Minnesota House Democrats end boycott; legislating to finally begin, three weeks late

Minnesota House Democrats will end their three-week boycott of the legislative session after Republicans agree to a key demand that Rep. Brad Tabke, DFL-Shakopee, will retain his seat after winning a close victory in the south metro and a court challenge to the contest.

The 66 Democrats have thus far refused to appear at the Capitol, which denied the 67 Republicans a quorum — the minimum number of members required to conduct business — after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that 68 are needed. One seat is currently vacant because Democrat Curtis Johnson resigned after a judge said he did not live in his district. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party is expected to win a special election to replace Johnson on March 11, bringing the chamber to a 67-67 tie.

The deal averts another showdown at the Supreme Court, which was set to hear arguments Thursday on whether Secretary of State Steve Simon – the House presiding officer who has been adjourning the session every day for lack of 68-member quorum – is required to call on Republicans in attendance who sought to make a motion.

Republicans scored a major victory in that Rep. Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, will be the speaker for the entire term even though her power will be limited once the two parties deadlock at 67-67. Nothing can pass without 68 votes.

Still, Demuth’s speakership will be a psychological boost to Minnesota Republicans, who have not won a statewide race in nearly 20 years, lost the House majority in 2018 and suffered under the steamrolling DFL trifecta of 2023-24.

According to both DFL and GOP sources, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter, the deal also grants Republicans the gavels of all committees, though only until the special election brings the chamber back into a tie. At that point, the two parties will share power.

One committee, however, will retain a GOP majority even after the special election: The House Fraud and Agency Oversight Committee. That will give Republicans a key platform to investigate and amplify the wave of fraud that has beset DFL-led state government in recent years. The committee will not have subpoena power, however, which could limit the depth of the investigations.

On the matter of Tabke, whose 14-vote victory was marred by 20 missing ballots, the issue will be referred to the House Ethics Committee, which has equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats. That means the matter is all but closed. In an advisory opinion, a judge ruled that the missing ballots would not have changed the outcome, and that Tabke should be seated. Republicans had hoped for a do-over, which would be a winnable race and could have delivered an actual 68-vote majority.

A DFL source said the Tabke issue was especially motivating for House Democrats, both to protect their numbers and because they sought to defend the principle that election victories, no matter how close, should not be nullified by a GOP House plurality. (The Constitution grants the House and Senate the power to seat their own members, which is what made Democrats nervous about Republicans’ refusal to guarantee they wouldn’t attempt to unseat Tabke.)

On its face, the final deal looks similar to an offer Democrats extended three weeks ago: Tabke seated; a Demuth speakership; committee gavels until the special election; two-year majority on the fraud committee.

Andrew Wagner, a spokesman for House Republicans, said the previous DFL offer was for Demuth to be speaker in name only, whereas now she’ll have real power: “I could tick off 20+ procedural/logistical advantages that will make a significant difference, especially later in session.”

Republicans have been hammering Democrats ever since Jan. 14 about “not showing up to work,” and sought to force Democrats to return to the House under penalty of loss of pay and per diem.

A recent poll indicated that the public had largely sided with Democrats, though the poll respondents agreed with Republicans about pay.

What remains to be seen is whether the power struggle will lead to further recriminations, or if the expected shared gavels will improve collegiality and collaboration.

What’s clear is that they need to get to work. It’s a budget year, which means they have to pass a two-year, $60-plus billion budget to fund schools, roads, parks, social services, health care and other services Minnesotans rely on. If they do not meet a June 30 deadline, the government will shut down.

The Wednesday agreement was first reported by the Minnesota Star Tribune.

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Editor’s note: The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell. 

J. Patrick Coolican wrote this story, which originally appeared in the Minnesota Reformer on Feb. 5. Coolican is editor-in-chief of the Reformer.