Gov. Tim Walz has called a special election for Sept. 16 to fill the vacancy left by the death of Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman.
Hortman and her husband, Mark, were assassinated in their Brooklyn Park home June 14. Suspected political assassin Vance Boelter has since been arrested and charged in state and federal courts. Boelter has also been charged in the shootings of Minnesota Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in their home in Champlin. The Hoffmans survived.
Hortman was first elected to the Minnesota House in 2004 and represented District 34B, which includes several precincts in Brooklyn Park and portions of Coon Rapids and Champlin.
A special primary election, if necessary, will take place Aug. 12. Affidavits of candidacy must be filed with the Secretary of State or the county auditors of Anoka and Hennepin counties from Tuesday, July 15, 2025, until 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.
A funeral mass was held for the Hortmans at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis on June 28. Melissa Hortman, Walz said in a eulogy, “will be remembered as the most consequential speaker in Minnesota history.”
The funeral followed a somber day of mourning and honor at the Minnesota Capitol, as Hortman tragically became the first woman to lie in state in Minnesota. More than 7,500 people visited the Capitol to pay their respects to the Hortmans.
Hortman led the House Democrats as minority leader from 2017 to 2019 and as speaker from 2019 to 2025.
