Democrats in Minnesota’s House staged a walkout to prevent Republicans from electing a new speaker amid a legislative standoff.
Now, the Secretary of State, Steve Simon, called it a day after realizing there weren’t enough members present. But the Republicans still tried to hold a session anyway, which was a bit sketchy.
They went ahead and voted to elect Lisa Demuth as the new speaker, but that’s likely going to be challenged in court. It’s a real mess.
Melissa Hortman, the Democrats’ speaker-designate, wasn’t having any of it. She called the whole thing a “kangaroo court” and said they’d fight back in court to stop the Republicans from moving forward.
She pointed out that they need to respect the election results, even if they don’t like them. But the Republicans seem to want to rewrite the rules, and that’s not cool.
In November, voters split the House evenly with 67 Democrats and 67 Republicans. They were trying to work out a power-sharing deal, but then a residency challenge knocked one Democrat out, leading to a special election later this month.
Demuth claimed that the situation isn’t a tie anymore because of that. The Democrats are staying away from the Capitol until after the special election, hoping to regain some power.
Simon made it clear that without 68 members present, he couldn’t do anything, so he adjourned the session. The walkout happened after talks between the parties fell apart.
National Democrats are backing the local party with a $100,000 investment to help them out, especially with the upcoming special election.
There’s also the issue with Rep. Brad Tabke, whose win was questioned after some absentee ballots were mistakenly tossed out. A court upheld his win, but the House still has to decide on his eligibility.
Hortman stated that the Democrats have no choice but to deny a quorum until they can restore the balance. They’re determined to fight against what they see as Republican overreach.
This whole situation is definitely heating up in Minnesota!
