Minnesota Democrats’ two-year hold on St. Paul is in danger, as control of the state House could end in a tie, the state’s first since 1979.
Democrats’ 68-63 seat edge in the chamber on Election Day, with three vacancies, could dwindle to a 67-67 tie, according to unofficial results on the secretary of state’s website.
But the result may not be known for days. Three races are currently within the 0.5-percentage-point margin that automatically triggers a recount: District 14B in St. Cloud, District 54A south of the Twin Cities; District 3B in the Iron Range.
Should the result hold, Democrats would lose control of the chamber and their state government trifecta.
The rest of it will remain intact, though. Gov. Tim Walz (D) was on the losing presidential ticket. And Democrats maintained their Senate majority by winning the lone seat in that chamber up this cycle, in a special election. The Senate had been tied 33-33 since Kelly Morrison (D) resigned her seat in June to run, successfully, for the U.S. House.
A tied House would require the Democrats to negotiate a power-sharing arrangement with Republicans. The last time that happened was in 1979, and a special session was required to finish their work after tempers flared over dissatisfaction with the agreement.
Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) said Democrats are prepared to work with Republicans in an evenly divided House.
“It appears that the voters may have sent a tied Minnesota House, but the voters want us to get our work done,” Hortman told MPR News. “And if they’re asking us at 67-67 to work together to get things done, that is exactly what we will do.”
House Minority Leader Lisa DeMuth (R) held out hope that the GOP could still win the majority outright, given some outstanding seats that have yet to be called.
“There are seats still outstanding tonight that are very winnable for Republicans, and any one of those would deliver a House GOP Majority,” DeMuth said on X.
At the top of the ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris carried the state 51%-47%, while U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) was re-elected to a fourth term by nearly 16 points.