Attacks against Hortmans, Hoffmans continue to weigh on Minnesota politics

NINA MOINI: One of the biggest stories of 2025 was the shootings of Minnesota lawmakers. On June 14, a shooter killed DFL house leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were also shot. They survived. Here's a look back at that day. A warning, this may be difficult to revisit for some listeners.

TIM WALZ: Our state lost a great leader and I lost a dearest of friends. Speaker Hortman was someone who served the people of Minnesota with grace, compassion, humor, and a sense of service. 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.

SUBJECT 1: She was a leader that was sincere and kind to people.

SUBJECT 2: What I remember is a strong woman who compromised for the betterment of Minnesota.

SUBJECT 3: And for her to lose her life this way, and Mark, her wonderful husband, it's like losing family. It's just devastating for us.

SUBJECT 4: It's such a tragedy. She was such a great leader, compassionate and kind.

SUBJECT 5: She turned to me and said, I'm sorry I broke your record. And I said, (CRYING) I am not sorry you broke my record. Such an accomplishment to have a woman serve for three terms as speaker. It's something that was never done before in our state.

SUBJECT 6: When I think our one-day special session was just a week ago today, it kind of feels like a lifetime ago. So I think just minute by minute. I know, I was looking through, we were on the same boat for the fishing opener, and I had looked at a couple of pictures yesterday and I have had people send an occasional picture where we've been together, whether it's a press conference or fishing or something like that. And I don't know, is that how you process something so horrific?

[SOMBER MUSIC]

SUBJECT 7: It's not just that she's gone. It's how she was taken from us and that we can never forget that. So preserving her desk was really a memorial and a tribute and an honor to her. And it's going to stay there until the end of the 2026 session.

NINA MOINI: Six months later, lawmakers are still grappling with the attacks, and the tragedy will have a lasting mark on the legislature. Joining me now is MPR News politics reporter Dana Ferguson. Thanks for being with us, Dana.

DANA FERGUSON: You're welcome, Nina.

NINA MOINI: This tragedy, as you know, was really difficult for lawmakers, still is for the entire state, and for the newsroom as well, and for all of you at the Capitol who interact with lawmakers and interview them often. Do you want to tell us just a little bit about what Leader Hortman was like and what she represented at the Capitol?

DANA FERGUSON: Yeah. She was incredibly smart, very funny. Every time we would interview with her, she would have a quip that often made us laugh in the press corps. She was very well respected by all of her peers from both sides of the political aisle. She's known as one of the most consequential Minnesota speakers, if not the most consequential Minnesota House Speaker.

And I think that her legacy will be treating people with respect, being kind, and really having a lasting impact on policies in Minnesota. She was essential to the 2023 legislative session, when Democrats got a number of priority bills across the finish line and have made big changes here in Minnesota, including paid leave, abortion protections, meals for students across the state, and many other things.

NINA MOINI: How do you think her colleagues are remembering her, especially as they head into this next legislative session?

DANA FERGUSON: I think it's still really fresh for a lot of them. This was obviously a huge loss. She was essential to Democrats, to the legislature. She'd been in the legislature for 20 years, and they're still really taking time to process what this is going to mean going back into session in 2026.

There are a number of remembrances at the Capitol. Right outside of the House chamber, there are just tables full of flowers and signs, photos. Her desk is going to remain cordoned off. It has a photo of her and one of her speaker's gavels. And the hope is, for the folks who set it up that way, that if lawmakers have to walk past her photo every day, that they'll potentially bring down some of the political rhetoric because she would have wanted them to.

NINA MOINI: And it's also, unfortunately, a reminder about personal safety, which I'm sure is top of mind for elected officials all the time. But this has certainly heightened that. We've talked about lawmakers considering now different legislation or different actions around it. What has changed, do you think, when it comes to the safety of lawmakers? What are some of the goals and some of the different attitudes?

DANA FERGUSON: Yeah, it's obviously very front of mind for folks. Very shortly after the shootings, they took down addresses of lawmakers from public websites because they wanted them to feel safer. They put in extra funding so that any lawmaker that wanted to could put in security systems in their homes. And there have been some moves at the Capitol to boost some of the security measures. They're limiting some of the entry points, putting in more security officers so that there's a stronger presence.

And there are going to be a lot more conversations about what more could happen. There's a committee that's tasked with really dealing with security at the Capitol. They've been meeting in the months that followed the shootings, and they're considering various measures they could put in place, like banning guns from the Capitol, putting in place metal detectors or other things that could screen for weapons.

They're looking at other capitols around the country, how they deal with some of these things, and they'll issue some sort of guidance to the legislature before February. But it is only that, it's advisory. It's a suggestion, and lawmakers will have to decide for themselves what makes sense to make that building feel safer.

NINA MOINI: Talking about safety of the building, safety of individuals. Certainly, other issues have come up. Gun violence issues have come up, all of the other top of mind agenda items during this next session. What are you going to be watching?

DANA FERGUSON: Yeah. I mean, I think there-- it's going to be very present the fact that Melissa Hortman isn't there. I would expect the first day that there will be a tribute to her and a lot of memorializing what she meant to the legislature, to the state of Minnesota, and to the country, frankly.

And then as they start to think about policy changes for 2026, I think there are a couple of things that are going to be what we hear absolutely the most about, gun restrictions, as you mentioned, following the shootings of lawmakers, but also Annunciation. That's something that in particular Democrats have been calling for for months.

I'm sure you remember that Governor Walz sort of said, we need a special session to deal with this and to make sure that we have restrictions on assault-style weapons, other things. That didn't go anywhere because of the very tightly divided nature of the legislature. But I think you'll see Democrats calling for that again and trying to put pressure on their Republican peers to see if they can make one or two of them budge and get that done.

On the Republican side, it's going to be all about fraud, hearing about ways that state can potentially guard against it, shore up funding after many of these programs in Medicaid fell victim to fraud. And we have to talk about the fact that it's going to be an election year, so you're going to hear a lot of pseudo campaigning at the Capitol.

NINA MOINI: Yeah. Let's talk a little bit more about that. 2026 is going to be a big year. A lot of people are in office, running for office while they're in office. What are the top races that people will see on their ballots, and how do you think they factor in?

DANA FERGUSON: Yeah, absolutely. You're going to see a number of candidates for governor sort of feuding with each other on the House floor. We have Representative Kristin Robbins, as well as House Speaker Lisa Demuth, so we could see some tension there trying to outdo one another around the issue of fraud or other things, trying to make the point to Republican delegates and to the general public that they're the one best positioned to run as the Republican candidate for governor.

Downstairs from them, Governor Tim Walz will be making the case that he should be elected to a third term. All 201 legislative seats are going to be on the ballot next year. So basically, everyone is going to be in campaign mode. And not to mention the fact that the Lieutenant Governor is going to be running for US Senate. Tina Smith is stepping down at the end of next year. She's running on the Democratic side against Angie Craig. There are a number of Republicans who are running. Royce White, who was previously endorsed and nominated by the GOP, is running again. David Hann, who used to be the GOP chair in Minnesota's running.

So there are just lots of races to watch. All the Congressional seats also up, not to mention various local offices. So there's going to be no shortage of politics next year.

NINA MOINI: It's going to be another busy year. Thanks for tracking all of it for us, Dana. Really appreciate your reporting.

DANA FERGUSON: Absolutely.

NINA MOINI: That's MPR News politics reporter Dana Ferguson.