I’m going to paste in part of my comment on another thread:
Something important to know about the two people who were shot: until her death, Melissa Hortman was a member of the Minnesota State House of Representatives; and John Hoffman is a member of the Minnesota State Senate. Both were Democrats.
And up until they were shot, the Minnesota House had 134 Members: 66 Republicans vs 67 Democrats (with one seat empty to be filled later). And the Minnesota Senate had 67 members: 33 Republicans and 34 Democrats. If the assassinations had both been successful, both chambers would have been tied. As it is, they’re only saying that Hoffman is “stable”, but there are no further details.
Luckily, in this case, nothing fascist is gonna get passed through the Governor’s veto. It’s just a momentary delay in passing laws until a replacement can be elected in the next special election.
Is it not in the US that the house is seen as full of seats and these are tied to a party? Surely it’s not that they’re tied to a person, lest a drunk driver could shift the entire political landscape. I imagine the party refills the seat.
Wait till you hear about the supreme court. They could just get one of their cultists to murder the 6 non-trump judges and fascists will control the entirety of the courts by appointing their replacements.
Edit: Actually, the courts are already 5-4/4-5 split most of the time in recwnt years, just muder 1 liberal judge and democracy is effectively over.
To add to what the others said; it depends on the state but typically in this situation it would be up to the governor to appoint a replacement. Whether or not that person has to be from the same party, serves the rest of the term or is just temporary, or if there needs to be a special election will also vary by state as well.
Political parties do not have direct granted power or authority in any state or federal position. They are not officially part of the election process. They organize and group candidates, and spend millions on advertising but they aren’t directly granted any power. States will run primary elections to assist parties in selecting a candidate to proceed to the general election, but the process the party uses is ultimately up to them for determining the name they want to submit for the general election. Neither of the current two major parties existed when the US was founded, and originally there were several others. The actual general election process doesn’t care about parties at all. Our system has inevitably devolved into the two party system we have now because of the Electoral College process.
In most States, replacing a State legislator is done via a Special Election, and stays vacant until then. A quick Google search seems to show that is the case for Minnesota. So if that district doesn’t solidly vote D, it will be up for grabs. On this current political climate right now, I’m not sure that it would shift R.
On the federal level the State Governor would appoint someone to the Congress/Senate until the next election. Depending on the State laws, because States control their own election process, they may not be required by law to appoint someone from the same party.
In a deeply divided political climate like this, forcing both the legislature and Senate into a tie can effectively shutdown the government. Which is great for a party with a goal of trying to obstruct any progress.
I’m going to paste in part of my comment on another thread:
Something important to know about the two people who were shot: until her death, Melissa Hortman was a member of the Minnesota State House of Representatives; and John Hoffman is a member of the Minnesota State Senate. Both were Democrats.
And up until they were shot, the Minnesota House had 134 Members: 66 Republicans vs 67 Democrats (with one seat empty to be filled later). And the Minnesota Senate had 67 members: 33 Republicans and 34 Democrats. If the assassinations had both been successful, both chambers would have been tied. As it is, they’re only saying that Hoffman is “stable”, but there are no further details.
Luckily, in this case, nothing fascist is gonna get passed through the Governor’s veto. It’s just a momentary delay in passing laws until a replacement can be elected in the next special election.
Is it not in the US that the house is seen as full of seats and these are tied to a party? Surely it’s not that they’re tied to a person, lest a drunk driver could shift the entire political landscape. I imagine the party refills the seat.
They are tied to the person, not party.
Wait till you hear about the supreme court. They could just get one of their cultists to murder the 6 non-trump judges and fascists will control the entirety of the courts by appointing their replacements.
Edit: Actually, the courts are already 5-4/4-5 split most of the time in recwnt years, just muder 1 liberal judge and democracy is effectively over.
To add to what the others said; it depends on the state but typically in this situation it would be up to the governor to appoint a replacement. Whether or not that person has to be from the same party, serves the rest of the term or is just temporary, or if there needs to be a special election will also vary by state as well.
Political parties do not have direct granted power or authority in any state or federal position. They are not officially part of the election process. They organize and group candidates, and spend millions on advertising but they aren’t directly granted any power. States will run primary elections to assist parties in selecting a candidate to proceed to the general election, but the process the party uses is ultimately up to them for determining the name they want to submit for the general election. Neither of the current two major parties existed when the US was founded, and originally there were several others. The actual general election process doesn’t care about parties at all. Our system has inevitably devolved into the two party system we have now because of the Electoral College process.
In most States, replacing a State legislator is done via a Special Election, and stays vacant until then. A quick Google search seems to show that is the case for Minnesota. So if that district doesn’t solidly vote D, it will be up for grabs. On this current political climate right now, I’m not sure that it would shift R.
On the federal level the State Governor would appoint someone to the Congress/Senate until the next election. Depending on the State laws, because States control their own election process, they may not be required by law to appoint someone from the same party.
In a deeply divided political climate like this, forcing both the legislature and Senate into a tie can effectively shutdown the government. Which is great for a party with a goal of trying to obstruct any progress.