Dem Wins MN House Special Election     09/17 06:07

   

   MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Democrat Xp Lee won a special election Tuesday to fill 
the Minnesota House seat of a top Democratic leader who was assassinated, 
restoring a 67-67 tie and preserving a power-sharing deal that has forced both 
parties to work together.

   Rep. Melissa Hortman, of Brooklyn Park, held the seat until her death in 
June.

   Lee is a former Brooklyn Park City Council member. He defeated Republican 
real estate agent Ruth Bittner in the heavily Democratic district.

   Lee promised he would "work hard every day" to honor Hortman's legacy.

   "We did our best to make her proud: knocking on doors daily, making phone 
calls, and texting every neighbor we could," Lee said in a victory statement.

   Lee's win maintains a power-sharing arrangement that existed for most of the 
2025 legislative session, after the 2024 elections cost House Democrats their 
majority.

   Former House Speaker Hortman brokered that agreement, which ended Democrats' 
three-week boycott. Under the deal, she agreed to end her six-year tenure as 
speaker and let Republican Lisa Demuth take the position. Hortman then took the 
title speaker emerita. Most legislative committees became evenly split between 
Republican and Democratic members, with co-chairs from each party.

   The tie in the House meant some level of bipartisan agreement was required 
to pass anything in this year's session.

   In an indication of the national interest in the race, Democratic National 
Committee Chair Ken Martin said Lee's "commitment to expanding access to 
education, affordable health care, and good-paying jobs honors the legacy" of 
Hortman.

   "Across Minnesota, our hearts are still broken by the horrific assassination 
that stole Melissa and her husband Mark," Martin, who formerly chaired the 
state Democratic Party, said in a statement. "Political violence is a scourge 
that has taken far too many lives. Enough is enough. It must end now. And in 
every case, each of us has a responsibility to condemn and reject political 
violence wherever it rears its head."

   Hortman's newly elected successor as the top Democrat in the Minnesota 
House, Rep. Zack Stephenson, said Lee's victory restores their caucus to full 
strength ahead of a potential special session that Gov. Tim Walz wants to call 
to address school security and gun violence following a shooting at a church 
last month that left two students dead and 21 people injured.

   "That means we'll prioritize the safety of our kids instead of access to 
weapons of war, and we'll make our economy work better for all Minnesotans, not 
just the billionaires," Stephenson, who was a close ally of Hortman, said in a 
statement.

   The election to replace Hortman came about three months after she and her 
husband were gunned down in their home by a man impersonating a police officer 
in Brooklyn Park, a suburb northwest of Minneapolis. Another legislator and his 
wife also were shot but survived.

   Vance Boelter, 57, faces federal and state murder, attempted murder and 
other charges in the June 14 attacks.

   Tuesday's special election also follows another act of political violence, 
the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah last Wednesday. 
The shootings have been a concern among voters in the district -- and for both 
candidates.

   Lee said last week that he wants to calm the "charged atmosphere" in the 
wake of Kirk's death.

   Bittner said the violence briefly gave her pause about running for office, 
but she concluded that "there's no way to solve this problem if we shrink back 
in fear."

   Two more special elections will be held Nov. 4 in a pair of Minnesota Senate 
districts.

   One is to fill the seat vacated by Democratic Sen. Nicole Mitchell, of the 
St. Paul suburb of Woodbury. She resigned in July after she was convicted of 
burglarizing her estranged stepmother's home. The other is for the seat of 
Republican Sen. Bruce Anderson, of the Minneapolis exurb of Buffalo, who died 
in July.

   Given that the districts are heavily Democratic and heavily Republican, 
respectively, control of the Senate isn't expected to change. But the 
Democratic candidate for Mitchell's seat is state Rep. Amanda 
Hemmingsen-Jaeger, of Woodbury. If she wins, the governor will have to call 
another special election to fill her House seat.