Good morning. Too soon to turn on those holiday lights?

Minnesota’s House starts the week with one fewer member and will be down two within days. DFL Rep. Kaohly Her is resigning Monday from a St. Paul seat , which she laid out in a letter to constituents on Friday. She’ll become St. Paul mayor in January and is clearing out early to prepare for that. Her’s departure will also get the process in motion to replace her. In her resignation statement — the resignation itself is official today — she said “it is difficult to put into words what an honor it has been to serve our community at the State Capitol.” The other open seat will come when DFL Rep. Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger leaves to fill the state Senate seat she won in this month’s special election in the Woodbury area. For now, the House is made up of 67 Republicans and 65 DFLers. It takes 68 votes to pass a bill, so the GOP edge has its limitations. 

Gov. Tim Walz intends to issue the formal call for special elections Monday for a pair of House seats set to come open soon. Those will fill the offices of Hemmingsen-Jaeger and Her. If the writs are consistent with what Walz has previously stated, the candidate filing period will run Tuesday through Nov. 25. Primary elections in the Woodbury and St. Paul area districts will take place on Dec. 16 if multiple candidates from the same party file. Walz has said the ultimate special elections for the seats would take place on Jan. 27. Republicans would claim the House majority by winning at least one race, but both districts have backed DFL candidates in recent elections.

State Sen. John Hoffman was discharged from the hospital on Friday after a surgery to repair damage from a June shooting.  Hoffman is recovering after a Monday surgery on his kidney, bladder and colon. The DFL senator and his wife, Yvette, were shot by a masked gunman in June. That individual later is accused of fatally shooting House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home. Vance Boelter — the alleged assailant — faces federal charges including murder and stalking. A spokesman for Hoffman says doctors will continue to monitor his progress but they expect a full recovery. Hoffman and his family thanked the medical team at Mercy hospital for their care.

State Rep. Heather Keeler announced last week that she’s running to represent western Minnesota in Congress. The Moorhead DFLer was first elected in 2020 and co-chairs the Human Services Finance and Policy Committee. The former educator and advocate touted policies she helped advance at the Capitol, including efforts to address homelessness and expand access to nutrition assistance. She is an enrolled member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe. She said she is running to be a voice for her community and to “lead with love.” “People always expect somebody else to go running into the fire. And I just felt like both professionally, personally and politically, I am a strong candidate to run,” she said. “I have a background in bipartisan work, so it proves that I can listen to all of my constituents and find the slivers of commonality to actually find good change that you know will last the test of time.” You can read more about the announcement and the state of the race here. It could be a tough contest. Rep. Michelle Fischbach has run up strong margins in the vast district.