ST. PAUL — Minnesota House leaders Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, and Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Springs, jointly announced on Monday, Nov. 18, that they will be splitting control of committees for the upcoming session as part of a power-sharing agreement.

The leaders said in a Monday

post on the official Minnesota House website

that membership of the standing committees will be equally divided among GOP and DFL co-chairs, meaning most bills that make it to the House floor will have already gone through bipartisan hands.

The House is currently tied 67-67 leading up to the legislative session. The last time there was a tie was in 1979. Leaders of the DFL and GOP

said earlier this month they would come to a power-sharing agreement

, hinting at the possibility of splitting control of committees.

Leadership has not announced who will preside as speaker of the House yet, but Minnesota law states there can’t be two speakers.

If the speaker is not agreed upon before the session begins on Jan. 14, Secretary of State Steve Simon would temporarily act as speaker of the House.

Two recounts of current DFL-held seats are set to occur in the coming weeks, though leaders suspect these recounts will not change the results of the tied House. The recount for House Seat 54A in the Shakopee area will be held on Thursday, Nov. 21, and the recount for House Seat 14B in St. Cloud will be held on Monday, Nov. 25.

Mary Murphy joined Forum Communications in October 2024 as the Minnesota State Correspondent. She can be reached by email at mmurphy@forumcomm.com.

Minnesota Democratic Party Chair Ken Martin has formally announced his bid to lead the Democratic National Committee, as the party attempts to piece itself together following a stinging defeat against Donald Trump. 

“If you’re looking for a creature of D.C., that’s not me. But I do know how the DNC works and how it isn’t working,” Martin said in a video posted to social media Tuesday morning, adding, “We need to reconnect our ideas — which we know are popular in red, blue and purple states across this country — back to our party and to our candidates.”

Martin, a DNC vice chair and leader of the Association of State Democratic Committees, has gained early traction with some delegates, according to interviews with several state DNC members. He joins Martin O’Malley, former presidential candidate who announced Monday he would run for the post.

Martin is a big backer of the DNC acting as an umbrella organization that strengthens state parties across the board.  

“That’s certainly not the only thing that the DNC does, but it’s one of probably the most important partnerships that the DNC has is with its state party chairs, vice chairs, executive directors, who are on the ground running these programs,” Martin said in an interview last week. He calls it the 57-state strategy, including all 50 states and territories, as well as Washington, D.C., and Democrats abroad. “Whoever the next DNC chair is really has to, I believe, have a fierce commitment to making sure that they support the 57-state party strategy itself.” 

Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb is among those backing Martin, saying in an earlier interview that she was interested in seeking the ASDC chair post that Martin now holds. 

Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler is also interested in a run.

“Ben is seriously considering a run,” a person with knowledge of Wikler’s thinking told NBC News on Monday.

Also, Rahm Emanuel — who is serving as the U.S. ambassador to Japan and was previously the mayor of Chicago, a congressman and chief of staff to President Barack Obama — has floated interest in the role, according to three people, and has done some outreach to DNC members, according to one person familiar with the matter.