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REP. MELISSA HORTMAN, KILLED IN TARGETED ATTACK, WAS A CHAMPION FOR
MINNESOTAN FAMILIES
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Grace Panetta
June 14, 2025
The 19th
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_ Hortman worked closely with Gov. Tim Walz to enact policies that
prioritized children and expanded protections for abortion and
gender-affirming care. _
State Rep. Melissa Hortman, a former speaker of the Minnesota House,
was assassinated early Saturday, (Abbie Parr/AP)
Melissa Hortman, a former Minnesota House speaker who championed the
passage of ambitious progressive policies in the state, was
assassinated early Saturday in what Gov. Tim Walz called “an act of
targeted political violence.”
Hortman, 55, who was elected to the Minnesota House in 2004, became
the speaker of the state’s House of Representatives in 2019 and,
during her first few years, presided over the chamber under a divided
government. In 2022, when the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party won
full control of the state government, Hortman played a key role in
shaping what legislation the chamber would prioritize, working closely
with Walz to enact a slew of progressive policies that included major
investments in children and families, as well as expanded protections
for abortion and gender-affirming care. She left the post in March.
A man posing as a police officer killed Hortman and her husband, Mark,
at their home in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park in what Walz
described at a news conference as an apparent “politically motivated
assassination.” DFL state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette,
were shot by the same gunman at their home in nearby Champlin. Walz
said they were out of surgery and was “cautiously optimistic” that
they would make a recovery.
“Our state lost a great leader and I lost the greatest of
friends,” Walz said. “Speaker Hortman was someone who served the
people of Minnesota with grace, compassion, humour and a sense of
service. She was a formidable public servant, a fixture and a giant in
Minnesota. She woke up every day determined to make this state a
better place. She is irreplaceable and will be missed by so
many.”
Hours after the attacks, an “extensive manhunt” remained underway
for the suspect, who impersonated a law enforcement officer to enter
Hortman’s home, Brooklyn Park chief of police Mark Bruley told
reporters in a news conference Saturday. The suspect fled on foot,
leaving behind his car, where, according to CNN,
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enforcement officials found a list containing about 70 names,
including abortion providers and advocates, as well as lawmakers.
Here’s a look at Hortman’s legislative history and legacy on key
policies:
ABORTION:
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion
in June 2022, Minnesota emerged as a key access point for abortion as
other Midwestern states moved to ban the procedure.
“There was a simmering rage that did not stop,” Hortman said after
the 2022 election, according to Minnesota Public Radio
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“I was hopeful that voters would take that energy and put it on the
ballot and vote for Democrats. And thankfully they did.”
In 2023, Hortman led the Minnesota House in passing the PRO Act
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legislation that codified the legality of abortion and other forms of
reproductive health care in the state. In subsequent bills, the
Minnesota legislature eliminated other restrictions on abortion,
passed protections for abortion providers, boosted state funding for
clinics providing abortion and eliminated funding for anti-abortion
counseling centers.
LGBTQ+ RIGHTS:
The Minnesota legislature passed a bill banning gay conversion
therapy
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minors in the state, which Walz signed into law in April 2023.
Lawmakers passed additional legislation with protections for
gender-affirming care
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Minnesota a “trans refuge state.”
PAID LEAVE:
In a 2024 interview
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the Minnesota Reformer, Hortman cited a paid family and medical leave
program
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“the most rewarding” piece of legislation she passed. The
legislature also enacted paid sick leave and paid safe leave for
survivors of intimate partner violence, to help them find temporary
housing or seek relief in court.
“An average person can take time, whether it’s to take care of
somebody who has cancer or to take care of a new baby,” she said.
“People shouldn’t have to choose between a job and recovering from
illness.”
CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION:
Hortman and Walz passed major investments in child care and early
childhood education
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at lowering child poverty and hunger. These included providing free
school breakfasts and lunches, expanding the child tax credit and
increasing funding for early childhood scholarships, child care
provider stabilization funds and child care for low-income families.
Lawmakers also enacted a program making tuition at Minnesota’s
public colleges free for families earning less than $80,00 a
year.
“From the word ‘go,’ you can see that children were top of
mind,” Hortman told the Reformer
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“Gov. Tim Walz gave a very inspiring state of the state address in
2023. He was very clear that his administration was focused on
reducing childhood poverty. The DFL House and the DFL Senate said,
‘Governor, we are right there with you.’”
In 2024, Minnesota lawmakers passed legislation that prohibited
banning books
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local schools and libraries on the basis of ideological or content
objections.
GUN SAFETY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE:
After the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in
May 2020, Hortman worked across the aisle to negotiate police reforms
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In 2023, the Minnesota legislature passed the Restore the Vote Act,
which restored voting rights to formerly incarcerated Minnesotans upon
completion of their sentences. Hortman was also an advocate for gun
violence prevention . In 2023, Walz signed a bill that included gun
safety
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like universal background checks and extreme risk protection orders,
or “red flag” laws. In 2024, the Minnesota legislature passed a
gun safety bill
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among other things, made straw purchases of firearms a felony.
“We clearly have a gun violence problem in this country, and there
are things we can do about it, and we did them,” Hortman told the
Reformer
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_I’m GRACE PANETTA, a political reporter at The 19th covering the
candidates, issues and voters that power our elections. My journey in
political journalism began at the end of my sophomore year of college,
where I took an internship on Business Insider’s politics desk that
turned into a full-time job. I got to cover lots of big stories while
honing a beat on elections and voting rights. _
_The 19th Amendment remains unfinished business, a fact we acknowledge
in our logo with an asterisk — a visible reminder of those who have
been omitted from our democracy. The expansion of the franchise
continues today, and The 19th aims to capture this ongoing American
story. The 19th was founded in 2020 by Emily Ramshaw and Amanda
Zamora, longtime journalists who believed the news was not
representative enough. _
_Our goal is to empower women and LGBTQ+ people — particularly
those from underrepresented communities — with the information,
resources and tools they need to be equal participants in our
democracy. _
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