Remembering Melissa Hortman

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Ms. Hortman, who was assassinated at her home in Brooklyn Park, Minn., was a lawyer by training and a legislator for about 20 years who served as the speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2019 to 2025. She represented a reliably Democratic district and routinely won re-election by more than 20 percentage points.

She played a key role in passing a trove of bills during the 2023 session, when Democrats held a slim majority in the Legislature, including legislation that expanded abortion rights, legalized recreational marijuana and required employers to offer paid family and medical leave. This year, under Ms. Hortman’s leadership, Democrats in the House boycotted the early weeks of the legislative session amid a fight for control of the chamber. Voters last year left Democrats and Republicans with an equal number of seats in the House, but challenges to two of the elections won by Democrats created a period of uncertainty around which party would control the chamber. When those challenges were settled, Ms. Hortman agreed to let the top Republican in the House, Representative Lisa Demuth, serve as speaker.

Colleagues have long praised Ms. Hortman’s work ethic, negotiation skills and pragmatism. Jerry Gale, Ms. Hortman’s campaign manager, said in an interview that she was a tireless campaigner who was passionate about recruiting fellow Democrats to run for office. “She had a vision of what she wanted the state to be like, and she knew it was going to take a lot of work,” Mr. Gale said. As the political rhetoric in the state grew more acrimonious in recent years, Mr. Gale said, Ms. Hortman worried about her safety. “I think it did cross her mind at times on the campaign trail,” he said. Her own style was not combative, however. On the campaign trail and in the Capitol, Ms. Hortman kept her remarks short, to the point and civil, he said.

Ms. Hortman was married with two children, according to her state legislative biography. Her husband, Mark, was also shot and killed on Saturday.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/14/us/politics/hortman-hoffman-shot-minnesota.html

— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar.com) 2025-06-14T15:14:56.445Z

The Hortman family helped raise and train dogs to partner with veterans. One of the many reasons we will miss Melissa and Mark.

— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar.com) 2025-06-15T11:49:44.925Z