Republicans in Minnesota’s progressive-dominated government have notched a temporary majority in the House through a power-sharing agreement reached Thursday after Democrats refused to show up to work for several weeks.
“So, 23 days as of yesterday, none of the Democrats have come into work,” Republican leader and now House Speaker Lisa Demuth told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday. “They completely boycotted the session and prevented the work from getting started here in Minnesota.”
The arrangement comes after a weeks-long saga beginning in December 2024 when a district court judge ruled that Democratic House Rep.-elect Curtis Johnson did not meet the residency requirements to represent Minnesota House District 40B, rendering him ineligible to take office.
The decision temporarily tipped the balance of power in the Minnesota House, giving Republicans a 67-66 majority until a special election could be held.
‘SCARED’ AND ‘TRAUMATIZED’: WALZ’S SUPPORT FOR TRANS WOMEN IN MINNESOTA WOMEN’S PRISON ‘ENDANGERING’ INMATES
Minnesota state Republicans will have the “advantage” after a power-sharing agreement was reached Thursday. (Getty Images/Minnesota)
Gov. Tim Walz announced Wednesday a special election will be held on Tuesday, March 11, which could bring back a 67-67 tie.
As such, House Democrats boycotted the legislative session beginning Jan. 14, protesting what they perceived as an “abuse of power” by Republicans attempting to leverage their temporary majority to advance their policies. This stalemate effectively denied the House the quorum needed to conduct official business, leading to the state GOP threatening Democratic lawmakers with recall efforts.
Demuth said the organizational agreement reached with Democrats taking effect when the Minnesota House convenes Thursday afternoon ensures she will serve as the Republican speaker for a full two-year term, regardless of the outcome of the upcoming special election.
Currently, with a 67-66 Republican majority, the GOP holds committee chair positions and a one-vote advantage on all committees. If the election results in a 67-67 tie, committee leadership will be shared between Republicans and Democrats, alternating control over schedules and agendas. The Fraud Prevention and Agency Oversight Committee will remain under Republican control, with a 5-3 GOP majority, for the full two-year period, she said.
“We definitely have an advantage,” Demuth said. “And I think it’s important to recognize that the reason that there is a special election that needed to be called is because the Democrats had a candidate that lied and cheated and couldn’t take office.”
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Gov. Tim Walz “has not contacted” Republican state legislative leaders during the long stalemate and been “very partisan” in his dealings overall, Minnesota Republicans claim. ( Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Demuth said Republicans – who have been gaveled in by the state secretary every day despite the stalemate – are looking forward to addressing the state’s budget and other key issues once lawmakers convene Thursday.
“We need to stop the fraud in the state of Minnesota,” Demuth said. “And according to test scores, our test results for our K-12 education, specifically in fourth and eighth grade, continue to plummet under the leadership of Gov. Walz, and so [the Democrats] have prevented all of that work to even begin.”
Demuth criticized the governor for his lack of engagement during the legislative standoff, noting that “he has not contacted me at all as caucus leader during this time.” She said he issued a press statement suggesting that “Republicans need to start working with Democrats,” but argued that his statement was “very partisan” and ultimately “a disservice to Minnesotans.”
MN GOP VOWS RECALL EFFORTS AS DEM LAWMAKERS THREATEN TO SKIP WORK FOR TWO WEEKS
Minnesota House Republicans say they are committed to being a check on the power and policy priorities of liberal Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Minnesotans need us to do the work. It’s not Republican or Democrat, but when you have a party that stayed out to prevent the work, you have a governor that isn’t even encouraging his own party to show back up, he’s really doing a disservice to the people of Minnesota,” said Demuth, whom the Minnesota Star Tribune noted becomes the state’s first Black House speaker.
During the first week of the Democrats’ boycott, Walz told lawmakers, “Just work together on a power-sharing agreement,” the AP reported. “That’s the way it’s going to end up. And I think that can work out really well.”
The Republican State Leadership Committee provided a statement to Fox News Digital in which it congratulated Demuth for securing the House leadership role, adding in part, “Voters have made it clear they want Minnesota House Republicans to be a strong check on Tim Walz and his extreme liberal agenda.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Walz’s office and the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party for comment.
Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate.
