BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — Candidates campaigning in a Minneapolis suburb where a longtime state lawmaker and her husband were killed say fear and concern about political violence are weighing on voters ahead of a special election to fill the vacant state House seat.
The contest to replace Rep. Melissa Hortman — a Democrat first elected in 2005 who served as Minnesota’s House speaker until her death in June — comes as the nation reels from additional attacks, including the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk and a church shooting in Minneapolis that left two children dead. Vance Boelter, 57, faces federal and state murder charges in the Hortmans’ deaths, and is accused of attempted murder and other charges in the shooting of another Minnesota lawmaker, Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, who survived.
Republican candidate Ruth Bittner, a real estate agent, said she noticed residents in the neighborhood where Hortman was killed were hesitant to answer doors when she began campaigning. "We are in very, very scary times, and we definitely need to get out of this trajectory that we’re on here," Bittner said. She added that the killing of Kirk briefly made her reconsider running, but she ultimately decided against retreating. "There’s no way to solve this problem if we shrink back in fear," she said.
Democrat Xp Lee, a former Brooklyn Park City Council member, said the killings and broader political violence have come up repeatedly as he knocked on doors. Lee, who said he often saw Hortman walking her dog and who received her advice when he ran for City Council, described the climate as "charged" and said reducing political tensions is a priority. Lee favors a ban on semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity magazines and said he keeps a shotgun for home defense but views assault-style rifles as inappropriate for streets and neighborhoods.
The assassination of Charlie Kirk, captured on video as he spoke at a college event in Utah and widely circulated on social media, further rattled residents and candidates. Federal authorities said they took Tyler Robinson into custody Thursday night and believe he acted alone.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the Kirk killing was "an open forum for political dialogue and disagreement upended by a horrific act of targeted violence," and urged that disagreements not be settled "with violence or at gunpoint." Hoffman and his family, who survived the June shooting, issued a statement saying the nation "cannot continue to accept" political violence and called on leaders to reduce extreme rhetoric that they said foments such attacks.
The special election in the Brooklyn Park district arrives less than a month after a shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis during Mass in late August left two schoolchildren dead and injured more than 20 others, most of them students. Authorities identified the church shooter as a former student, 23-year-old Robin Westman, who was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.
Local voters and candidates said the spate of recent killings — both nationally and locally — has intensified concerns about safety and the tone of political discourse. Lee said honoring Hortman's memory by seeking the seat is a way to continue her work, while Bittner said that continuing to participate in representative government is essential despite fears.
The special election will determine who serves the remainder of the term in the Minnesota House for the district long represented by Hortman. Campaigning in the tree-lined streets of Brooklyn Park has mixed messages of mourning and resolve: some residents expressed fear and hesitation at their doors, while candidates insist the democratic process must continue. Authorities continue to pursue charges in the June attack that left Hortman, her husband and their dog dead, and prosecutors have brought related charges tied to the shooting of Hoffman and his wife.
As voters prepare to cast ballots, officials, elected leaders and candidates have emphasized calls for calmer public rhetoric and for steps to address gun violence, while others stress resilience in the face of targeted attacks on public figures. The election will be watched locally as a test of voter sentiment in a community still processing the loss of an influential lawmaker and grappling with broader concerns about political violence.