Race for Minneapolis House seat heats up in final weekend before DFL primary election

The race for a Minneapolis House seat has heated up in the final days before Tuesday’s DFL primary election, with the district’s popular retiring legislator announcing his endorsement, and charges that an outside spending group has spread lies about another candidate.

Retiring Rep. Frank Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis, on Friday endorsed Democratic candidate Katie Jones, 36, a policy analyst and lobbyist for the Center for Energy and Environment.

Jones is in a tough primary battle against University of Minnesota legal researcher and Twitter celebrity Will Stancil and legislative aide Isabel Rolfes, who has been endorsed by many lawmakers in a district encompassing Uptown, Loring Park, Bryn Mawr, Lowry Hill, East Isles, Elliot Park and part of downtown Minneapolis.

Whoever wins the primary election for the Minnesota House seat in the deep blue district is likely to win the general election in November, so the stakes are high for the three candidates — all of whom are under 40. The winner, unburdened by difficult reelection campaigns, will be well positioned to rapidly become an important policy playmaker in the caucus.

In his statement endorsing Jones, Hornstein said he was “honored” to support her and cited his previous collaborations with Jones on reducing carbon emissions and promoting organics recycling in multi-family buildings.

Hornstein, in his 11th term, is known around the Capitol for his jolly presence and major policy footprint on transportation issues.

Hornstein’s endorsement of Jones comes as Stancil, 39, says he is being unfairly attacked by an independent expenditure committee that recently sent out mailers with clippings of Stancil’s former tweets about abortion. He says the tweets used on the mailers were taken out of context to make it seem he has downplayed the importance of abortion access.

“(The mailers) could not be more incorrect. My most controversial view on abortion politics is me getting angry and criticizing Democrats for not being strong enough to stand up for abortion rights,” Stancil told the Reformer. “I’ve always been saying ‘Fight harder.’”

Rolfes, 25, in a statement said her campaign is ramping up door-knocking efforts. Her campaign has the endorsement of 22 sitting legislators — the most among any candidate in the race. 

“While other campaigns are pushing for influential endorsements in these last few days, we are talking to our neighbors in public, affordable, and deeply affordable housing, the ones who actually need to be heard,” Rolfes said.

Rolfes noted she’s the only candidate endorsed by LGBTQ and reproductive rights groups.

Both Jones and Stancil also have robust field operations; district doors have been getting the attention of candidates for weeks.