A special election to fill the seat once held by Rep. Melissa Hortman will go before District 34B voters Tuesday.

Control of the House is at stake with the election to replace the former Speaker Emerita, who was slain along with her husband three months ago.

The northwest metro House District 34B has been vacant since the June assassination of Democratic-Farmer Labor representative and former House Speaker Melissa Hortman.

Control of the Minnesota House of Representatives will once again be at stake Tuesday in a special election to replace Melissa Hortman, the former Democratic state House speaker who was slain along with her husband at their home in June.

Voters are choosing between Democratic nominee XP Lee and Republican Ruth Bittner in a district that has recently favored DFL candidates.

Gov. Tim Walz announces a special election in Minnesota's District 34B for September 16, with early and absentee voting underway.

Controlling government spending, stopping fraud and election security were all topics discussed by Republican governor candidates speaking at a Redwood County forum this weekend. Four out of the six Republican candidates currently running in the 2026 Minnesota gubernatorial race spoke at the event.

Blaha, a Democrat, first took office in 2019. The former union leader and educator won re-election in 2022 against Republican Ryan Wilson, who criticized her for not stopping the Feeding Our Future scandal sooner.