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Voter turnout low to fill Melissa Hortman's Senate seat
Not a lot of people noticed, but Tuesday is Election Day for thousands of Minnesota residents. There's a primary for the Senate seat once held by Melissa Hortman, and a St. Paul city council seat. FOX 9's Corin Hoggard has the latest.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Following the resignation of Mitra Jalali earlier this year to focus on her mental health, Molly Coleman – the daughter of former St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman – has been elected to the St. Paul City Council.
Molly Coleman elected to St. Paul City Council
What we know:
Unofficial results posted by the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State show Coleman with 52.36% – or 3,359 total votes – with all precincts reporting on Wednesday.
Three other candidates also lobbied for the position, including school board member Chauntyll Allen, public health educator Cole Hanson, and communications professional Carolyn Will.
The latter was the closest opponent, receiving 21.34% – good for 1,369 votes. Hanson came in third, with 17.52% of the vote total.
Because Coleman received more than 50% of the votes, there will be no reallocation of votes in the ranked-choice election.
Coleman will join an all-female council tasked with tackling city issues such as rising rents, homelessness and the erosion of downtown’s tax base.
Mitra Jalali stepping down
Dig deeper:
In January 2025, Jalali publicly announced she would be stepping down, effective following the Feb. 5 council meeting.
In the post, Jalali explained how working in politics has put a strain on her health.
"Being an elected official is a privilege. It also carries human costs that are far less visible than the role you are elected to," she explained at the time. "It is not an easy job, and if you are doing it well, it shouldn’t be. But when your body is telling you that you shouldn’t be in the place that you come to work every day, it knows something that you have to listen to."
Jalali's current term was set to run through 2028, when the council switches election years to match presidential elections.