The special election for the late State Senator Bruce Anderson's (R- Buffalo) seat, and for the vacant seat of State Senator Nicole Mitchell (DFL - Woodbury) will take place November 4 with the balance of power at stake.
Anderson died suddenly last week at age 75. Mitchell was forced to resign after being found guilty of felony burglary charges.
University of Minnesota political science professor Larry Jacobs says either way, lawmakers are likely to face a challenging situation with Republicans in Washington D.C. passing a bill that includes deep cuts to federal programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
"The lawmakers and the governor are going to have to come back together, in all likelihood, to pass another budget to find cuts," says Jacobs. "Because the cuts they made earlier may not be enough now that Washington has acted."
Jacobs says that may have to happen before the end of the year.
"The special elections at the capitol are intriguing for the insiders, and they're important," Jacobs tells WCCO. "Because it's going to decide which party has the upper-hand as we move into the fall."
Right now the Senate has a DFL majority of just one seat. Complicating matters is the Minnesota House, which is in a deadlocked, 76-76 tie.
WCCO Radio political analyst Blois Olson says the race for Mitchell's is one to keep an eye on. Infighting in that district, typically left-leaning, could open a door for the Republicans.
"You could have two reps running against each other, which is really interesting, could get expensive, could create an opportunity where Republicans can use their candidate the whole time while Democrats are fighting with each other," Olson explained on the WCCO Morning News. "It's also a little bit of an activist versus a more policy-based legislator on the DFL side, and that's a preview of next year."
For Anderson's seat, don't expect much drama with it being a heavily Republican part of the state.
A special primary will happen August 26 for both seats if necessary.
There's one more prominent special election of course. Tuesday, September 16th will be the special election date to fill the House District 34B vacancy. That seat was held by House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman. Hortman and her husband Mark, along with their dog Gilbert, were shot and killed during what prosecutors are calling a political assassination. State Senator John Hoffman (DFL - Champlin) and his wife Yvette were also shot by the alleged suspect, Vance Boelter.