(NEW YORK) — Minnesotans are set to vote Tuesday in the special election to replace Melissa Hortman, the former Democratic Minnesota House speaker who was killed alongside her husband at their home in June, a politically motivated killing thrust back into the spotlight after the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
The election has significant political implications, too, due to Republicans’ one-seat edge in the statehouse.
Voters will choose between Democratic nominee XP Lee, a former Brooklyn Park City Council member, and Republican nominee Ruth Bittner, a real estate agent.
Lee told The Associated Press that continuing Hortman’s legacy is one of the reasons why he is running for her former seat.
“It makes me want to focus on healing and coming together even more,” he said. “You know, I wouldn’t be running if it wasn’t for the murder of Melissa Hortman. So I am very conscious of political and gun violence. So I want to help our community heal.”
Born in a refugee camp in Thailand after his family fled the Vietnam War, Lee says he is focused on improving education and access to health care.
Lee won the Democratic primary last month over two others with 59% of the vote, according to KSTP. On Sunday, he was joined for a door-knocking event by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who encouraged the community to cast their ballots in favor of the Democratic candidate.
Lee is favored to win in Hortman’s blue-leaning home district, which would restore the chamber to a 67-67 deadlock.
The Republican contender similarly seeks to honor the late Minnesota House speaker, with Bittner telling MPR News that Hortman was a “very unique individual” and that “we will not be trying to replace her.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, Bittner was concerned about running for office amidst the heightened environment of political violence, but she emphasized that “we have to move forward as a country” and argued that “there’s no way to solve this problem if we shrink back in fear.”
Bittner is capitalizing on her lack of political experience, branding herself as a new voice that is focused on eliminating government inefficiencies and improving public safety and education.
The candidates have acknowledged the fear plaguing Minnesotans in recent days, with Lee noting that he has spoken to citizens that have brought up the Charlie Kirk shooting and the Annunciation Church shooting that took place in their state — two instances of violence that had occurred after Hortman’s murder.
Hortman’s alleged killer, Vance Boelter, is charged with shooting and killing Hortman and her husband Mark at their home in Brooklyn Park and shooting and wounding state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette at their house in nearby Champlin in the early hours of June 14, authorities said.
Boelter allegedly showed up at their doors, impersonating a police officer and wearing a realistic-looking latex mask to carry out his “political assassinations,” prosecutors said.
Investigators recovered a list of about 45 elected officials in notebooks in Boelter’s car, according to prosecutors. The alleged shooter’s list of potential targets also included the names of abortion providers and pro-choice activists, several sources told ABC News. Many of the Democratic lawmakers on the list have been outspoken about pro-choice policy positions, two sources said.
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