Minnesota's DFL Senate Leader Not Seeking Re-Election

EDINA, MN — State Sen. Melisa López Franzen announced Wednesday that she will not seek re-election in 2022 after newly redrawn maps put her in the same district as another DFL lawmaker.

López Franzen, who is the first woman of color to lead Minnesota Senate Democrats, said she will leave office at the end of her current term but will “continue to dedicate my work to the prosperity of our state and the issues that matter most to Minnesotans.”

She was first elected in 2012 to represent Minnesota’s 49th Senate District, which has included Edina, Bloomington, Eden Prairie and Minnetonka for the past decade.

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Minnesota Senate district maps released last week put López Franzen into the same district as longtime state Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park.

“When I became a candidate for the Minnesota Senate in 2012, I was driven by the idea that public policy is a powerful tool for building strong and prosperous communities, and that dedicated people working together can accomplish anything,” López Franzen wrote Wednesday in a letter to constituents. “Nearly a decade later, those ideas still drive my work and my commitment to public service.”

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López Franzen, 41, said she is “proud” of the work she accomplished with Democratic colleagues “as well as with a great many of my Republican colleagues who worked with me to solve problems for our state in the spirit and tradition of Minnesota bipartisanship.”

“Words can't describe the immense feeling of gratitude I have for my constituents across the district. It has been my honor and privilege to bring your voice to the floor of the Minnesota Senate,” Franzen said in a statement, thanking her husband and two sons for being her “most patient constituents.”

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López Franzen, who lives in Edina, is the co-founder and president of NewPublica, a public relations and strategic communications firm. She started her career as an attorney at Target Corporation, according to a news release.