Minnesota House Democrats Pick Hortman Protégé Rep. Zack Stephenson As New Leader

By Michelle Griffith, Minnesota Reformer

September 10, 2025

Minnesota House Democrats picked Rep. Zack Stephenson as their new caucus leader Monday, signaling a desire for continuity after the assassination of their late leader Melissa Hortman in June.

Stephenson, who has represented the Coon Rapids area in the House since 2019, was Hortman’s 2004 campaign manager as an inexperienced, early 20s college student. Hortman was a mentor to Stephenson for 20 years, teaching him about campaigning, fundraising and serving a Twin Cities metro swing district. Stephenson was also a good friend of Hortman’s and served as a pallbearer during her funeral.

In a closed-door meeting, Stephenson garnered votes from the majority of the 66 House Democrats. The circumstances of Hortman’s death made choosing her successor challenging, but multiple contenders campaigned for it, including DFL floor leader Jamie Long and Reps. Tina Liebling, Dave Pinto and Cheryl Youakim.

“I am honored to have the support of my colleagues to serve as caucus leader,” Stephenson said in a statement released by House DFL Monday. “Speaker Hortman is irreplaceable — as a leader, a strategist, a colleague and a friend. While I’ve been chosen to lead, it will take all of us, working together, to move forward, honor Speaker Hortman’s legacy, and build a Minnesota where everyone can succeed. We are all still grieving, but I am confident we can carry our shared work into the future.”

Stephenson is likely to follow Hortman’s well-thumbed political playbook: raise money, recruit sound candidates and incessantly knock on doors.

The House is expected to return to a 67-67 tie between Republicans and Democrats after a Sept. 16 special election to replace Hortman in a solidly blue suburban Brooklyn Park district. Stephenson will need to negotiate with Republicans to pass any legislation, deftly say “no” to unrealistic member demands of his own caucus and raise piles of money to campaign in 2026.

If House Democrats take back control of the House next year, Stephenson will be a frontrunner for House speaker.

Rep. Aisha Gomez, the co-chair of the House Taxes Committee and a leader of the left flank of the party, called Stephenson “smart, tough, capable, empathetic,” in a text message to the Reformer. “He studied at (Hortman’s) side and she trusted him completely. He wants to do right by her and by us and the people of our state. Our caucus is united behind him and collectively we have a lot of brilliance and heart to bring to the work ahead of us.”

Stephenson served as a House Ways and Means committee co-chair this year, putting him at the center of budget negotiations with legislative leaders and Gov. Tim Walz. He’s also compiled a significant legislative resume, including authorship of the House bill legalizing cannabis in 2023 and a bevy of consumer protections enacted when he was chair of the commerce committee in 2023-24.

Stephenson is also a Hennepin County prosecutor.

Stephenson will have to hit the ground running: Walz said he will call a special session on gun control following the Aug. 27 mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church, and Stephenson will need to work with House Speaker Lisa Demuth, a Republican, to pass any sort of gun or school safety measures.

Hortman and her husband Mark were killed on June 14 in their Brooklyn Park home in a political assassination by a man who was targeting Democratic elected officials and abortion rights advocates, prosecutors say. Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were severely injured but survived a shooting by the same man, according to charging papers, at their Champlin home on the same night.

The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and uncovering stories that other outlets can’t or won’t tell.