Democratic candidate Xp Lee prevailed Tuesday in a pivotal special election to fill the seat opened by the killing of House leader Melissa Hortman.
The outcome, called by The Associated Press not long after voting closed in the Brooklyn Park-area district, will return the House to a 67-67 tie between the parties.
Hortman had been the caucus leader and the chamber’s former speaker when she and her husband, Mark, were gunned down in their home in June. A man posing a police officer showed up in the middle of the night and opened fire; the suspect charged in the killings is also accused of shooting state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in their Champlin home in an attack the couple survived.
Lee beat Republican nominee Ruth Bittner. The district had favored Democrats. Hortman held the seat for two decades.
In a statement, Lee framed it as a bittersweet result.
“I have never lost sight of the situation that brought us to this moment, and I will work hard every day to carry forward Speaker Melissa Hortman’s legacy,” Lee’s statement read. “We did our best to make her proud: knocking on doors daily, making phone calls, and texting every neighbor we could.”
Lee, a former city council member, will be sworn in after the results are certified. He could be pressed into action soon if the Legislature is summoned into special session to consider gun restrictions, mental health funding and other safety measures after a mass shooting at a Minneapolis church and school.
New Democratic House leader Zack Stephenson and Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth have agreed to maintain the power-sharing arrangement decided at the beginning of the year.
Stephenson congratulated his new caucus colleague.
“He’s a union member, a father and a testament to what’s possible when we make sure we don’t leave anyone behind. His story is the American Dream,” Stephenson said in a written statement. “Now, it will take all 67 of us in the House to keep that dream alive for every Minnesotan.”
All 201 legislative seats will again be on the ballot in November 2026.
