Minnesota

Johnson had filed a petition for discretionary review with the Minnesota Supreme Court to have the election contest dismissed on grounds that Wikstrom should have raised the residency issue before the election, but the court issued an order on Friday denying that request.

Johnson has 10 days to appeal the ruling to the Minnesota Supreme Court. House Democrats are optimistic an appeal will be successful.

“The court erred as a matter of law in not dismissing this case. A residency issue must be resolved before an election and is not an appropriate basis for an election contest. We will appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court, and expect the Supreme Court will dismiss the case,” House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said in a statement.