Democrat XP Lee wins special election to fill State Rep. Melissa Hortman’s seat

ST. PAUL (KVRR/AP) — XP Lee has won the special election for House District 34b, that is the district represented by the late Democratic State Representative Melissa Hortman.

She and her husband were fatally shot in June in a politically motivated assassination.

Lee, a Democrat, is a former Brooklyn Park city council member.

“I am honored to have been elected to represent my neighbors in Brooklyn Park, Champlin, and Coon Rapids. 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.”

It was a landslide win against Republican Ruth Bittner with Lee getting 60% of the vote.

His win also returns the House to a 67-67 tie, which was where it stood before Hortman was killed.

Two more special elections will be held November 4 for two open seats in the Senate.

One is to fill the seat vacated by Democratic Sen. Nicole Mitchell, of the St. Paul suburb of Woodbury.

She resigned in July after she was convicted of burglarizing her estranged stepmother’s home.

The other is for the seat of Republican Sen. Bruce Anderson, of the Minneapolis exurb of Buffalo, who died in July.