Melissa Hortman (born May 27, 1970) is an American politician and the Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is the Minnesota affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party. As of 2022, it controls four of Minnesota's eight U.S. House seats, both of its U.S. Senate seats, the Minnesota House of Represen ...

(DFL), she represents District 36B, which includes portions of Anoka and Hennepin counties in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

metropolitan area. Prior to the 2018 elections, she served as Minority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Education

Hortman graduated from Blaine High School in

Blaine, Minnesota Blaine is a suburban city in Anoka and Ramsey counties in the State of Minnesota, United States. Once a rural town, Blaine's population has increased significantly in the last 60 years. For several years, Blaine led the Twin Cities metro region i ...

in 1988. She earned bachelor's degrees in Political Science and Philosophy from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

, graduating ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

'' in 1991, earned a Juris Doctor from the

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Patent Law ...

, ''cum laude'', in 1995, and a Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2018.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Hortman won her first term by narrowly defeating

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

incumbent Stephanie Olsen in the 2004 general election by 402 votes out of over 20,000 cast. She had previously lost to Olsen in the 2002 election. She has been re-elected every two years since then. In her first term, Hortman was an outspoken advocate for the

Northstar Commuter Rail The Northstar Line is a commuter rail route in the US state of Minnesota. Northstar runs from Big Lake to downtown Minneapolis at Target Field using existing track and right-of-way owned by the BNSF Railway. Passenger service began on Novemb ...

line, which runs through her district. She also supported a new stadium for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. She has been an advocate of environmental issues and in the effort to bring the 2020 Summer Olympics to Minnesota. She is pro-choice, supports gun control policies, and opposes voter identification initiatives. In 2008, Hortman managed the DFL floor operation during a successful attempt to override then-Governor Tim Pawlenty's veto of a gas tax increase. She was chair of the House Energy Policy Committee during the 2013-14 biennium, and was the chief author of the state's solar energy standard and community solar laws. Hortman was elected by her peers to serve as assistant majority leader after the 2006 election, and served in that capacity through 2010. She was later elected as

speaker pro tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

of the Minnesota House and served from 2013 through 2014. From 2017 through 2018, she was elected by her caucus to be minority leader. After the DFL caucus gained enough seats in the 2018 election to retake the House majority, her colleagues elected her speaker of the house.

Electoral history

Honors and accolades

Hortman has won awards for her bipartisan work from the 2020 Caucus. She has also won awards from Conservation Minnesota.

Personal life

Hortman is

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and has taught

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

in Blaine.

References

External links

Official House of Representatives website

Official campaign website
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hortman, Melissa 1970 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Boston University College of Arts and Sciences alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Living people People from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota People from Fridley, Minnesota Speakers of the Minnesota House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives University of Minnesota Law School alumni Women state legislators in Minnesota