer to look at. We have not seen a serious offer at this point."
Neither Hortman nor Demuth would share any details about their latest discussions. The Republican leader said there hadn't been any "meaningful change" to what's being offered or considered.
"What you're seeing right now is again, Democrats do not show up to work," she said.
Democrats have said they want an agreement that would guarantee both parties will return to sharing power if there is a tie again and also would protect Rep. Brad Tabke, the DFL winner in a close Shakopee race, from being ousted from the chamber. The constitution gives the Legislature the final say on the eligibility of its own members and Republicans have not said whether they would use that authority to unseat him because of concerns about missing ballots at the center of the case.
Voters in November delivered a 67 to 67 split before the DFL winner of a Roseville seat said he wouldn't take the oath of office, following a judge's ruling that he did not live in the district as required by law.
That vacancy sparked this power dispute that's now marked by boycotts, lawsuits and partisan mudslinging on both sides. And it's cast a cloud over the work of the session, during which the Legislature must pass the next two-year budget.
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