Capitol Watch: A Minnesota tragedy

Today’s message was supposed to be about the recently completed special session of the Minnesota legislature. But the assassination of Democratic House Leader Melissa Hortman, the murder of her husband and the shooting of Sen. John Hoffman and his wife make those issues seem unimportant, at least for the moment.

Because she is a political figure assassinated in such a shocking act of violence, many will reflect on her contributions to Minnesota as a legislative leader. Others will focus on the political violence happening in our country and state, and what can be done to tone things down. While these are important things to cover, the story of who Melissa Hortman was as a person could easily be lost in the shuffle.

Since her death yesterday, I’ve been thinking more about Melissa Hortman as a fellow parent than a political opponent. I was a House staffer in 2011 and 2012, and Rep. Hortman and I often commiserated on the House floor during late night sessions about being away from our kids at home. We sometimes privately shared legislative strategy to help determine whether or not we were going to get home before the kids were asleep. “How many amendments does your side have left?” “Is this the last bill for the night?” The breaking point was around 7:30 — if you couldn’t get home before 8:00 pm, the session might as well go until midnight because the work at home was done, the kids were asleep, and the opportunity lost.

I’m not trying to claim we were close friends. We weren’t. Just that we shared this bit of humanity as co-workers at the state capitol. She leaves behind two adult children who aren’t thinking about politics right now. They are just grieving the loss of their parents.

As for Senator John Hoffman, he is the last person I would have guessed would be the target of political violence. He is well liked at the capitol by members and staff on both sides of the aisle. He does not take strong political stances on hot-button issues and his focus at the legislature is human services, especially the disabled. We all wish John and his wife well in their recovery.  

Some other thoughts on the events of the weekend:

• It was great police work to proactively send a squad car to Hortman’s house after learning a state senator and his wife had been shot. Although tragically too late to save the Hortmans, it may have saved the next name on the killer’s list.  
• People in politics (including your author) have to overcome thoughts of “I hope the killer sympathizes with the other party.” The act of killing elected officials in cold blood needs to be condemned by everyone. The politics of the killer doesn’t matter. Trying to bring logic to an illogical situation is a waste of time.
• This incident hits home for staff at American Experiment having experienced political violence through an arson fire in January 2024. Fortunately for us, the arsonists struck just after midnight when no people were in the office.
• The targeting of state elected officials at their homes will have a lasting impact on the Minnesota legislature going forward. For years, security officials have recommended metal detectors at the entrances, but politicians have favored keeping the building accessible to the public. The security people are about to win that argument.

There’s nothing else to say. It’s a sad day for Minnesota.