Now that the tumultuous 2024 session of the Minnesota Legislature is over the focus on the DFL’s precarious one-seat majority will soon be back in the spotlight. Sen. Nicole Mitchell faces a criminal court date on a burglary charge followed two days later by another Senate Ethics Committee hearing.

“As far as Sen. Mitchell, I’ve said this from the beginning. This is a messy situation that needs to be clarified,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Monday during a bill signing news conference. “This will have to be handled by the ethics committee. It will be handled by the courts of law. And I’ve said this, we need to be held to the highest standard.”

Mitchell’s court date in Becker County is June 10 and her ethics hearing is June 12.

The tricky part to navigate for Democrats is that if she decides to resign after June 8, the governor would have to call a special election within 35 days. Those special elections usually have low turnout and are unpredictable, especially with the DFL clinging to a one-seat majority. If she resigned on or before June 8, her seat would be up in the regular November election.

No key Democrats have publicly asked her to resign, but Minnesota DFL Party Chair Ken Martin came close last month during an interview on “At Issue with Tom Hauser.”

“If I was in her shoes, I would probably consider resigning, of course, to focus on the legal challenges ahead and my family, but I’m not in her shoes and only Sen. Mitchell can make that decision for herself,” Martin said.

On Monday, Gov. Walz acknowledged the timing of a resolution to Mitchell’s situation will be important. “I think it would work if we have a November election if that were going to be the case,” he said.

Mitchell was arrested April 22 on suspicion of burglarizing her stepmother’s home in Detroit Lakes. Police say they caught her in the act in the basement of the home.

A hearing on whether to release police body cam video in the case was held yesterday in Becker County, but no decision has been made.

Through her attorneys last month, Mitchell said she has no plans to resign.