A Democrat and a Republican are vying for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives in a special election that could leave the chamber tied or give Republicans a slim majority. A Democrat won the seat by 30 percentage points last November, but a judge later ruled that he did not meet the residency requirements to run for the office.

More than 13,000 people and nearly 47% of registered voters cast ballots in a special election for a suburban Minnesota House seat this week, far outpacing voter turnout in any other House special election over the last decade.

The special election was held in a heavily Democratic district in the northern St. Paul suburbs of Roseville and Shoreview.

Democrat David Gottfried is poised to win the special election for a Twin Cities metro state House seat, locking House in a balance of power tie.

Republicans in the Minnesota House lost a one-seat edge in the Capitol, where tensions over party dominance have simmered for weeks.

An existing power-sharing agreement reached last month will keep a Republican speaker in power in the state House.

Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate David Gottfried has been elected in Minnesota’s special election for House District 40B, defeating Republican Paul Wikstrom 70% to 30%. Gottfried’s win splits control of the Minnesota House 67 to 67 between the DFL and Republicans. National Democrats celebrated his win.