Koahly Her Wins St. Paul Mayoral Election

Koahly Her is the first woman and first Hmong American to serve as mayor of St. Paul, after defeating the incumbent Mayor Melvin Carter. The win is considered historic not only because of her identity but also because of the upset in Her’s party is from the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, DFL, which is rooted in progressive policies. The DFL places an emphasis on social and economic justice, strong labor unions, and accessible public services. Along with her party’s values, Her also campaigned on making St. Paul “affordable again,” which connected with many voters.
Before her campaign, Her was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing District 64A, since 2019. In the legislature, she worked on bills to end child marriage in Minnesota and ban employers from asking about prior pay history. Her worked in finance for about 15 years and then in the office of former St. Paul mayor Melvin Carter during his first term. She declared her mayoral run this year somewhat late in the campaign cycle, putting herself in a more challenging position to win the election. Her was born in Laos and came to the US in the 1970s with her parents and two sisters as refugees. Once arriving in the US, Her first lived in Illinois, then Wisconsin, and eventually moved to Minnesota in the 1990s. Her grew up in a primarily white community, and she and her siblings experienced racism.
Her’s background in public service and prior work in the St. Paul mayor’s office give her valuable local experience, providing many of her supporters with comfort and confidence. Although she entered the race late, Her’s campaign was described as a “blur of hard work.” For example, Her’s team knocked on about 40,000 doors in total, with her husband setting a goal of knocking on 200 doors a week, showing her commitment to reaching out to the St. Paul community. Along with her husband’s work, Her’s extended family worked on fundraising for the election. The visibility and outreach to the community were key; Her couldn’t rely solely on fundraising.
Following Her’s win, some community members expressed hope that her leadership would address issues in St. Paul, such as poverty, access to SNAP and Medicaid, immigration protections, and broader representation of people of color. Her stated that her priorities mainly stem from ensuring that St. Paul citizens have access to food and healthcare, and from protecting immigrant communities in the face of federal policy fallout. Her has already begun working on an “urban wealth fund” to generate non-tax revenue by commercially managing St. Paul’s underutilized public assets. Her’s term will be three years instead of the usual four because St. Paul is shifting its election cycle to align with the presidential election cycle, in hopes of increasing voter turnout. The next mayoral election will be in November 2028, giving Her less time to focus on her priorities.