Minnesota State Representative Kaohly Her defeated two-term incumbent Melvin Carter Tuesday to win the St. Paul mayoral election, making Her the first woman and Asian American to serve in the role.
Ramsey County election results show Her received 47.76% of the vote during the second-round count of the ballots compared to 44.98% of the vote in favor of Carter who conceded the race just after midnight.
“My family came here as refugees. Never in their wildest dreams would I be standing here today accepting the position of mayor," Her said in a statement. "I want to thank Mayor Melvin Carter for his many years of service to our city. I started my political career working for him, and I will always be grateful for that opportunity."
Her, who has represented St. Paul in the Minnesota House since 2019, previously worked as Carter's policy director.
"This was a hard-fought victory, and it was not the work of just one individual," Her added. "Thank you to my family, friends, campaign team, and the hundreds of supporters across the city who hosted lawn signs, held events, and told their neighbors to vote. Your support means the world to me. I got into this race after the assassination of my good friends Mark and Melissa Hortman over the summer. Melissa always told us — “These seats don’t belong to us, we need to go out and earn the right to represent people.” Tonight, we honored her legacy."
St. Paul voters also approved a ballot question on Tuesday to amend the City Charter to allow the City to issue administrative citations with the measure receiving 68.19% of the vote.