Voters in the Roseville-Shoreview area are hitting the polls Tuesday for a special election that will alter the balance of the Minnesota House.
After the polls close at 8 p.m. and conclude the race for the District 40B seat, there will either be a tie between the two major parties or a Republican advantage.
District 40B is home to a reliably blue base. Last November, voters sided decisively with DFLer Curtis Johnson, but a judge later found him [ineligible to serve](https://www.startribune.com/dfler-resigns-seat-in-minnesota-house-after-court-ruling-found-he-failed-to-meet-residency-requirement/601199580) because he failed to meet state residency requirements which ultimately prompted Tuesday’s special election.
David Gottfried, who works as a pro bono specialist for a local law firm, is running on the DFL side this time. He faces off with Republican Paul Wikstrom, who has worked in engineering and management in the aerospace and medical device industries.
Johnson’s ineligibility temporarily gave the GOP a 67-66 advantage in the House. Republicans abandoned power-sharing negotiations and elected a speaker and attempted to organize committees without Democrats, who were absent at the start of the legislative session in January.
Should Gottfried win and the House is tied at 67 members each, the two parties will be forced to negotiate with each other. But even if Wikstrom gives Republicans their 68th member, deals would still need to be made with the DFL-led Senate.
Gottfried, a Shoreview resident who grew up in Roseville, said in an email to the Minnesota Star Tribune last month that he’s running because he sees “a need for governance that centers shared values and practical policy.”