Melissa Hortman

Melissa Hortman
Minority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives
Assumed office
January 3, 2017
Preceded by Paul Thissen
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 36B district
47B (2005–2013)
Assumed office
January 4, 2005
Preceded by Stephanie Olsen
Personal details
Born (1970-05-27) May 27, 1970
Fridley, Minnesota, U.S.
Nationality American
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Mark Hortman
Children 2
Education Boston University (BA)
University of Minnesota (JD)

Melissa Hortman (born May 27, 1970) is a Minnesota politician and the minority leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represents District 36B, which includes portions of Anoka and Hennepin counties in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

Education

Hortman graduated from Blaine High School in Blaine, Minnesota in 1988. She earned bachelor's degrees in Political Science and Philosophy from Boston University, graduating magna cum laude in 1991, and earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School, cum laude, in 1995.[1]

Minnesota House of Representatives

Hortman won her first term by narrowly defeating Republican incumbent Stephanie Olsen in the 2004 general election by 402 votes out of over 20,000 cast. She had previously lost to Olsen in the 2002 election. She has been re-elected every two years since then.

In her first term, Hortman was an outspoken advocate for the Northstar Commuter Rail line, which runs through her district. She also supported a new stadium for the Minnesota Twins. She has been an advocate of environmental issues and in the effort to bring the 2020 Summer Olympics to Minnesota. She is adamantly pro-choice,[2] supports moderate gun control policies,[3] and opposes voter identification initiatives.[4]

After the 2006 election, Hortman was chosen by her peers to serve as one of eight assistant majority leaders in the House.[1] She was again chosen to serve in this capacity after the 2008 elections. She has also served as speaker pro tempore for many of the House sessions. She served as a minority whip during the 2011-2012 legislative session.[5] She was elected by her caucus to be minority leader following the 2016 election.

Electoral history

Minnesota House of Representatives 47B district election, 2010[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
DFL Melissa Hortman (incumbent) 8,278 51.30 −3.44pp
Republican Linda Etim 7,030 43.56
Independence Don Hallblade 822 5.09
Minnesota House of Representatives 47B district election, 2008[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
DFL Melissa Hortman (incumbent) 12,382 54.74 −1.12pp
Republican Andrew Reinhardt 10,187 45.04 +1.04pp
Minnesota House of Representatives 47B district election, 2006[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
DFL Melissa Hortman (incumbent) 9,269 55.86 +4.96pp
Republican Andrew Reinhardt 7,301 44.00
Minnesota House of Representatives 47B district election, 2004[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
DFL Melissa Hortman 10,846 50.90 +7.30pp
Republican Stephanie Olsen (incumbent) 10,444 49.01 −2.66pp

Honors and accolades

Hortman has won awards for her bipartisan work from the 2020 Caucus.[10] She has also won awards from Conservation Minnesota.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 "Minnesota Legislators Past & Present - Legislator Record - Hortman, Melissa". Leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  2. ↑ http://votesmart.org/candidate/20295/melissa-hortman?categoryId=2&type=V,S,R,E,F,P#.VQ9egPnF-XA
  3. ↑ http://www.gocra.org/news/reference/2012-candidate-grades/
  4. ↑ http://votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/20295/melissa-hortman#.VMnTpmAtFhE
  5. ↑ http://politicsinminnesota.com/blog/2010/11/thissen-names-house-dfl-leadership-team/
  6. ↑ "State Representative District: 47B". Minnesota Secretary of State. Archived from the original on April 21, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  7. ↑ "All Races by Legislative District - Representative District: 47B". Minnesota Secretary of State. Archived from the original on December 17, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  8. ↑ "State Representative District 47B". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Results for State Representative District 47B". Minnesota Secretary of State. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  10. ↑ "News and Views from Melissa Hortman (DFL) 47B - Minnesota House of Representatives". House.leg.state.mn.us. 2005-10-07. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  11. ↑ "Conservation Minnesota Voter Center || Legislative News". Mnweathercenter.org. Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
Minnesota House of Representatives
Preceded by
Paul Thissen		 Minority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives
2017–present		 Incumbent
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