The state Republican Party and conservative Minnesota Voters Alliance have asked the state Supreme Court to void Gov. Tim Walz’s decision to hold a special election Jan. 28 for a DFL-held House seat.

The legal challenge is among the unsettled issues that will determine which party controls the Legislature in the 2025 session, which starts in just more than a week. Republicans will begin the session with a 67-66 advantage in the House because the Roseville-area seat was left open after a court order voided a DFLer’s victory.

The stakes are tremendous for both parties and set the table for an historically rocky start of the Legislature on Jan. 14.

Until the December court order, the DFL and GOP were to open the session tied at 67 members each and had been discussing a power-sharing agreement. But now Republicans say the 67-66 advantage will allow them to elect a speaker and control committee assignments. DFLers disagree; they say 68 votes are needed for any House action, including the election of a speaker.

The GOP petition seeks to delay the special election — and prolong the party’s advantage. Regardless of when the election occurs, the DFL is heavily favored to retain control of the seat, returning the House to a 67-67 tie.

The GOP petition claimed Walz prematurely called the special election before the seat was vacant because incumbent Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn, DFL-Roseville, remains in office.

Becker-Finn didn’t seek re-election in November, and DFLer Curtis Johnson won her seat by beating Republican Paul Wikstrom by 30 percentage points. Wikstrom is running for the seat again.

But Ramsey County District Judge Leonardo Castro ruled last month that Johnson was ineligible to run for or hold the post because he lives in a house in Little Canada, not the Roseville apartment he had rented and claimed to call home. Johnson chose not to appeal Castro’s ruling and said he would resign.

The 33-page GOP and Voters Alliance petition said Johnson can’t “resign” from a seat he was ineligible to hold.

In a statement, Walz’s office defended his action. It said state law requires the governor to call a special election “as soon as possible” and that Becker-Finn’s term ends Monday with no successor in place.

“Republicans are trying to use the courts to prevent Democratic legislators from being seated,” the statement read.

The petition also faulted Walz for the short notice of the special election. He issued a writ on Dec. 27 with the candidate filing period closing at 5 p.m. Dec. 31.

The GOP petition called Walz’s order rushed, unlawful and premature. “Petitioners have found no other example in any special election in the history of Minnesota with similar facts and such an impetuous timeline,” it said.

The Supreme Court has yet to act on the petition, which was announced Saturday. The court could reject it outright or request written briefs and schedule oral arguments.

The House special election is one of two scheduled for Jan. 28. In Minneapolis, voters will decide who will succeed former DFL Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic who died of cancer Dec. 27. The DFL also is expected to easily win that seat, but in the meantime, the Senate is tied at 33 members from each party.

The petition did not challenge the election for Dziedzic’s seat.

The state GOP and the Voters Alliance have scheduled a news conference at the Capitol on Monday.

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