Just a few months after losing the 2024 election as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz suffered another significant defeat at the hands of Republicans. On Thursday morning, state House Republicans announced that the GOP would take control of the Minnesota lower chamber for the next two years.
This shift is part of a power-sharing agreement between Democrats and Republicans in the state House, which resulted in the election of GOP Minnesota State Rep. Lisa Demuth as speaker and the formation of an oversight committee to investigate the Walz administration. The power-sharing agreement was brokered after state House Democrats attempted to block their GOP colleagues from gaining legislative control by staging a three-week-long boycott.
Republicans currently hold a one-seat majority in the state House, with a 67-66 split, and one vacant seat that was previously held by a Democrat. This seat will be filled following a special election in March. Republicans gaining control of the House will significantly limit Walz’s ability to implement left-wing policies. “During the time that we have the one-seat majority, there will be Republican chairs in every committee with a one-vote advantage,” Demuth went on to say during a press conference Thursday.
If Democrats win the special election to fill the vacant seat, Demuth will still retain the speakership. Republicans in the State House also see another victory in this outcome, as holding the speakership gives the party leverage in budget negotiations with the Walz administration. If the House results in a 67-67 tie, both parties will share power on committees, while the GOP will maintain control over the new Fraud and Agency Oversight Committee. “There is record fraud in the state of Minnesota proven with three new cases even just last week,” Demuth added during the press conference.
A Minnesota-based nonprofit organization was discovered to have stolen an alarming $250 million from a federal COVID-19 food aid program in 2022, under Gov. Walz’s watch. An audit criticized his administration for failing to prevent the theft of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. “Voters have made it clear they want Minnesota House Republicans to be a strong check on Tim Walz and his extreme liberal agenda,” Republican State Leadership Committee President Edith Jorge-Tuñón commented following the power-sharing agreement announcement.
“They are tired of the high taxes and rising violent crime they’ve experienced under Democrat control. Today’s agreement is a decisive victory for Minnesotans, ensuring they get the representation they deserve,” he added. Republicans lost the majority in the lower chamber in 2018 as Minnesota’s urban regions became more blue.