Senate Republicans failed Monday to push a floor motion to expel Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, who was charged with first-degree burglary in April.

Authorities say Mitchell broke into her stepmother’s home in Detroit Lakes last spring. Mitchell said she was retrieving items belonging to her late father.

Mitchell pleaded not guilty to the charge in August and has said she won’t resign.

A hearing on Mitchell’s trial was supposed to take place on Monday but a judge recently moved her trial to the end of the session in May.

The Senate voted 33-33 on whether to consider the motion to expel Mitchell. Motions die in the event of a tie so it was blocked.

“We don’t need the results of a criminal trial to know Sen. Mitchell’s conduct fails to meet the standards of ethical behavior that we expect from senators,” said Sen. Jordan Rasmussen, R-Fergus Falls, who introduced the motion to expel Mitchell. “We shouldn’t be complicit in delaying justice for the victim of a crime by allowing Sen. Mitchell to use her membership in this body to shield herself from criminal consequences.”

Gov. Tim Walz and DFL Chair Ken Martin have called for Mitchell’s resignation following the end of the 2024 session.

“An important point to make is a number of Democrat senators have called on Sen. Mitchell to resign …Gov. Walz has called on Senator Mitchell to resign. Ken Martin, the chair of the state DFL party, has called on her to resign, but when it actually mattered, here on the floor today, we saw Senate Democrats vote lockstep in their party to keep Senator Mitchell from facing accountability for her actions,” said Sen. Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks.

Republicans spent over six hours on the floor during the 2024 session discussing Mitchell’s case, according to Senate DFL records, causing gridlock in legislative business.

“Sen. Mitchell has been accused and not yet convicted,” Sen. Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul. “She has due process rights, and the people who live in the district she represents are entitled to her representation.

Her court case is not a matter for the Senate. What is a matter for the Senate is balancing the budget and getting policy passed that will improve the lives of people of Minnesota.”

The senate has operated generally without high tension this session, a contrast to the deadlock in the House. A special election on Tuesday will decide a majority in the Senate.

The election will fill the seat of the late Sen. Kari Dziedzic, who died last month following a battle with cancer. Dziedzic was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2023 and stepped down from the role of Senate majority leader earlier last year as she underwent medical treatment. Dziedzic represented her Minneapolis district for more than a decade.