ST. PAUL — Over the weekend and into Monday, visitors made their way to the Minnesota Capitol steps and House chamber, where two memorials are set up to honor political “giant” Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark.
Hundreds of flowers and notes were scattered throughout the memorials by Monday morning. Messages said “Rest in power, Madam Speaker,” “You were our leader through the toughest of times,” “We will miss you and take you with every step of the way.”
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One visitor placed plastic flowers on the table outside the chamber with a note that read, “May these flowers, which will never die, represent the legacy and tireless dedication of Representative Melissa Hortman.”
Hortman, top Democrat in the Minnesota House, and her husband, Mark, were killed in their Brooklyn Park home early Saturday, in what’s being called a “targeted act of political violence.”
The suspect in their murders — as well as the attempted murders of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette — is in federal custody and has been charged at both the state and federal levels with crimes punishable by life in prison or death.
The assassination has sent shockwaves through the Minnesota political system. Gov. Tim Walz said in a press conference Sunday that “one man’s unthinkable actions have altered the state of Minnesota.”
“Speaker Hortman was someone who served the people of Minnesota with grace, compassion, humor and a sense of service,” Walz said. “She was a formidable public servant, a fixture and a giant in Minnesota. She woke up every day determined to make this state a better place.”
Walz said Sunday night that political violence “cannot be the norm.” He asked Minnesotans to change the way we deal with “political differences” — and opt for talking, shaking hands, debating, and finding common ground — to honor Hortman.
“This is who Melissa Hortman was,” he said. “In the first negotiating session that I had a chance to work with her, she got all the partners in the room, and she provided each and every one of us a copy of a book called ‘Getting a Yes,’ And the whole premise was debating with a sense of goodwill, a sense of trying to come to compromises that serve everyone.”
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Walz said she needs to be honored not just with memorials, but also with actions.
“Conducting ourselves in the spirit that Melissa Hortman did her work is what the country needs to heal,” he said.
The Hortmans’ children, Sophie and Colin, put out a statement on behalf of their family Monday night.
“We are devastated and heartbroken at the loss of our parents, Melissa and Mark,” The statement read. “They were the bright lights at the center of our lives, and we can’t believe they are gone. Their love for us was boundless. We miss them so much.”
In their statement, Sophie and Colin asked those wishing to honor their parents to consider the following actions:
“Plant a tree. Visit a local park and make use of their amenities, especially a bike trail. Pet a dog. A golden retriever is ideal, but any will do. Tell your loved ones a cheesy dad joke and laugh about it. Bake something — bread for Mark or a cake for Melissa, and share it with someone. Try a new hobby and enjoy learning something. Stand up for what you believe in, especially if that thing is justice and peace.”
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Early life, political career
Hortman, 55, of Brooklyn Park, grew up in Minnesota and graduated from Blaine High in 1988. Her first job was as a cashier and cook at Zantigo in Blaine, making “tacos, burritos, and most importantly, chili cheese burritos,” as she wrote on her .
She earned a Bachelor of Arts with a major in philosophy and political science from Boston University, a juris doctor from the University of Minnesota Law , and a master’s in public administration from Harvard, . She interned for Al Gore and John Kerry when they served in the U.S. Senate.
In her personal life, Hortman was a mom of two adult children and through PTO, Sunday , Girl Scouts and nonprofits. In her career as an attorney, she worked on several matters, including housing discrimination cases for which she won record-setting verdicts, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Those close to her said she had great love for her dog, Gilbert, who was also shot Saturday and has since died. Hortman met Gilbert as part of her volunteer work with , a service dog training organization, where she was a “Helping Paws Foster Home Trainer, a neighbor and a friend,” the organization said in a post Saturday.
Hortman was elected to the House in 2004 after losing her first two campaigns in 1998 and 2002. She first served in leadership as chair of the Energy Finance and Policy Committee, and in 2012, she spearheaded bills around solar energy.
Hortman rose to leadership in 2017 as the House minority leader. That same year, she spoke on behalf of her women of color colleagues who were debating on the House floor. Hortman took the floor and alleged absent members were engaging in a Her Republican colleagues asked her to apologize for the comment on the floor, but she declined.
“I’m really tired of watching women of color, in particular, being ignored,” she said. “So I’m not sorry.”
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When the House Democrats gained a majority in 2019, she was elected as speaker. In that role, she helped shepherd DFL priorities into law, including paid family medical leave, abortion rights, and free school meals.
As as speaker, she removed the “mute button” that allowed speakers to silence out-of-order members during floor debate.
“I have a gavel and a gavel has been good enough since 1858,” she told MPR. “And a gavel is good enough for me.”
‘Humble authority’
The 2025 session proved to be a difficult one, during which Hortman offered her speakership to Republicans as part of a shared power agreement in a tied House.
Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said Monday that Hortman was the “greatest example” of a leader she could have had.
“I have the utmost respect for her as a leader. She’s the only speaker that I served under,” Demuth said. “She was incredibly politically wise — sometimes to my detriment — but just an excellent political leader and colleague.”
When Hortman was first elected as the minority leader in the House in 2021, she reached out to Demuth and asked if she would want to have weekly meetings with her. Even though they disagreed, Hortman was always “fair and honest,” Demuth said.
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“She came in with … humble authority,” Demuth said. “Because she … could obviously take command of the space and what was going on, but just in a very relatable way … she had a sense of humor, which was kind of fun, you know, and not overbearing, not arrogant at all.”
The tied House this session made for intense negotiations between Republicans and Democrats in crafting a budget deal, in which Hortman played a key role. One of the concessions Democrat leaders gave up in budget negotiations was a repeal of MinnesotaCare coverage for undocumented adults.
On June 9, less than a week before her assassination, Hortman teared up in front of reporters over what she said was the most painful vote of her 20 years in the House. She said that vote was needed to fund state government.
“What I worry about is the people who will lose their health insurance. I know that people will be hurt by that vote,” she said through tears. “We worked very hard to try to get a budget deal that wouldn’t include that provision, and we tried any other way we could to come to a budget agreement with Republicans, and they wouldn’t have it. So, you know, I did what leaders do, I stepped up and I got the job done for the people of Minnesota.”
Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St.Paul, spent hours every day the past few weeks in those negotiation rooms with Hortman, whom she said “always came ready.” Murphy first met Hortman when she Murphy elected to the House in 2006. Hortman was elected in the class before her, so she did Murphy’s orientation.
“She was interested in politics for its purpose of elections, but not for theater and not for prominence,” Murphy said. “She … has always been focused on the policy in order to improve people’s lives. She’s a very serious and exceptional policymaker, and she’s also witty with cutting one-liners. When she smiles, her eyes light up.”
Murphy said Hortman loved cross-country skiing, margaritas, chips, her family, her dog and cake.
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“I think of her as a galvanizing force for good,” Murphy said Tuesday. “She doesn’t suffer fools. She can say no to any bad idea without compunction, but she is an exquisite strategist, and you know, the work that she’s done over the last 20 years will serve Minnesotans for decades to come. She’s really something.”
Her caucus, the House DFL, released a statement Saturday, saying Hortman was always talking about the Golden Rule “and the value that ‘to whom much is given, much is expected.’ ”
“She felt she had the ability and the obligation to serve others, and serve others she did,” the statement said.
The Trust Project
