She was a lifelong Minneapolis-area resident who went to college in Boston and then returned home for law school and, with degree fresh in hand, worked as a volunteer lawyer for a group fighting housing discrimination. Elected to the Minnesota House in 2004, she helped pass liberal initiatives like free lunches for pubic school students in 2023 as the chamber’s speaker. With the House split 67-67 between Democrats and Republicans this year, she helped break a budget impasse threatening to shut down state government.
“Melissa Hortman was a woman that I wish everyone around the country knew,” U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a longtime friend and Democratic ally, said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
Klobuchar added: “She was a true leader and loved her work, but was always so grounded and such a decent person. I think that’s probably the best word to describe her. You look at her pictures and you know what she was about.”
The killings of Hortman and her husband early Saturday followed the shootings and wounding of another prominent Minnesota lawmaker, state Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, at their home in Champlin, another Minneapolis suburb. Hoffman is chair of the Senate committee overseeing human resources spending. A nephew posted Sunday on Facebook that the Hoffmans were out of surgery and recovering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Minnesota Democrat and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said she saw both lawmakers at the dinner.
“So it feels so personal, because we’re all very good friends, of course, to have that have happened so shortly after we were all together,” Smith said on CNN’s “Inside Politics Sunday.”
Outside the state Capitol in St. Paul, a memorial to Hortman and her husband included flowers, candles, small American flags and a photo of the couple. Visitors left messages on Post-It notes commending Hortman’s legislative work, including, “You changed countless lives.”
She told reporters afterward that Republicans insisted on the bill, and Minnesota voters who gave the House an even partisan split expect the parties to compromise. But she acknowledged she worries about people who will lose their health insurance.
“I know that people will be hurt by that vote,” she said, choking up briefly before regaining her composure. “We worked very hard to get a budget deal that wouldn’t include that provision.”
Melissa Hortman earned a degree in philosophy and political science from Boston University, where she also worked as a residence assistant in one of its dormitories. She earned her law degree from the University of Minnesota, but also a master’s of public administration from Harvard University.
“We remember Melissa for her kindness, compassion, and unwavering commitment to making the world better,” Helping Paws said in its Facebook message.
