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1-on-1 with St. Paul's mayor-elect Kaohly Her
FOX 9's Soyoung Kim sat down with St. Paul mayor-elect Kaohly Her to talk about her goals as the next mayor.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The voters in Minnesota’s capital city have spoken. In a historic win, Kaohly Her will become the first woman and Hmong American mayor for the City of St. Paul.
Fearlessness rooted in faith
2025 Election:
Her entered the St. Paul mayoral race just a few months ago.
"I hear and I see real issues, and it is about that," said mayor-elect Her.
In the 2025 St. Paul mayoral race, Her defeated incumbent Melvin Carter. The race was close, with Her leading Carter by fewer than 2,000 votes in the second ranked-choice counting round.
After round one, Carter held a slight lead, 40.83% to Her's 38.4% of the vote. Because no candidate reached the at least 50% threshold, the mayoral election was sent to a second round.
In Round two, Her earned the majority of the vote and the projected win.
What they're saying:
FOX 9 sat down with Her after she made history as the first woman, the first Hmong, and Asian American to be elected St. Paul mayor.
Some told Her the odds were not in her favor, but she said she lives a life rooted in faith, not fear.
"I’m often guided by the fact, I know I only get to be here for a short period of time. And that did I do everything that I should have done. Did I love as much as I could and did I do as much good as I could before it was all done," said Her.
The backstory:
"Maybe this is a refugee mentality, is that failure is never an option," said Her.
Her was born in a bamboo hut in the mountains of Laos and resilience is in her DNA.
"Vietnam and Laos fell at the same time. We tried to get on the planes to get here, we couldn’t, we missed the airplanes," said Her.
The family then made their way on foot, eventually reaching Thailand. Then they sought refuge in the United States when Her was just 3-years old.
"Young parents with three little kids and an extended family that they were bringing along with them. And to come here with nothing," said Her.
Her has been serving as a state representative. She was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018. She has a background in finance, and was Carter’s first policy director.
Big picture view:
Her said she plans to be a collaborative leader to address the city’s biggest challenges.
"We have to do a better job of working cross government, cross departments, cross sectors in order to solve these problems. My whole plan before I can put everything together and lay that out for everyone is talking to all the partners, bringing everyone together. Figuring out what hasn’t worked and what part of the solution we can all take part in, so that we can create a comprehensive plan," said Her.
"Now I get to be here, fighting to ensure that people have the right to live life the way that suits themselves and their family best."
Her also thanked Carter. Her said he has offered his team to help with the transition.
What's next:
After being sworn in, Her will serve a three-year term because the St. Paul mayoral election will switch to even years in 2028.
The Source: Minnesota Secretary of State, City of Saint Paul, Interview with Kaohly Her