St. Paul mayoral race heats up as Kaohly Vang Her announces run
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
State Rep. Kaohly Vang Her has launched a campaign for St. Paul mayor. Incumbent Melvin Carter is expected to seek a third term. Photos: Minnesota Legislature and Jemal Countess/Getty Images for NOBCO
DFL state Rep. Kaohly Vang Her officially jumped into the race for St. Paul mayor Monday, becoming incumbent Melvin Carter's first high-profile challenger.
Why it matters: Her's campaign launch wakes up what had been a sleepy mayoral race.
- Carter has boasted runaway advantages in cash, name recognition and key endorsements — but Her is likely to draw notable support from organized labor.
The big picture: A vigorous mayor's race will stir more debate about the challenges St. Paul faces, including rising property taxes, lagging housing development and a struggling downtown.
What they're saying: "Our city is not doing well," Her told Axios, saying it was important for Carter to face a "serious challenger … because I want to give [voters] an option of how to run City Hall differently."
- Her acknowledged her campaign is off to a relatively late start, but added, "There is a path to victory here."
The other side: "Mayor Carter is proud of the historic progress made over the past seven years," the mayor's campaign said in a statement. "We welcome substantive conversation about the future of our city and remain confident that Mayor Carter's track record will speak for itself."
State of play: Two other candidates have already stepped forward to challenge Carter, who planned to file for re-election Monday.
- Biochemist Yan Chen filed to run for the seat last week. She previously ran for the Ward 1 City Council seat.
- Small-business owner Mike Hilborn has launched a campaign one year after unsuccessfully challenging state Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega as a Republican in a heavily Democratic district.
Zoom in: Her, 52, was born in Laos to parents who arrived in the U.S. as refugees when she was 4. She became a naturalized citizen while in junior high school.
- In 2018, Her won a seat representing neighborhoods along St. Paul's Summit Avenue in the Minnesota House.
- In this year's legislative session, Her served as the top DFLer on the House Commerce Finance and Policy committee.
The intrigue: Her is running against her former boss. She worked as Carter's policy director through much of his first term, and kept that position after her election to the Legislature. She told Axios she still considers him a friend.
Yes, but: While Her didn't criticize Carter by name, she said City Hall under his leadership hasn't been engaged in crucial policymaking conversations in the Legislature and beyond.
- "I've had challenges getting return phone calls from City Hall in the seven years I've been a state legislator, and I have been told that that is not an uncommon story," she said.
Carter responded by listing examples of the city's cooperation with other government bodies, including a new state law aiming to curb copper wire theft and "major conversations" about roads, public safety and the opioid crisis.
Flashback: Her stirred a firestorm on right-wing media this year when she attempted to solicit sympathy for undocumented immigrants by declaring during a floor speech that she and her parents were "illegal" when they came to the U.S.
- Her later clarified that neither she nor her parents were ever undocumented but that her father — who worked in the U.S. consulate during the Vietnam War era — had "technically" broken the law by telling a white lie on their refugee application. Her's parents are now citizens.
What's next: Election day is Nov. 4, but early voting will begin Sept. 19.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details and quotes from Her and Carter and corrected to say Her won her Minnesota House seat in 2018 (not 2021).