Representative Melissa Hortman Contact information

Melissa Hortman, born on May 27, 1970, is an American politician and the Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) and represents District 34B in the northern Twin Cities metropolitan area. This district includes the cities of Brooklyn Park, Champlin, and Coon Rapids, and parts of Anoka and Hennepin Counties.

Hortman has served as Speaker of the Minnesota House since 2019. From 2017 to 2019, she served as minority leader. She was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2004 and has been reelected every two years since. She first ran unsuccessfully in 1998, and again in 2002. She defeated one-term Republican incumbent Stephanie Olsen.

Born in Fridley, Minnesota, Hortman graduated from Blaine High School in 1988. She earned bachelor’s degrees in political science and philosophy from Boston University, graduating magna cum laude in 1991. She also holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School, cum laude, in 1995, and a Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2018.

Before her political career, Hortman worked as an intern in the United States Senate for Al Gore and John Kerry, and clerked for Judge John Sommerville while in law school. She served on the Brooklyn Park City Human Relations Commission and worked as an assistant county attorney for Hennepin County.

In her first term, Hortman was an outspoken advocate for the Northstar Commuter Rail line, which runs through her district. She has been particularly active in the areas of transportation, K-12 education funding, higher education, energy, and the environment. In 2013, Hortman worked with a coalition to enact Minnesota’s solar energy standard and community solar laws.

Melissa Hortman is a lifelong resident of the northern suburbs, a mother, a volunteer, and a small business person. She grew up in Spring Lake Park and Andover. She and her husband Mark bought their first house on Windsor Terrace in Brooklyn Park, the street they still live on today. Melissa and Mark are proud parents of two children.