The battle for control of the Minnesota House was headed for a potential 67-67 tie as of early this morning.

The big picture: Any return to divided government would be a blow to legislative Democrats, who used the "trifecta" they won in 2022 to pass a sweeping list of progressive policies.

• Legislative Republicans centered their bid to retake the chamber on an argument that Democrats went too far.

State of play: Preliminary results show Republicans picking up enough seats in the House to block the DFL from another two years of full control.

• They appeared to hold all their vulnerable districts and flip at least three currently held by Democrats, despite being outspent by DFL-allied groups.

Yes, but: Results tallied as of this morning show the GOP falling just short of winning a House majority outright. And Democrats won the special election that put the DFL's one-vote Senate majority in play.

• The governorship will also remain in DFL hands, with Tim Walz returning to the Capitol after his failed vice presidential bid.

The intrigue: If the current margins hold, two seats where the DFL has a narrow lead appear to be headed toward a recount.

• Rep. Brad Tabke (DFL-Shakopee) led GOP challenger Aaron Paul by 13 votes as of 6 am, while Rep. Dan Wolgamott (DFL-St. Cloud) had a 28-vote lead over Republican Sue Ek.

What they're saying: House GOP leader Lisa Demuth declared victory at about 1:25 am today, saying that the GOP "broke the Democrat trifecta and restored balance to Minnesota."

• House Speaker Melissa Hortman stopped short of conceding, saying in a 1:38 am statement that the control of the House "is too close to call."

Flashback: The last time the House was tied at 67-67 was in 1979. That session was far from smooth.

• Both DFL and GOP leaders had entertained the prospect that this year's results would produce a similar outcome, given the close nature of the battleground races.
• It's not yet clear how a power-sharing scenario might play out this time around.

The bottom line: While the final alignment could still change based on the recounts, a rare tie in the House and 34-33 DFL majority in the Senate is about as evenly divided as divided government can get.

• "This will be the ultimate exercise in compromise," Amy Koch, a former Minnesota GOP Senate leader, told Axios. "Minnesota has spoken and they want cooperation."

Minnesota's U.S. congressional delegation will remain evenly divided, with four Republicans and four Democrats.

The big race: DFL U.S. Rep. Angie Craig defeated GOP challenger Joe Teirab by 13 percentage points in the state's sole competitive district.

• All other U.S. House incumbents won by even larger margins.

Who's new: Democrat Kelly Morrison, a former DFL state senator, won the open 3rd Congressional District in the west metro.

• Morrison, who succeeds retiring U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, will be the first pro-abortion rights OB-GYN to serve in Congress.

Plus: U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar cruised to a fourth term and Harris/Walz won the state's 10 electoral college votes by a 4.5 percentage point margin.

Go deeper with full results for federal races.

❌ St. Paul voters rejected a tax increase that would've funded a city-run child care program.

• Voters also approved a measure that could move St. Paul's city council and mayoral elections to even years.

📚 Voters in Minneapolis overwhelmingly supported a ballot question to raise property taxes by $20 million for Minneapolis Public Schools to pay for technology.

• School board incumbent Kim Ellison won reelection to an at-large seat and former Minneapolis Federation of Teachers president Greta Callahan won the open district 6 seat in Southwest Minneapolis.

🌲 A statewide ballot question renewing dedicated lottery funding for the outdoors passed with overwhelming support.

🗳️ Bloomington voters narrowly decided to keep ranked-choice voting, with all precincts reporting.

🐟 Former Minnesota GOP Chair Jennifer Carnahan won the Nisswa mayoral race.

⏰ Results trickled in much more slowly than usual last night, with some counties — and race calls — posting well after midnight. (Star Tribune)

• Election officials said a change in law extending the absentee ballot deadline was to blame.

🎸 Bob Dylan has started tweeting and nobody seems to know why. Not even his son Jakob. (Pioneer Press)

🥿 A pair of ruby red slippers worn by Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz" is up for auction, with bidding up to $550,000. (KARE 11)

• The slippers had been stolen. The Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids is vying to buy them in the auction, which ends Dec. 7.

Prince's sister Tyka Nelson, the only full sibling of the musical icon, died Monday at 64. (Star Tribune)

A 14-year-old boy fatally shot a 13-year-old boy in a North Minneapolis home, according to police, who described the incident as an "apparent accidental shooting." (FOX 9)

Whether your favorite candidate won last night or not, at least we can all share in Minnesota's sports success.

State of play: Every major sports team in Minnesota has a winning record right now.

🏈 The Vikings are off to a 6-2 start, despite most pundits expecting them to begin the season 2-6.

🏒 The Wild are the biggest surprise in the NHL, with an 8-2-2 record.

🏀 After winning Monday night, the Timberwolves improved to 4-3.

⚽️ Minnesota United FC advanced in the MLS playoffs and will take on the LA Galaxy later this month.

🏈 The 6-3 Gophers football team has turned its season around and could play in a warm-weather bowl if it wins two of its final three games.

🏐 The Gophers women's volleyball team is ranked 14th in the nation.