Republicans are set to begin the year with at least a temporary majority in the Minnesota House after a newly elected Democrat resigned over his failure to meet the state’s residency requirements. Democratic candidate Curtis Johnson told Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in a Dec. 27 letter that he has decided not to hold out for a potentially positive decision in his appeal of a ruling by a Ramsey County district judge, who found last week that Johnson had failed to meet residency requirements and is ineligible to serve in the Minnesota House of Representatives. “While I disagree with the conclusions reached by the District Court, I recognize that whatever the decision on appeal, the ultimate decision belongs to the Legislature, where it appears there is no viable pathway for me being allowed to retain my seat,” Johnson wrote. “Rather than dragging this out further, I have decided to resign now, so that a special election can be held as soon as possible and the people of 40B will be represented in the Legislature.”…