When the votes were counted after the Nov. 5 general election, the 134-seat Minnesota State House of Representatives membership was tied at 67 Democrats and 67 Republicans.
As of Dec. 20, that tally temporarily sits at 67 Republicans and 66 Democrats.
The power shift is due to a successful court challenge of the residency of Democratic candidate Curtis Johnson by Paul Wikstrom, his Republican opponent.
Johnson and Wikstrom vied for an open seat in the outer suburbs of Minneapolis-St. Paul created by a recent redistricting. The redrawn district line landed Johnson’s home outside of the new boundary.
Though Johnson won the election by more than 7,500 votes, he will not be taking the oath of office because District Court Judge Leonardo Castro found he “did not meet the residence requirements and is not eligible to serve” as the state representative of House District 40B....
