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Sen. Nicole Mitchell’s vote helps defeat call for her own resignation in Minnesota Senate
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A motion in the Minnesota Senate to call for the resignation of bemired DFL Sen. Nicole Mitchell failed Tuesday, and Mitchell herself was among those voting it down after a GOP-led effort to strip her of voting powers failed.
Sen. Karin Housley, R-Stillwater, brought forth the motion, which called for “a formal request for the resignation” of Mitchell. The vote failed along party lines in the DFL-controlled Senate, according to a Republican spokesperson.
Mitchell, a Democrat who represents the east metro, was charged with burglary last week. After being found in the basement of her stepmother’s home, dressed in all black, Mitchell told police she broke in to retrieve her father’s ashes and other sentimental items, according to a criminal complaint.
In a subsequent statement, Mitchell denied the allegations and said she was at the home to check on a family member with Alzheimer’s.
“It saddens me that some people are attempting to use a tragic family situation to score political points, and I am grateful to those who believe, as I always have, that everyone should be allowed the due process guaranteed by our Constitution,” Mitchell said, in part. “I am confident that a much different picture will emerge when all of the facts are known.”
Mitchell returned to the State Capitol on Monday, casting a deciding vote in her own defense. Tuesday’s vote on Housley’s motion was along straight party lines.
David Hann, chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota, chided the Minnesota Senate DFL in a statement Tuesday for her participation in the vote.
“This audacious move by the Minnesota Senate DFL demonstrates a disturbing commitment to retaining power at any cost, blatantly ignoring the fundamental principles of transparency and accountability expected by Minnesota citizens,” Hann said.
Senate Republicans filed an ethics complaint against Mitchell last week, and some were already calling for her resignation before Tuesday’s vote. The Ethics Subcommittee is set to discuss the complaint May 7.
Over the weekend, Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy announced Mitchell would be relieved of her committee assignments and removed from caucus meetings until both the criminal and Senate investigations into the charges are complete.
Mitchell, a former TV meteorologist and a commander with the Air National Guard, was elected in 2022 and is in her first term.
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What to know about Nevada
Nevada, with an economy largely based around tourism and hospitality surrounding Las Vegas, is home to a significant working class population. Both Trump and Harris announced no-tax-on-tips policies in Nevada earlier this year, underscoring the dominance of service industry workers in the Silver State.
Although a Republican presidential candidate hasn’t won Nevada since 2004, Democrats’ margin of victory has decreased in recent years. The Silver State’s economy, dependent on the hospitality industry, was among the most impacted by pandemic closures in 2020, leading to a much slower recovery than in other states, and spurring frustration with Democrat-led policies.
In 2022, Republicans flipped the governor’s mansion, and the state was home to the closest Senate race in the country, suggesting that in 2024, it could be seriously in play for Republicans even at the presidential level. But Nevada, a state with high population turnover, has historically posed polling difficulties. And the largest voting bloc — more than 30% of voters — are registered as nonpartisan in 2024.
How Nevada voted in 2016 and 2020
All but two counties backed Trump in the last election — but those two Democrat-voting counties, home to Las Vegas and Reno, make up the bulk of the state’s population. President Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 election by more than 33,000 votes, and Hillary Clinton won the state in 2016, besting Trump by just over 27,000 votes.
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