Who is Molly Coleman, the winner of St. Paul’s special City Council election?

St. Paul’s special election for the Ward 4 ended with a decisive win for Molly Coleman.

Coleman, a first-time political candidate who co-founded a progressive advocacy group, cruised to victory in the four-way race against school board member Chauntyll Allen, public health educator Cole Hanson and publicist Carolyn Will.

Coleman will join the City Council this month, with interim Council Member Matt Privratsky stepping down on Aug. 22. She fills the seat that former Council President Mitra Jalali left vacant when she resigned suddenly in January.

Here are four things to know.

Coleman picked up endorsements from across the political spectrum, from the St. Paul Area Chamber’s business interests, to the progressive Sustain St. Paul and several building trade unions.

She raised by far the most money of any of the four candidates. Her donors included well-known DFL givers and principals of some of the largest developers in the Twin Cities. Mayor Melvin Carter endorsed her run, as did former Council President Amy Brendmoen.

Coleman is the daughter of former Mayor Chris Coleman, who led St. Paul from 2006 until 2018 and saw St. Paul grow to more than 300,000 people for the first time since the 1970s. Coleman ran for governor in 2018.

Coleman is not related to St. Paul’s other political Coleman family. That family of Republicans includes former Sen. Norm Coleman — also a former St. Paul mayor — who is the father Jake Coleman, who leads Minnesota’s chapter of Americans For Prosperity, and who is father-in-law to state Sen. Julia Coleman, R-Waconia.

Carolyn Will received more votes than Coleman in Precinct 5 and Precinct 12 on the far southwest side of Ward 4 near the University of St. Thomas. The wealthier neighborhoods there have been engaged around the Save Our Street campaign opposing an off-street bike lane on Summit Avenue — which Will was involved in before her campaign — and are chafing at rental housing construction for St. Thomas students living off-campus.

Allen, the only candidate with experience in elected office, and Hanson, who ran with the endorsement of the Twin Cities chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, did not win a plurality in any of the 13 precincts.

Carter is headed into what could be his most competitive race since he took office in 2018, and he has a strong supporter in Coleman.

The filing deadline to run for mayor of St. Paul was Tuesday, and four people have filed to run against Carter. His most formidable challenge is likely to come from state Rep. Kaohly Vang Her, who served on Carter’s staff during his first term but is now running against him on a platform of strengthening basic city services.