Minnesota Democratic Farmera Ball (DFL) candidate David Gottfried is predicted to win a special election for Minnesota seats, according to Decise Desk HQ.
Gottfried, a pro bono expert at the law firm, defeated Republican candidate Paul Wickstrom, an engineer manager and instructor pilot for the Minnesota 40B seat.
Gottfried was expected to win the seats he overwhelmingly voted for Democrats in past election cycles. The victory of the Minnesota DFL candidates brought the state capitol back to a 67-67 tie.
The Capitol special election was urged after DFL candidate Curtis Johnson won a seat in November, but later found it failed to meet the district's residency requirements.
Johnson's first victory made the Capitol a 67-67 tie, but brought the low room to the temporary 67-66 GOP edge after the judge determined it didn't meet the district's residency requirements.
The Capitol saw the session's turbulent start, and DFL members refused to head to work at the Capitol, and the two parties were unable to agree on how, considering the temporary edge of the Capitol GOP, which will be returned to the tie in March.
Republicans have argued that they have chosen speakers without DFL members and are trying to do business with 67 members making up the quorum. The two parties were eventually caught up in a power sharing agreement last month, including the election of Republican Lisa Demus Speaker.
