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 many special elections needed in the Legislature since 1994, according to data from the Legislative Reference Library.  Here’s a look at the six special elections for legislative seats in 2025, 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 election “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 told MinnPost that he does not see a need for another special session focused on federal budget cuts to the states, which takes some pressure off of lawmakers and election officials. The next regular session of the Legislature is slated to begin at noon on Feb. 17, 2026.  The governor has scheduled the special election for Hortman’s seat, 34B, for Sept. 16, leaving plenty of time between polls closing and the Capitol gaveling in months later. Four candidates made the July 23 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 recently received the DFL party endorsement Erickson Saye, DFL, Hennepin County prosecutor  The three DFLers are expected to face off in an Aug. 12 special primary. Hortman won reelection in both 2022 and 2024 by at least 25 percentage points.   The announcements of the dates for the two Senate special elections appear to hinge on when Mitchell, who despite her conviction has said she will serve into early August in order to wrap up her legislative work, formally announces her resignation from the District 47 seat.  State Rep. Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger, DFL-Woodbury, threw her hat in the ring just hours after Mitchell announced 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 election is called, but if she were to win, another special election would have to be called to fill her House seat. Mitchell was first elected in 2022 by over 17 percentage points. Meanwhile, Anderson represented Senate District 29, 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 2022, Anderson won by a whopping 36 percentage points.  Gov. Tim Walz has not yet announced 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 election 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 2012 and serving until her death in 2024 following a battle with ovarian cancer. Rep. David Gottfried, DFL-Shoreview, won a March special election in House District 40B. The election was called after a court said that the winner of the most recent general election, 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 60% of the vote in an April special election to represent Senate District 6, 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 14 budget bills in one day.   So with margins this thin, three seats is nothing to scoff at for either party. Still, since 1999 the Legislative Reference Library says there have been 50 special elections for the Legislature; thirty-nine of those elections resulted in the incumbent party maintaining control of the district.  In the remaining 11 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.