Minnesota Democrats turn to Hortman rallying cry as party seeks to reclaim power

The earthy slogan favored by the late Minnesota House DFL leader Melissa Hortman became a rallying cry on Monday during the opening day of the Democratic National Committee’s summer meeting in Minneapolis.

”LFG" — short for “let’s go,” with an expletive in the middle — was among the favorite sayings of Hortman. Her killing along with that of her husband, Mark, earlier this summer loomed large as Democrats from across the country descended on the Minneapolis Hilton to chart a path heading into 2026 elections.

“What happened here in Minnesota and in the early morning darkness of June 14, the political assassination to Melissa and Mark and what happened to myself, my wife, Yvette, and my daughter, Hope, was pure evil,” state Sen. John Hoffman told a room full of DNC members.

Hoffman was shot nine times that day and is still recovering.

“It was a political attack on public servants and public service, and it was aimed squarely and solely at our party,” Hoffman continued, characterizing the shooting as a “wake-up call” for the country that proved the threat of political violence is real.

Newly elected DNC Chair Ken Martin and some of Minnesota’s biggest Democratic names — Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison — took the stage to rally attendees to action opposing Republican President Donald Trump.

“In the early morning hours tragedy came, a politically motivated assassination that the current president of United States doesn’t think it’s worth his time to acknowledge and a rhetoric from his followers that continues to perpetuate the climate that leads to these types of things,” Walz warned.

Democrats also urged the party to pull from the late Democratic leader’s mantra and the wishes of her children for a road map forward as a party.

“Instead of playing safe, instead of being cautious, instead of putting a finger in the wind, worrying what the hell would happen if they led, seeing every decision through the lens of how you get re-elected, Melissa said, ‘LFG,’” Martin told the room full of Democrats.

Klobuchar recalled the hopes of Hortmans’ children, Sophie and Colin, who told the country how to honor their late parents, including standing up “for what you believe in, especially if that thing is justice and peace.”

“I want you to think about that inspiration of doing things big or small. It can be small, one more volunteer, one more door-knocking shift. ... It can be a little bigger, recruiting the best candidate you can get ... running an election. And then it can be really big, flipping a congressional seat, flipping a U.S. Senate seat,” Klobuchar said.

“That’s the message that Sophie and Colin left us with,” Klobuchar continued. “That’s the legacy we carry on in this room. So carry on this torch. Go out of here and win and go out of here as a Democrat.”