Minnesota House Republicans may have a temporary House majority when the Legislature convenes this January after a judge ruled Friday that a Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate was not a resident of the district he ran to represent.

Curtis Johnson, a DFLer who defeated his Republican opponent in House District 40B by 30 points in the November election, did not properly establish residence in Roseville, Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro ruled. As a result, he’s ineligible to take office this January.

Minnesota’s state Constitution requires legislative candidates to live in their district for six months before an election to be eligible to represent it.

Rumors that Johnson continued to live in Little Canada swirled in political circles months before the election, but it was an investigation and post-election lawsuit by Republican candidate Paul Wikstom that resulted in Johnson’s disqualification. Wikstrom, of Shoreview, sought to nullify the results of the Nov. 5 election before the start of the 2025 legislative session and asked for a special election.

“Obtaining a lease and changing your voter registration does not satisfy this requirement; meaningful physical presence is required to show genuine intent to reside in the district,” Castro wrote in his ruling. “The people of 40B deserve no less.”

If Castro’s ruling holds, the 67-67 partisan tie in the Minnesota House of Representatives will give away to a 67-66 Republican majority. It could allow the GOP to take the speakership and other leadership positions, but they won’t be able to pass any bills as that takes 68 votes in the House.

If a special election is held to replace Johnson, it would take place in a relatively safely Democratic district, meaning Republicans may hold a temporary majority.

Johnson’s campaign didn’t have an immediate response on Friday.

Johnson, a member of the Roseville School Board, has owned a house with his wife in Little Canada since 2017, and said he got an apartment at Rosedale Estates in District 40B in March. The apartment complex is on Rice Street in Roseville, about a mile and a half southwest of his family’s home.

But a month of daily surveillance of Johnson’s home, a lack of normal activity at his apartment, and other evidence, such as a lack of utility hookups, proved Johnson didn’t actually live in the district and “never intended” to, Wikstrom claimed in his lawsuit. A district judge ultimately agreed.

Johnson hasn’t listed his Little Canada home for sale, though he’s said he and his wife plan to do so and started talking to a realtor in March. In a statement, Johnson said he got an apartment as they searched for a new house in the district.

During the campaign, Wikstrom claimed that by the time he had enough evidence to file a challenge to Johnson’s residency claims it was too close to the election to mount an effective challenge. At the time, he wouldn’t say whether he would file a challenge after the election.

Johnson and Wikstrom were running for a seat held by outgoing DFL Rep. Jaime Becker-Finn of Roseville. District 40B includes Roseville and parts of Shoreview.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

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