Historic election brings several milestones to Minnesota Legislature
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It was early Wednesday morning when Leigh Finke returned home in St. Paul after the campaign victory party.
Representative-Elect Finke won 81% of the vote in the Minnesota House District 66A race.
“To have that many people come out, and that many people support a first-time trans candidate, it’s really humbling,” said Finke. “It’s really an honor, it’s really exciting.”
The 2023 legislative session will feature a historic class of LGTBQ Minnesotans. In addition to Finke becoming the state’s first transgender representative, Alicia Kozlowski of Duluth was elected as Minnesota’s first nonbinary legislator after winning House District 8B, according to the DFL LGTBQ Legislative Caucus.
In total, 12 incoming members of the Legislature identify as members of the LGTBQ community, seven of whom are persons of color, according to DFL leaders.
Representative-elect Leigh Finke speaks during an interview Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022, in St. Paul. On Election Day, Finke became the first transgender person elected to the Minnesota Legislature. (KSTP)
“Yesterday it was like, ‘We’re going to be the first trans person in the Legislature — we’re going to carry a lot of representation burden.’ Today I feel a lot of representational power,” Finke said.
Finke is a first-time candidate for office who currently operates a video production business.
The historic night continued in Minnesota Senate races, as voters chose Erin Maye Quade, Clare Oumou Verbeten and Zaynab Mohamed, who will be the first Black women in state history to serve in that chamber.
“I want to make sure that people in Minnesota who look like me know that no matter where they come from or how young they are, that someone like them is speaking loud and clear for what we want for what we need,” said Senator-elect Mohamed, who will represent District 63 in south Minneapolis.
Mohamed, a community organizer and policy advocate, will also be the youngest Minnesota senator.
She credits volunteers with the get-out-the-vote effort for the DFL taking control of both chambers at the Capitol.
“Throughout this campaign I talked about racial justice, building a community that’s safe for all of us, and how we have to do that together,” said Senator-elect Oumou Verbeten, who will represent parts of Ramsey County in the newly formed Senate District 66.
Oumou Verbeten is currently the chair of the Roseville Area Schools Foundation and is an equity manager for the City of St. Paul.
“There’s just so much opportunity when we have the governor seat, when we have the Senate and we have the House,” Oumou Verbeten said.