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Minnesota recalls of Democratic state legislators, 2025

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On March 17, 2025, the Minnesota Supreme Court found no grounds for the 29 recall petitions filed by Republicans against Democratic representatives.[1] On February 4, 2025, Minnesota Republicans announced their plans to recall every House Democrat for their three-week boycott at the start of the 2025 legislative session.

These 29 recalls alone gave 2025 the second-most recalls against state lawmakers in a single year since 1913. Only 2011 saw more, with 44. Ballotpedia tracked 186 recall efforts against 168 state lawmakers from 1913 to 2024. Click here to read more about historical state legislative recalls. The Minnesota recalls represented 44% of the 66 total House seats held by Democrats and 22% of the whole chamber.

Democrats lost their House majority in the 2024 elections after Republicans gained three seats, resulting in a 67-67 split chamber. A vacancy in District 40B created a temporary 67-66 Republican majority at the start of the 2025 session. Because a 68-member quorum was required for the House to conduct business, Democrats boycotted the beginning of the session, preventing the Republican majority from establishing chamber control. Because members would usually be sworn in at the start of the session, Democrats swore in their members in a private, off-site ceremony. A power-sharing agreement was reached in early February, and the boycott ended.[2] House Republicans launched a recall effort against all House Democrats for their roles in the boycott.

The Minnesota Constitution provides that recalls can be initiated on the grounds of malfeasance, nonfeasance, or serious crime. Republicans argued that Democrats' private swearing-in ceremony constituted malfeasance, meaning an unlawful action committed in their duties as elected officials.[3] They further argued that the Democrats' boycott constituted nonfeasance, meaning the failure to perform their official duties.[3] Click here to read more about the grounds for recall in Minnesota.

Joshua Spivak wrote in the Minnesota Reformer, "This seems like a bold move. But in reality, there is a high likelihood of failure. In another state it may work, but thanks to the particulars of Minnesota’s recall law, there is precious little chance that any of these recalls will make the ballot."[4] If the petitions had succeeded, however, Spivak wrote, "Historically, recalls are very successful — nationwide, over 63% of recall votes since 2011 have resulted in removal and another 6% of officials have resigned in the face of a recall in that time."[4] Click here to read Ballotpedia's historical data on recall efforts.

Click here to read more about the 2024 Minnesota House election results. Click here to read more about the effect of the 2024 election outcomes on the 2025 legislative session.

The page below contains:

List of recall efforts

See also: Political recall efforts, 2025

Recall supporters

Minnesota Republican Party chair Alex Plechash said in a statement:

“ Just like a bank robber who returns the stolen money is still guilty of robbery, Democrats failed to show up for work for three weeks, collected $300,000 in taxpayer-funded salaries, and held the state hostage during a time of crisis.[5][6] ”

Recall opponents

A House DFL spokesperson told KSTP:

“ Republicans have filed frivolous recall petitions before that have been dismissed, and we are confident these frivolous recall petitions will be dismissed as well. Democrats have been doing our jobs fully every single day, and there is no basis for a recall.[7][6] ”

Background

Nov. 5, 2024, elections

See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2024

All 134 seats in the Minnesota House of Representatives were up for election on November 5, 2024.

At the time of the election, Democrats held a 68-64 majority in the chamber with two vacancies. Following the election, the chamber was evenly split with 67 Democrats and 67 Republicans.

Democrats lost majority control of the chamber in this election as a result of the split after having previously won control in 2018.

Noteworthy events

House District 54A lawsuit

In the Nov. 5, 2024, general election for District 54A in the Minnesota House of Representatives, incumbent Rep. Brad Tabke (D) led Aaron Paul (R) 10,973 to 10,959 votes, a margin of 14 votes, or 0.06% of the total votes cast. Minnesota allows a losing candidate to request a recount paid for by the state if the final margin is less than 0.5% of the total votes. Paul requested a recount.[8]

The recount found that Tabke won by 15 votes, one more than the original count. However, Scott County election officials announced that 20 ballots were lost and unable to be counted in the final tally. [9] In response, Paul filed a lawsuit asking Scott County District Judge Tracy Perzel to declare the election result invalid and order the district’s seat vacant until a special election could occur.[10]

During the December 2024 trial, six of the 20 voters identified as those whose ballots were lost testified that they voted for Tabke, which led to Tabke declaring victory in the race after the trial concluded.[11] Republican leader Rep. Lisa Demuth (R) indicated that Republicans would use their majority vote to refuse to seat Tabke.[12]

Perzel ruled on Jan. 14, 2025, that Tabke “remains the candidate with the most votes legally cast in the 2024 General Election for Minnesota House District 54A” and that “neither an injunction nor a special election is warranted or ordered.”[13]

House District 40B lawsuit

In the Nov. 5, 2024, general election for District 40B in the Minnesota House of Representatives, Curtis Johnson (D) defeated Paul Wikstrom (R) 65.4% to 34.6%. Wikstrom contested the results in court, alleging that Johnson did not meet the residency requirements to run in the district.[14] On Dec. 20, 2024, Ramsey County District Judge Leonardo Castro ruled that Johnson was disqualified from holding office because Johnson did not “maintain a residence in District 40B for the entire six months prior to the election was a deliberate, serious, and material violation of Minnesota election law.”[14] Johnson said he would not appeal the decision.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) scheduled a special election for Jan. 28, 2025.[15][16] In response, the Minnesota Voters Alliance and the Minnesota Republican Party filed a lawsuit with the Minnesota Supreme Court, arguing that state law required the governor to wait 22 days after the first day of session to schedule the special election.[17] A representative for Walz argued that "State law requires the governor to call a special election as soon as possible."[17]

On Jan. 17, 2025, six of the court's seven justices ruled that the special election "was issued prematurely and therefore must be quashed."[18] The court did not say when Walz would be able to reschedule the special election. Justice Karl Procaccini recused himself from the case.[18]

The results of the Nov. 5, 2024, general elections initially led to the partisan breakdown of the House being evenly split with 67 Democrats and 67 Republicans. However, the vacancy in House District 40B resulted in a 67-66 Republican majority with one vacancy.

2025 legislative session

See also: 2025 Minnesota legislative session

Republicans said their 67-66 majority authorized them to elect a speaker and control committee assignments.[19] However, Democrats said the majority was temporary, and lawmakers can take no action without 68 votes.[19]

On January 12, 2025, House Democrats held a swearing-in ceremony at the Minnesota History Center for Democratic representatives.[20][21] Democratic leader Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) said the ceremony was to ensure that Democratic representatives were legally sworn into office if Democratic representatives decided to deny a quorum.[22] Republican leader Rep. Lisa Demuth (R) said the ceremony was not legitimate.[23]

Democrats boycotted the first day of the session on January 14, 2025, after Demuth indicated that Republicans would use their majority vote to refuse to seat the general election winner for House District 54A.[24] Secretary of State Steve Simon (D) — acting as presiding officer — adjourned the meeting after a roll call determined that 67 members present were not enough to start the session.[25] Republicans appealed the order, moving to replace Simon as presiding officer with Rep. Paul Anderson (R).[25] Republicans then overturned Simon’s order, declared a quorum, and elected Demuth as speaker.[25]

In response, House Democrats petitioned the Minnesota Supreme Court, arguing that House Republicans’ actions after Simon gaveled the meeting closed were unlawful.[26] Simon filed a separate petition asking the court to weigh in on how many members need to be present to conduct business.[26] He also argued that Demuth illegally usurped his role as the presiding officer.[26]

The court heard oral arguments regarding the case on January 23, 2025.[27] On January 24, the court ruled that 68 members must be present to declare a quorum in the chamber.[28]

On February 4, the Minnesota Republican Party announced they would start circulating recall petitions for all House Democrats.[29]

Laws governing recall in Minnesota

See also: Laws governing recall in Minnesota

Process

First, a proposed recall petition must be submitted to the Minnesota Secretary of State specifying the grounds upon which the official should be recalled. The grounds must be one of the following: malfeasance, nonfeasance, or serious crime. If the petition is for a statewide office, it must also include 25 signatures of Minnesota residents who are eligible to vote. A $100 fee must also be paid at the time the recall petition is filed. The Secretary of State checks the signatures and, if verified, sends them to the Minnesota Supreme Court.[30]

Can you recall a federal official?
The U.S. Constitution does not provide for recall of any elected federal official. Although some state constitutions have stated that their citizens have the right to recall members of the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court has not ruled on whether this is constitutional at the federal level.
Read Ballotpedia's explanation »

The court then has 10 days to decide if the proposed petition should be dismissed or if a public hearing should be held to determine if grounds for recall are sufficient. If it is determined a hearing should be held, the court will assign the case to a special master. The hearing will be held within 21 days of assigning the case to a special master, and the special master will report back to the court within seven days of the hearing. The court will then make a decision on the proposed petition within 20 days of receiving the report from the special master. If the court rules that the grounds for recall are sufficient, the court will order the Secretary of State to issue a recall petition.[31]

Once the recall petition is issued, petitioners have 90 days to gather signatures equal to 25% of the number of votes cast for the affected office in the previous election. Once the signatures have been gathered, the petitions must be submitted to the Secretary of State for verification. If the signatures meet the verification requirements, the petition will be sent to the governor and a recall election date will be set.[32][33]

The election will be a Yes/No ballot in which voters will select Yes if they are in favor of removing the official from office or No if they are against it.[34] If a majority of voters vote Yes, the office will be declared vacant.[35]

Grounds

See also: States that require grounds for recalls

Minnesota has specific grounds that must be met for a recall petition to be circulated. These are:[30]

  • Malfeasance, which means that an official acted unlawfully in their duties as an elected official
  • Nonfeasance, which means an official failed to perform his duties
  • Serious crime, which means that an official committed a gross misdemeanor or felony

The court will reject the petition if it cannot be proven that the official has committed one of these acts.[30]

Historical state legislative recalls

Ballotpedia tracked 186 recall efforts against 168 state lawmakers from 1913 to 2024. During that time, 40 recalls made the ballot and 22 state legislators were successfully recalled.[36] A breakdown of the state legislative recall efforts by year is displayed in the chart below:

Michigan state legislators drew more recall petitions than any other from 1913 to 2024. Three of those 60 recall efforts have been successful. Wisconsin and California followed with 32 and 25 recall efforts, respectively. Wisconsin led all states with six legislators recalled, while California had five. The most recent successful recall effort against a state lawmaker was in 2018 with California state Senator Josh Newman (D). A breakdown of the various recall efforts is displayed in the chart below:

Recall context

See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report

Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.

The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2024 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ State of Minnesota In Supreme Court, "In re Proposed Recall Petition to Request the Recall of State Representatives," March 17, 2025
  2. ↑ Minnesota House of Representatives, "House DFL, Republicans strike power-sharing deal," February 6, 2025
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 CBS News, "Minnesota Republican Party launches recall election effort targeting all House Democrats boycotting the legislative session," February 4, 2025
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Minnesota Reformer, "Why Minnesota’s recall law spells likely doom for ouster efforts against House members," February 13, 2025
  5. ↑ [https://www.mngop.org/2025/02/07/statement-from-rpmn-chair-alex-plechash/ MNGOP.org, "Statement from RPMN Chair Alex Plechash," February 7, 2025
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  7. ↑ KSTP, "GOP begins to file recall petitions against DFL lawmakers," February 14, 2025
  8. ↑ The Minnesota Star Tribune, "DFL Rep. Brad Tabke picks up one vote over Republican Aaron Paul after 54A recount," November 21, 2024
  9. ↑ FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, "Missing ballots in Scott County likely caused by human error: Officials," November 27, 2024
  10. ↑ FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, "MN District 54A race: Republican challenger files election contest lawsuit," December 2, 2024
  11. ↑ The Minnesota Reformer, "Rep. Brad Tabke appears to have the votes. Now a judge will decide if that’s enough to take office.," December 17, 2024
  12. ↑ The Minnesota Reformer, "GOP House leader Demuth: ‘We should not be seating that representative’ no matter what judge rules," January 8, 2025
  13. ↑ FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, "MN District 54A race: Judge rules Brad Tabke's win stands," January 14, 2024
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 The Minnesota Star Tribune, "Judge rules DFL House candidate ineligible, throwing majority to GOP for now," December 20, 2024
  15. ↑ Twin Cities Pioneer Press, "Disqualified DFL House candidate steps aside, granting Republicans majority," January 14, 2025
  16. ↑ Office of Governor Tim Walz & Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, "Governor Walz Issues Writ of Special Election to Fill Vacancy in House District 40B," December 27, 2024
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Pioneer Press, "Minnesota GOP sues over timing of special election for Roseville House seat," January 6, 2025
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Minnesota, "Minnesota Voters Alliance, et al., Petitioners, Republican Party of Minnesota, Petitioner, vs. Timothy Walz, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Minnesota, et al., Respondents, Tracy West, in her official capacity as County Auditor of Ramsey County, Minnesota, et al., Respondents.," January 17, 2025
  19. ↑ All Democratic members of the Minnesota House of Representatives were involved in the January 12, 2025 swearing-in ceremony except one who was sworn in on January 10, 2025.
  20. ↑ Minnesota House of Representatives, "DFL state representatives sworn into office early," January 13, 2025
  21. ↑ Minnesota House of Representatives, "DFL state representatives sworn into office early," January 13, 2025
  22. ↑ CBS News, "House Democrats take oath of office in secret 2 days before legislative session starts, sparking outrage," January 13, 2025
  23. ↑ Threads, "Melissa Hortman on Janauary 14, 2025," accessed on January 14, 2025
  24. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 MPR News, "Minnesota House DFLers boycott opening session; Republicans elect their own speaker," January 14 2025
  25. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Minnesota Reformer, "House Democrats, secretary of state ask Supreme Court to weigh in on quorum question," January 15, 2025
  26. ↑ MPR News, "State Supreme Court weighs what to do about ‘dysfunctional’ Minnesota House," January 23, 2025
  27. ↑ Fox 9, "MN Supreme Court quorum ruling sides with DFL, says 68 members needed," January 24, 2025
  28. ↑ CBS News, "Minnesota Republican Party launches recall election effort targeting all House Democrats boycotting the legislative session," February 4, 2025
  29. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Minnesota Statutes, "Section 211C.04," accessed February 17, 2023
  30. ↑ Minnesota Statutes, "Section 211C.05," accessed February 4, 2025
  31. ↑ Minnesota Constitution, "Article VIII," accessed February 4, 2025
  32. ↑ Minnesota Statutes, "Section 211C.06," accessed February 4, 2025
  33. ↑ Minnesota Statutes, "Section 211C.071," accessed February 4, 2025
  34. ↑ Minnesota Statutes, "Section 211C.08," accessed February 4, 2025
  35. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Recall of State Officials," accessed August 13, 2021
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