House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, and House Majority Leader Jamie Long, DFL-Minneapolis, spoke about the election results on Nov. 6, 2024, at a Capitol press conference. Photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer.
In a final attempt to avert the current legal and political battle for control of the Minnesota House, Democratic leader Melissa Hortman offered the GOP the speakership for two years, as well as the creation of an “oversight committee” with a majority of Republicans who would have been empowered to investigate the administration of DFL Gov. Tim Walz.
The deal on offer, which was shown to the Reformer Wednesday by a source close to Hortman, would have restored a power-sharing agreement that Hortman negotiated with GOP leader Rep. Lisa Demuth, but which Republicans scrapped when a judge declared that Curtis Johnson — a Democrat elected in a heavily DFL north metro district — didn’t live in his district and couldn’t serve. That gave Republicans a 67-66 advantage until a special election Jan. 28, which is expected to restore the House to 67-67.
Under Hortman’s offer, Demuth would have served as speaker and Republicans as committee chairs until the special election in District 40B, at which time they’d return to the agreed-upon shared committee chairs. Demuth would have retained the title of speaker for the remainder of the two-year term, though would have shared power with Hortman. The oversight committee would remain majority Republican for the remainder of the term, as well.
The offer included a key provision that would have blocked Republicans from refusing to seat DFL Rep. Brad Tabke, who won his Shakopee district by 14 votes in an election marred by 20 missing ballots. Hortman proposed that election contests like in the Tabke case be referred to the Ethics Committee, which has equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans. Rejecting an election outcome and creating a vacancy — like in the Tabke case — would require 68 votes, or one more than the Republican total, even though the law only requires a majority of voting members in election contest scenarios.
Hortman’s Tabke-related provision was offered up before a judge ruled Tuesday — in a solely advisory opinion — that Tabke won and the missing ballots wouldn’t have changed the outcome.
For Republicans, the offer was a non-starter, a source close to House GOP leadership said, because “Democrats acted like they had a 67th vote, sought to unilaterally disarm us on Tabke, and neuter the fraud and oversight committee we had already announced last week,” referring to the Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee.
Told to take a hike, Democrats used the last parliamentary weapon in their quiver: Refusing to show up. By staying away from the Capitol, they are denying quorum, which is the minimum number of members needed to conduct business.
Republicans say their 67 members are the majority of the currently seated 133 members and thus enough for quorum, and they elected Demuth speaker Tuesday.
Democrats, including the presiding officer of the opening of the session, Secretary of State Steve Simon, say 68 is needed for quorum, and therefore everything after the time he banged the gavel and adjourned the day’s session was not lawful.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to take up the case next week.
And, Hortman has withdrawn the offer to allow Demuth to remain speaker for the next two years, the source close to her said.