A special election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 11B was held on March 19, 2019, to replace former incumbent Jason Rarick (R) after he was elected to the Minnesota State Senate in February 2019. Prior to joining the state Senate, Rarick served in the state House from 2015 to 2019. He first won the state House seat by defeating former incumbent Tim Faust (D) in the 2014 election.
Unofficial results show Republican candidate Nathan Nelson defeated Democratic candidate Tim Burkhardt with 68.4 percent of the vote. Nelson had advanced from the Republican primary on March 5 after defeating another candidate, Ayrlahn Johnson. Burkhardt did not face any primary challengers.
While the Republican Party flipped a state Senate seat when Rarick won his election, the state House election resulted in no partisan changes. Entering 2019, the Minnesota House of Representatives had 75 Democrats and 59 Republicans. A majority in the chamber requires 68 seats. Minnesota has a divided government, meaning no political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and both state legislative chambers.
