MN GOP Plans to File Recall Petitions for House Democrats Boycotting Session

The Minnesota Republican Party has announced plans to file recall elections for all Democrats who are currently boycotting this year’s legislative session.

GOP party leaders said at a press conference Tuesday that they are currently working to collect 25 signatures per seat and plan to file at least some of the petitions by next Monday.

The state Supreme Court would decide if the grounds for a recall are invalid. If approved, a recall election date would then be set.

Republicans say the recall petitions are needed because the DFL is holding the state hostage while still collecting nearly $10,000 per day in salaries and benefits. Democrats called the move “a stunt” in a statement they released Tuesday, saying that Republicans have wasted weeks trying to overturn an election they lost so that they can seize power that Minnesotans didn’t give them at the ballot box.

Meanwhile, GOP and DFL House leaders met again Tuesday to negotiate a path to bring both parties together on the House floor, and for the first time there was some optimism from the Republican side.

“What I can tell you is I am very encouraged by my Democrat colleagues that it seems that there is some type of increased motivation to actually come to a determination,” said Rep. Lisa Demuth, House Republican Leader. “I don’t have anything else to be able to share with you right now. But there does seem that there’s a little bit of an increase in motivation.”

Also, a Supreme Court hearing on a House Republican petition that claims DFL Secretary of State Steve Simon has overstepped his authority in the House is scheduled for Thursday.