Democrat Wins Seat of Slain Minnesota Lawmaker, Leaving State House Evenly Split

Xp Lee, a state employee and former municipal council member of a suburban city north of Minneapolis, was elected on Tuesday to fill the State House seat of Melissa Hortman, a fellow Democrat and former Minnesota House speaker who was assassinated in June, The Associated Press said.

Mr. Lee’s victory in a suburban district where residents predominantly vote for Democrats will return the Minnesota House of Representatives to an even split, with each party controlling 67 seats.

Mr. Lee (whose first name is pronounced like the letters X-P) defeated Ruth Bittner, a real estate agent who has never held public office. She was the only Republican to seek the seat.

Vance Boelter faces federal and state charges in the killings and in the shootings of a second state lawmaker and his wife, both of whom survived.

Mr. Lee, the son of Hmong refugees who fled Laos during the Vietnam War, was born in a refugee camp in Thailand. He works as a health equity strategist at the Minnesota Department of Health and served on the City Council of Brooklyn Park, a suburban city just north of Minneapolis, from 2022 to 2024.

Mr. Lee has called Ms. Hortman a valued neighbor and mentor who left a “legacy of principled leadership and fierce advocacy” for her constituents.

His election could help Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, who has said he intends to convene a special session to consider a package of laws to restrict access to certain weapons.