Breaking NEWS: Who Are the Lawmakers Who Were Shot?
A Minnesota
state representative and her husband were killed early Saturday, and a state
senator and his wife were injured.
Ernesto
LondoñoMitch Smith
By Ernesto
Londoño and Mitch Smith
June 14,
2025
Updated 1:15
p.m. ET
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/14/us/politics/hortman-hoffman-shot-minnesota.html
The
lawmakers who were shot on Saturday morning in Minnesota were State
Representative Melissa Hortman, the top Democrat in the House, and State
Senator John A. Hoffman, a fellow Democrat and longtime lawmaker.
Ms. Hortman,
who was assassinated at her home in Brooklyn Park, Minn., was a lawyer by
training and a legislator for about 20 years who served as the speaker of the
Minnesota House of Representatives from 2019 to 2025. She represented a
reliably Democratic district and routinely won re-election by more than 20
percentage points.
She played a
key role in passing a trove of bills during the 2023 session, when Democrats
held a slim majority in the Legislature, including legislation that expanded
abortion rights, legalized recreational marijuana and required employers to
offer paid family and medical leave.
This year,
under Ms. Hortman’s leadership, Democrats in the House boycotted the early
weeks of the legislative session amid a fight for control of the chamber.
Voters last year left Democrats and Republicans with an equal number of seats
in the House, but challenges to two of the elections won by Democrats created a
period of uncertainty around which party would control the chamber.
When those
challenges were settled, Ms. Hortman agreed to let the top Republican in the
House, Representative Lisa Demuth, serve as speaker.
Colleagues
have long praised Ms. Hortman’s work ethic, negotiation skills and pragmatism.
Jerry Gale,
Ms. Hortman’s campaign manager, said in an interview that she was a tireless
campaigner who was passionate about recruiting fellow Democrats to run for
office.
“She had a
vision of what she wanted the state to be like, and she knew it was going to
take a lot of work,” Mr. Gale said.
As the
political rhetoric in the state grew more acrimonious in recent years, Mr. Gale
said, Ms. Hortman worried about her safety.
“I think it
did cross her mind at times on the campaign trail,” he said. Her own style was
not combative, however. On the campaign trail and in the Capitol, Ms. Hortman
kept her remarks short, to the point and civil, he said.
Ms. Hortman
was married with two children, according to her state legislative biography.
Her husband, Mark, was also shot and killed on Saturday.
Sen. John A.
Hoffman has served in the Legislature since 2013. Before being elected, he
served as a member of the Anoka-Hennepin School Board for several years.
Gov. Tim
Walz of Minnesota said the Hoffmans had both undergone surgery. “We are
cautiously optimistic that they will survive this assassination attempt,” he
said.
Mr. Hoffman,
60, was born in Casper, Wyo., and formerly made a living as a marketing and
public relations professional. He and his wife, Yvette, have a daughter. They
live in Champlin, a suburb north of Minneapolis. His home address was published
on his biographical page on the Senate’s website.
Mr. Hoffman
chairs the Senate’s Human Services Committee. He is a fourth-term senator, and
won his most recent election by 10 percentage points.
“A hallmark
of my approach is collaboration across the aisle,” Mr. Hoffman wrote in a
letter to constituents ahead of last year’s legislative session. “I firmly
believe that the path to progress for our state involves considering input from
all perspectives, regardless of which party holds the majority.”
On his
campaign website, Mr. Hoffman said he was particularly proud of his efforts to
make it easier for people with disabilities to work. He also described himself
as a conscientious steward of taxpayer dollars.
Ernesto
Londoño is a Times reporter based in Minnesota, covering news in the Midwest
and drug use and counternarcotics policy.
Mitch Smith
is a Chicago-based national correspondent for The Times, covering the Midwest
and Great Plains.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário