The Electoral College votes are counted in Washington today under heavy security and new rules meant to avoid a replay of the mayhem four years ago. Unlike 2020, there is no ongoing litigation or dispute over who won the election. Donald Trump, who refused to accept his loss four years ago, is well into planning for his return to the presidency on Jan. 20 — two weeks from now. In November, Trump swept the swing states and amassed 312 electoral votes, more than the 270 it takes to secure a White House term. Minnesota’s 10 electoral votes were cast last month for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, who as vice president will preside over this year’s congressional joint session. The violent clashes at the Capitol as Trump supporters tried to stop proceedings in 2021 is still playing out in criminal actions — though Trump is promising to pardon some offenders — and is still a source of anguish to police officers who came under attack.
Unless there is intervention, Donald Trump will enter office as the only president sentenced for a felony conviction. A New York Judge has scheduled Trump’s sentencing for Friday after his 2024 conviction tied to hush money payments to an adult film actress. Judge Juan Merchan indicated that he will not impose any incarceration for the incoming president over the 34 felony charges of falsifying business records. Trump continues to fight the case and suggests he should be immune under a U.S. Supreme Court ruling about the ability to charge presidents with crimes.
Congress convened its new session on Friday and House Speaker Mike Johnson hung onto his job as speaker with assistance from President-elect Trump. Fellow House Republicans made Johnson sweat by withholding votes from the Louisiana representative in the first round. That roll call technically never closed — and by the time it did, Trump had spoken with two holdouts to get them to support Johnson. The lone GOP member who didn’t was Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, who voted instead for Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer. There was incentive for Trump to get this settled because without a speaker, the electoral vote count could have gotten caught up in the chaos. It also showed that he’ll have immense sway over the new Congress, where Republicans hold narrow majorities in the House and Senate.
Closer to home, the 2024 election remains unsettled as it pertains to the Minnesota Legislature. A judge is likely to rule this week — why not today? — in the House District 54A election contest where Republican Aaron Paul has challenged a 14-vote certified victory for DFLer Brad Tabke. Paul and his lawyers say there can never be certainty with the outcome because of 20 discarded absentee ballots that didn’t get included in the tally. Tabke’s team said testimony of voters behind those missing ballots affirm that he had an insurmountable lead. Judge Tracy Perzel is contemplating a Paul petition to vacate the result and let the seat be filled through a special election. No matter what she rules, Tabke’s seating could be held up when the House convenes because GOP members could object to him taking office for another term and they have more votes than DFLers at this point. Tabke wouldn’t get a say on his own seating if it comes to that.
There are two special elections on the docket for this month. A Roseville-Shoreview seat came open after a successful legal challenge to Rep.-elect Curtis Johnson’s residency. He opted against appealing and stood down. Republicans have taken issue with Gov. Tim Walz using this law to call a special election now rather than wait until the start of the Legislature’s session for the vacancy to formally occur. According to a media advisory from the state Republican Party, a lawsuit attempting to halt the election for now will be filed. If the Jan. 28 election happens as scheduled, the race between Republican Paul Wikstrom and DFLer David Gottfried could decide whether the House moves back into a 67-67 tie (barring some other departure or a Tabke roadblock). Wikstrom was the GOP nominee in November and brought the challenge to Johnson’s residency. There is a bit of irony that his candidacy in the special election was filed with his personal residence address shielded from public view. It’s listed as “private” in a Secretary of State’s office spreadsheet.
The other special election will fill the Senate seat of the late Sen. Kari Dziedzic. She died in late December. The heavily DFL Minneapolis district will also be filled in a Jan. 28 election and the winning party will have a one-vote majority in the Senate. That’s right, it’ll be 33 to 33 at the outset. Neither party knows its nominee yet because the race has attracted multiple candidates for the DFL (eight) and the GOP (two). A primary will be held on Jan. 14, the first day of session.
When the session starts next week (yes, one week from Tuesday), there will also be new attention on a DFL senator facing a criminal prosecution. Sen. Nicole Mitchell of Woodbury is charged with felony burglary stemming from an April arrest in Detroit Lakes at the home of her stepmother and where her late father lived. A motions hearing is scheduled for the afternoon of Jan. 14 and a trial would start later in the month. A prosecutor has asked the judge to prevent Mitchell’s attorneys from requesting a lesser penalty of trespass and also from noting in front of the jury that she’s a senator. There is a pending ethics complaint against Mitchell, which is on hold until the criminal matter is resolved. With the tight margin in the Senate, her status is hugely consequential.
Republicans are certain to have a greater say in the upcoming session than they did in the previous two. They’ll start with a tie in the Senate and a one-vote edge in the House. They’ll likely be able to put one of their own, Rep. Lisa Demuth, into the speaker’s chair and it’s a move that could extend much longer than DFLers would like because reorganizing could be unachievable even if a tie is returned in the special election. The GOP is primed to control committee agendas and chairs are signalling investigations into the Walz administration are coming. They will certainly push forward early bills around fraud and abuse involving government programs. They were glad to see Walz put his own plan out last week even as they questioned his sincerity and the structure of his proposal. The issue is assured to be a dominant one during the 2025 session. | 
