Elections

Former Brooklyn Park council member wins DFL primary for slain Rep. Melissa Hortman’s House seat

The race will determine control of the House chamber in the upcoming legislative session.

By Nathaniel Minor

The Minnesota Star Tribune

August 13, 2025 at 1:28PM

Meg Miller casts her vote at the Willowstone Park Building in Brooklyn Park in Tuesday's DFL primary in the special election to fill the seat of late Rep. Melissa Hortman. (Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Xp Lee, a former member of the Brooklyn Park City Council, won the DFL primary Tuesday in a special election that will determine control of the Minnesota House.

Lee will face Republican and real estate agent Ruth Bittner in a special election on Sept. 16 for the legislative seat previously held by House DFL Leader Rep. Melissa Hortman.

A Democratic win in September would restore a 67-67 tie in the House, while a Republican win would flip the chamber to GOP control for the upcoming legislative session.

“Tonight, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we roll up our sleeves and get ready for September,” Lee wrote in a Facebook post late on Tuesday.

Lee, the DFL-endorsed candidate, won the District 34B Democratic primary with nearly 60% of the vote, easily defeating Brooklyn Park City Council Member Christian Eriksen and Erickson Saye, a prosecutor in Hennepin County.

Xp Lee will face Ruth Bittner in a September election. (City of Brooklyn Park/guest)

Hortman and her husband, Mark, were assassinated in their Brooklyn Park home in June.

Lee told the Minnesota Star Tribune that he would not try to fill Hortman’s “shoes, or her heels,” but would instead try to follow in her footsteps.

“One of the reasons why I ran is to be able to take up her legacy of leadership,” he said Tuesday night. “She paved pathways for a lot of us.”

A lawn sign near polling places in Brooklyn Park honors Melissa Hortman on Tuesday. (Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

He grew up in Fresno, Calif., and attended college in South Carolina before moving to the Twin Cities in the 2000s to be closer to relatives and a larger Hmong community. He works as a health equity strategist for the Minnesota Department of Health and served on the Brooklyn Park City Council from 2022 to 2024.

Lee said health care, education and infrastructure are among his top priorities. He wants to support economic development in his district, including a planned BioTech Innovation District near highways 169 and 610. He supports the conversion of Highway 252 to a four-lane freeway and the planned extension of Metro Transit’s light rail Blue Line into the northwestern suburbs.

“I really do think that [project] overall will be a great investment for Brooklyn Park,” he said.

Related Coverage

The district has turned reliably Democratic in the last few decades. Hortman won re-election with more than 60% of the vote in her last two races.

In a statement, House DFL Campaign Director Adam Kopel congratulated Lee and said the caucus is ready to campaign for him.

“XP Lee supports a vision for our future grounded in what Speaker Hortman fought for every day — making life better for all Minnesotans," Kopel said.

In the state Senate, two more special elections will be held later this year. Democrats currently hold a one-seat majority in that chamber, and the two open seats are in relatively safe districts.