List of special elections to the Minnesota House of Representatives

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This is a list of special elections to the Minnesota House of Representatives. Such elections are called by the governor of Minnesota to fill vacancies that occur when a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives dies or resigns before the biennial general election. Winners of these elections serve the remainder of the term and are usually candidates in the next election for their districts.

Contents

General elections are held in November of even numbered years. New Legislatures convene on the first Tuesday following the first Monday of the following year.

Special elections

DistrictLegislatureDatePredecessorSuccessorCause
66A 66th April 8, 1969 Marvin E. Christianson Sr. (DFL) Donna Jean Christianson (DFL)Death. [1]
26A 79th August 1, 1995 Gene Hugoson (R) Bob Gunther (R)
11B 80th November 7, 1997 Ken Otremba (DFL) Mary Ellen Otremba (DFL)Death (cancer).
17A 80th January 6, 1998 LeRoy Koppendrayer (R) Sondra Erickson (R)Resigned to become a member of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.
23A 80th January 20, 1998 Barb Vickerman (R) James Clark (R)
51B 80th January 27, 1998 Doug Swenson (R) Ray Vanderveer (R)
7A 81st November 2, 1999 Willard Munger (DFL) Dale Swapinski (DFL)Death (liver cancer).
12B 82nd November 6, 2001 Steve Wenzel (DFL) Greg Blaine (R)Resigned to become State Director of Rural Development in the United States Department of Agriculture.
47A 82nd March 4, 2002 Darlene Luther (DFL)John Jordan (R)Death (stomach cancer).
40A 83rd February 3, 2003 Dan McElroy (R) Duke Powell (R)Resigned to become Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Finance.
52B 83rd February 11, 2003 Mark Holsten (R) Rebecca Otto (DFL)Resigned to become Deputy Commissioner of Natural Resources.
32B 83rd February 25, 2003 Rich Stanek (R) Kurt Zellers (R)Resigned to become Sheriff of Hennepin County.
18A 83rd December 30, 2003 Tony Kielkucki (R) Scott Newman (R)Resigned following appointment to a position in the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office. [2]
15B 84th December 27, 2005 Joe Opatz (DFL) Larry Haws (DFL)Resigned to become Interim President of Central Lakes College. [3]
28B 85th August 7, 2007 Steve Swiggum (R) Steve Drazkowski (R)Resigned to become Minnesota Commissioner of Labor and Industry. [4]
5B 87th February 15, 2011 Tony Sertich (DFL) Carly Melin (DFL)Resigned following appointment to Commissioner of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board. [5]
61B 87th January 10, 2012 Jeff Hayden (DFL) Susan Allen (DFL)Resigned following election to Minnesota Senate. [6]
14A 88th February 12, 2013 Steve Gottwalt (R) Tama Theis (R)Resigned to become the director of state legislative policy for the Center for Diagnostic Imaging.
19A 88th February 12, 2013 Terry Morrow (DFL) Clark Johnson (DFL)Resigned to become the legislative director for the Uniform Law Commission.
46A 89th November 3, 2015 Ryan Winkler (DFL) Peggy Flanagan (DFL)Resigned to relocate to Belgium. [7]
3A 89th December 8, 2015 David Dill (DFL) Rob Ecklund (DFL)Death (cancer). [8]
50B 89th February 9, 2016 Ann Lenczewski (DFL) Chad Anderson (R)Resigned to join Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P. [9]
32B 90th February 14, 2017 Bob Barrett (R) Anne Neu (R)Ruled ineligible to be a candidate in the 2016 general election by the Minnesota Supreme Court. [10]
23B 90th February 12, 2018 Tony Cornish (R) Jeremy Munson (R)Resigned due to allegations of sexual harassment. [11]
11B 91st March 19, 2019 Jason Rarick (R) Nathan Nelson (R)Resigned after winning a special election to the Minnesota Senate. [12]
60A 91st February 4, 2020 Diane Loeffler (DFL) Sydney Jordan (DFL)Death (cancer). [13]
30A 91st February 4, 2020 Nick Zerwas (R) Paul Novotny (R)Resigned to spend more time with his family and to seek employment outside of the Legislature. [14]
52B 93rd December 5, 2023 Ruth Richardson (DFL) Bianca Virnig (DFL)Resigned to focus on role at Planned Parenthood. [15]
27B 93rd March 19, 2024 Kurt Daudt (R) Bryan Lawrence (R)Resigned. [16] [17]
40B 94th March 11, 2025 Jamie Becker-Finn (DFL) David Gottfried (DFL)Becker-Finn did not seek re-election in November. Curtis Johnson, elected to represent the district in the November 2024 election, was ruled ineligible to serve due to residency requirements. [18]
34B 94th September 16, 2025 Melissa Hortman (DFL)TBDHortman was assassinated on June 14, 2025. [19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Voters in District 66A". The Minneapolis Star. April 8, 1969. p. 1Y. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Newman, Scott J. - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present".
  3. ↑ "Opatz, Joseph Paul "Joe" - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present".
  4. ↑ "HHH : University of Minnesota - Home Page". Archived from the original on July 20, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Mr Sertich appointed as commissioner of Iron Range Resources Board".
  6. ↑ "MinnPost - State Rep. Jeff Hayden to run for Berglin's Senate seat". Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  7. ↑ Lopez, Ricardo (May 21, 2015). "Minnesota Rep. Ryan Winkler will resign seat as family relocates to Belgium". Star Tribune . Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  8. ↑ Walsh, Paul (August 9, 2015). "NE Minnesota Rep. David Dill, championed outdoors, dies from cancer". Star Tribune . Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  9. ↑ Bakst, Brian (November 16, 2015). "Prominent Democratic state Rep. Lenczewski to resign House seat, take job in lobbying firm". Star Tribune . Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  10. ↑ Montgomery, David (September 8, 2016). "Lawmaker doesn't live in district, MN Supreme Court rules; ballot won't count". Pioneer Press . Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  11. ↑ Coolican, J. Patrick (November 21, 2017). "Minnesota state Rep. Tony Cornish to resign after harassment claims". Star Tribune . Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  12. ↑ Erickson, Andee; Whitefoot, Adelle (February 5, 2019). "Jason Rarick wins Minnesota Senate District 11 special election". Duluth News Tribune . Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  13. ↑ Miller, Pamela (November 17, 2019). "Minnesota DFL Rep. Diane Loeffler dies of cancer at 66". Star Tribune . Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  14. ↑ Van Berkel, Jessie (November 25, 2019). "4-term Minnesota Rep. Nick Zerwas, battling heart condition, to resign". Star Tribune . Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  15. ↑ Griffith, Michelle (December 6, 2023). "Democrat Bianca Virnig wins special election for Minnesota House seat". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  16. ↑ Mohr, Jonathan (January 10, 2024). "Former House speaker Daudt announces resignation". Minnesota House of Representatives. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  17. ↑ Mohr, Jonathan (March 20, 2024). "Republican candidate easily wins District 27B special election". Minnesota House of Representatives. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  18. ↑ Jacobsen, Jeremiah (December 20, 2024). "Roseville election ruling shakes up control of Minnesota legislature". KARE-TV . Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  19. ↑ Haworth, Jon; Shapiro, Emily; Margolin, Josh (June 14, 2025). "Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman killed, State Sen. John Hoffman wounded in 'targeted political violence'". ABC News . Retrieved July 24, 2025.
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