Melissa Hortman is an American politician and the Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),Hortman represents District 34B in the northern Twin Cities metropolitan area,which includes the cities of Brooklyn Park,Champlin and Coon Rapids and parts of Anoka and Hennepin Counties.
James Murray Vickerman was an American politician from Minnesota who served as Minnesota State Senator,first elected in 1986 in the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party's "firestorm" that swept southwestern Minnesota during the height of the 1980s Midwestern farm crisis. In that election,he unseated incumbent Senator Doran Isackson,winning by a substantial margin. He was re-elected in 1990,1992,1996,2000,2002 and 2006. On February 22,2010,he announced that he would not seek an eighth term,noting that he was doing so "with the satisfaction that when it's done right,our government can and does serve people." His term officially ended on January 3,2011.
Margaret Anderson Kelliher is an American politician,Director of the Minneapolis Department of Public Works,former Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation,and a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party,she represented District 60A,which includes portions of the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County,located in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. First elected in 1999,she served until 2011,also serving as the Speaker from 2007 to 2011. She is the second woman to hold the position of House speaker. She was an unsuccessful candidate for the DFL nomination for Governor of Minnesota in the 2010 gubernatorial election,losing to former Senator Mark Dayton. Anderson left the Minnesota House of Representatives at the conclusion of her term in 2011 and re-entered politics when she ran for the DFL nomination to the U.S. House of Representatives in Minnesota's 5th congressional district in 2018,losing to Ilhan Omar. Since 2019 Kelliher,has worked in transportation management roles for the government,first as Commissioner of MnDOT,and later as Director of Public Works for the city of Minneapolis.
Patricia Torres Ray is a Colombian-American politician and former member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),she represented District 63,which includes portions of southeastern Minneapolis and eastern Richfield in Hennepin County in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. She is the first Latina woman to serve in the Minnesota Senate. She ran for Congress in Minnesota's 5th district in 2018 to succeed Congressman Keith Ellison,but lost the primary to Ilhan Omar. In November 2021,she announced that she would not run for reelection in 2022.
Karen J. Clark is an American politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),she represented District 62A,which included portions of the city of Minneapolis in the Twin Cities metropolitan area including portions of the Whittier,Phillips,Ventura Village,Seward,and Lyn-Lake neighborhoods. She was the longest serving openly lesbian member to serve in a state legislature in the United States. On December 8,2017,Clark announced in a press release that she would not be running for reelection.
Linda Higgins is a Minnesota politician who represented the second district of Hennepin County as county commissioner from late 2012 to January 2019. Higgins is a former member of the Minnesota Senate representing District 58,which included portions of the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County,which is in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. A Democrat,she was first elected to the Senate in 1996,and was re-elected in 2000,2002,2006 and 2010. She served as a majority whip from 2001 to 2006. In the fall of 2011,she announced that she would not seek reelection after the current term ended in 2012. However,when Hennepin County District 2 Commissioner Mark Stenglein announced in June 2012 that he would resign,Higgins decided to run for that position. On May 20,2012,she was endorsed by the DFL party for the position,and won the election in November. In 2014,she ran unopposed and was reelected. She served as the Vice-Chair of the County Board,and Chair of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority. She retired from the county board in January 2019.
Donald Betzold is a Minnesota politician and a former member of the Minnesota Senate who represented District 51,which includes portions of Anoka,Hennepin and Ramsey counties in the northern Twin Cities metropolitan area. Prior to the 2002 redistricting,the area was known as District 48. A Democrat,he was first elected to the Senate in 1992,and was re-elected in 1996,2000,2002 and 2006. He was unseated by Republican Pam Wolf in the 2010 general election.
Ann H. Rest is an American politician and President pro tempore of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),she represents District 43 which includes portions of the western suburbs of Hennepin County in the Twin Cities metro area.
Linda J. Scheid was a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota Senate who represented District 46,which includes portions of the northwestern suburbs of Hennepin County in the Twin Cities metro area. A Democrat,she was first elected to the Senate in 1996,and was re-elected in 2000,2002,2006 and 2010. Prior to the 2002 redistricting,the area was known as District 47. She died of cancer on June 15,2011. Her seat was won in special election on October 18,2011 by Senator Chris Eaton.
Leo T. Foley was an American politician who was a member of the Minnesota Senate representing District 49 from 1997 to 2003,and District 47 from 2003 to 2011,which includes portions of Anoka and Hennepin counties in the northern Twin Cities metropolitan area. A Democrat,he was first elected to the Senate in 1996,and was re-elected in 2000,2002 and 2006. Prior to the 2002 legislative redistricting,the area was known as District 49. He was unseated by Republican Benjamin Kruse in the 2010 general election.
Sharon L. Erickson Ropes is a Minnesota politician and a former member of the Minnesota Senate who represented District 31,which includes portions of Fillmore,Houston,and Winona counties in the southeastern part of the state. A Democrat,she was first elected to the Senate in 2006. She was subsequently unseated by Republican Jeremy Miller in the 2010 general election.
Ronald Steven Latz is an American attorney and politician serving as a member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),he represents District 46,which includes parts of Hennepin County in the western Twin Cities metropolitan area. He is an attorney by profession.
Kenneth Kelash is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota Senate representing District 63,which included portions of the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County. A Democrat,he was first elected to the Senate in a special election held on November 4,2008. The seat became vacant when Senator Dan Larson resigned in order to accept a position with his former employer,a law and lobbying firm in Minneapolis. He was re-elected in 2010.
Erin Murphy is a Minnesota politician serving as Majority Leader of the Minnesota Senate since 2024. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),she represents District 64,which includes the Highland Park,Macalester-Groveland,Merriam Park,Summit Hill,and St. Anthony Park,neighborhoods of the city of Saint Paul in Ramsey County in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. She is a former Majority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives,executive director of the Minnesota Nurses Association,and is also a registered nurse.
Jeffrey D. Hayden is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),he represented District 62,which includes portions of south Minneapolis in Hennepin County in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Karla Bigham is an American politician and current Washington County Commissioner,representing District 4. She is a former member of the Minnesota Senate,who has previously served as Washington County Commissioner,is a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives,and was a member of the Cottage Grove City Council.
Barbara J. Goodwin is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),she represented District 41,which included portions of Anoka,Hennepin,and Ramsey counties in the northern Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Mary Jo McGuire is an American politician and former member of the Minnesota Senate who represented District 66,which included portions of Ramsey County in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. She previously served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1989 to 2003,representing District 54A. Prior to the 1992 legislative redistricting,the area was known as District 63A. She currently serves on the Ramsey County Board and was reelected in 2020.
Christine Ann "Chris" Eaton is an American politician and member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),she represents District 40,which includes the cities of Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park in Hennepin County in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Kelly Louise Morrison is an American doctor and politician serving in the Minnesota Senate since 2023. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party,Morrison represents District 45 in the western Twin Cities metropolitan area,which includes the cities of Minnetonka,Mound,Minnetrista,and Orono in Hennepin County. She served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2019 to 2023.
