Voters in St. Paul and the eastern suburbs will choose new state House representatives in coming weeks to fill vacancies left by Democrats recently elected to higher offices.
Former Rep. Kaohly Her won the St. Paul mayor’s race and former Rep. Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger was elected to the state Senate in November.
The special elections to fill their two seats, both reliably Democratic, will almost certainly result in the Minnesota House being tied at 67-67 between Democrats and Republicans again before the legislative session starts in February.
The real drama is over which Democrats will win primary races, set for Dec. 16.
Six Democrats are running for Her’s old seat, which includes Macalester-Groveland, Summit Hill and other St. Paul neighborhoods. Her won the seat with more than 80% of the vote in recent races.
The DFL candidates are legislative staffer Beth Fraser; John Zwier, who works in the Attorney General’s Office; small-business owner Matt Hill; Dan McGrath, a longtime organizer; former health care executive Lois Quam; and Meg Luger-Nikolai, a labor lawyer. The local DFL chapter will make its endorsement on Dec. 7.
The winner will face Republican Dan Walsh, who works in IT, in a Jan. 27 special election.
Hemmingsen-Jaeger’s old seat, which covers parts of Woodbury and Maplewood, is also consistently Democratic. She won her race in 2024 with more than 60% of the vote. The local DFL chapter will make its endorsement this week between candidates Shelley Buck, a nonprofit executive; and advocates David Azcona and Juli Servatius. There is no registered Republican in the race.
