The tension is wracheting up in the Minnesota House of Representatives, a day before the legislative session is scheduled to begin.
House Republicans have a one-seat advantage, pending the results of two races that are still unsettled.
Democrats threaten to sit out Tuesday's opening day, effectively keeping the GOP from making key leadership picks.
House DFL leader Melissa Hortman told WCCO's Vineeta Sawkar that the two sides met briefly on Sunday and will meet again on Monday.
She put the odds at "50-50" at whether the DFL caucus will be in the House chamber at the capitol in time for the opening of session.
"Everyone living in the state of Minnesota would look at their elected official and say, 'we have asked you to do this work, and you need to show up," said House GOP leader Lisa Demuth.
Democrats are standing by their tactic as a legitimate political move.
"This is politics, and in politics, conflict is a part of it," said Hortman.
Both Demuth and Hortman were on WCCO's Sunday Take with Blois Olson.
Adding to that is DFLers on Sunday swearing in all but one of their members at a separate ceremony at the History Center in St. Paul.
That lone Democrat not involved in the Sunday ceremony was sworn in last Friday.
There are multiple instances in Minnesota legislative history of representatives being sworn in at a time other than the first day of session.
Minnesota statute 3.05 does not provide that the first day of session is the only time that members can be sworn in.
Other Minnesota law and past practice indicates it is legally permissible to be done at other times and that it has been done at other times.
Other law provides the persons entitled to administer oaths, and Democrats followed those statutes today.
On the other side of the capitol, state Senate members have settled on a power-sharing agreement, with that body, for now, evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.