Democrats win two Minnesota House seats, restoring 67-67 split

Democrats won two vacant seats in the Minnesota House of Representatives on Tuesday, The Associated Press said, restoring the chamber to an even partisan split. The districts are heavily Democratic, and the results were not unexpected: Shelley Buck, a former president of the Prairie Island Indian Community’s Tribal Council, and Meg Luger-Nikolai, a lawyer, won the races.

In one contest the Democratic nominee was the only candidate on the ballot. The seats, in St. Paul and suburban St. Paul, became vacant after the Democrats who held them were elected to other offices in November. Assuming there are no other changes before Ms. Buck and Ms. Luger-Nikolai are sworn in, their elections will leave the Minnesota House with 67 Republicans and 67 Democrats.

Democrats hold a slim majority in the State Senate and Governor Tim Walz is a Democrat, but the paper said Democrats will still be unable to enact their policy agenda without Republican support. The elections took place amid tensions over a recent surge of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota, which local and state officials have criticized and sued as unconstitutional.

Federal agents have made thousands of arrests, clashed with protesters and fatally shot two U.S. citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, the outlet reported.