Melissa Hortman


Melissa Hortman is an American politician and the Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, she represents District 36B, which includes portions of Anoka and Hennepin counties in the Twin Cities 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 in 1988. She earned bachelor's degrees in Political Science and Philosophy from Boston University, graduating magna cum laude in 1991, earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School, 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 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 line, which runs through her district. She also supported a new stadium for the Minnesota Twins. She has been an advocate of environmental issues and in the effort to bring the 2020 Summer Olympics to Minnesota. She is adamantly 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.
After the 2006 election, Hortman was chosen by her peers to serve as one of eight assistant majority leaders in the House. She was again chosen to serve in this capacity after the 2008 elections. She has also served as speaker pro tempore for many of the House sessions. She served as a minority whip during the 2011-2012 legislative session. She was elected by her caucus to be minority leader following the 2016 election. After her caucus gained enough seats in 2018 to retake the majority, they designated her Speaker.

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.