The lawsuit comes after a judge granted Republican candidate Paul Wikstrom's contest of the results of the House race after finding his Democratic opponent, Curtis Johnson, did not establish residency in District 40B.

Minnesota Republicans have filed a lawsuit against Gov. Tim Walz (DFL) over the coming special election in House District 40B, where the winning Democratic candidate was recently ruled ineligible over residency requirements.

Minnesota state legislative session will be underway before special elections are held later in January to sort out vacant seats -- one in each chamber.

Two special elections for open seats in a Roseville House district and a Minneapolis Senate district have drawn a number of candidates with control of both chambers at stake. Last month a Ramsey County judge ruled that Curtis Johnson was ineligible to serve for the House District 40B seat he was elected to in November due to residency issues.