Democrat Xp Lee Wins Minnesota House Special Election

Former Brooklyn Park City Council member Xp Lee secured victory in Tuesday’s special election to fill the seat left vacant by assassinated Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman.

Lee defeated Republican real estate agent Ruth Bittner with 60.8 percent of the vote, capturing 4,331 votes to Bittner’s 2,785 votes. The victory restores a 67-67 tie in the Minnesota House of Representatives, reinstating the power-sharing agreement that governed most of the 2025 legislative session.

Balance of Power Restored

The special election result ends the brief Republican advantage in the chamber that began after Hortman’s assassination in June. With Lee’s win, Democrats regain equal representation in the House, ensuring continued bipartisan cooperation for legislative passage.

“I am honored to have been elected to represent my neighbors in Brooklyn Park, Champlin, and Coon Rapids,” Lee said in a statement Tuesday evening. “I have never lost sight of the situation that brought us to this moment, and I will work hard every day to carry forward Speaker Melissa Hortman’s legacy.”

Campaign Against Political Violence Backdrop

The election occurred amid heightened concerns about political violence, coming just days after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah college event. Hortman and her husband Mark were killed in their Brooklyn Park home on June 14, with prosecutors describing the attack as a political assassination.

Federal and state murder charges have been filed against 58-year-old Vance Boelter, who also faces charges for shooting and wounding another state lawmaker and his spouse.

Candidate Backgrounds

Lee, born in a refugee camp in Thailand to Hmong refugees fleeing Laos during the Vietnam War, currently works as a health equity strategist for the Minnesota Department of Health. He previously served on the Brooklyn Park City Council from 2022 to 2024.

Bittner, the Republican candidate, works as a real estate agent and had no prior experience in public office. During campaigning, she noted that residents were “afraid to open their doors” for traditional door-to-door canvassing due to the climate of political violence.

Legislative Implications

Lee’s victory maintains the delicate balance that has required bipartisan cooperation throughout the 2025 session. The power-sharing arrangement, negotiated after Democrats lost their House majority in the 2024 elections, established most committees with equal representation from both parties.

Lee will serve the remainder of Hortman’s term, which runs through next year. House District 34B, representing parts of Brooklyn Park, Champlin and Coon Rapids, has traditionally leaned Democratic, with Hortman winning reelection in November 2024 with 63 percent of the vote.