Democrats win 2 special elections for Minnesota House seats

Ryan Faircloth, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 28, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — Democrats won a pair of special elections for Minnesota House seats in St. Paul and the east metro on Jan. 27, restoring the chamber to an even partisan split before the Legislature returns for its 2026 session.

Labor lawyer Meg Luger-Nikolai easily defeated Republican and IT professional Dan Walsh for the safely blue seat left open by former DFL Rep. Kaohly Her, who won St. Paul’s election for mayor in November.

Luger-Nikolai won a six-way DFL primary for the seat in December to move on to the Jan. 27 special election.

In the east metro, nonprofit executive Shelley Buck won a special election to replace former DFL Rep. Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger, who was elected to the state Senate in November.

Buck did not have a registered Republican opponent in the race for Hemmingsen-Jaeger’s old seat, which covers parts of Woodbury and Maplewood. In December, Buck won a three-way DFL primary against advocates David Azcona and Juli Servatius.

The two special elections brought the Minnesota House back to a 67-67 tie between Democrats and Republicans.

They came after a year of upheaval for the Legislature, with several resignations and death, including the June assassination of former House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman.

There were six special elections last year, tied for the record previously set in 1994.

This year’s legislative session begins Feb. 17.

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