A Scott County judge on Monday will hear arguments in a lawsuit filed over the close race for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Republican candidate Aaron Paul is challenging the results, which showed DFL Rep. Brad Tabke winning by 14 votes — but only after county officials admitted to losing 21 ballots.

The judge could choose to send voters back to the polls to choose an official winner, which is something Republicans are pushing for.

The lawsuit was filed at the end of November and states, “At the very least the actual victor is in absolute doubt and at worst, the candidate who received fewer votes has been announced as the winner.”

This is a pivotal race that could determine the balance of power in the House — currently tied at 67 democrats and 67 republicans.

“They do have a decent case for it,” said Hamline political science professor David Schultz.
“Let’s say for the sake of argument it’s completely innocent in terms of what happened here, someone made a mistake. A judge could still conclude and say the results are not reliable.

The court trial is expected to begin at 9 a.m. Check back for updates.