Fue Lee

Fue Lee (born 1991) is a Hmong American community organizer and activist from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the Representative-elect for District 59A in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Elected in 2016, Lee is the first person of color and of Asian descent to represent that district in the Minnesota House. He is the fourth Hmong American elected to a state legislature. [1]

Lee was born in a refugee camp in Thailand to Hmong parents from Laos, and came to Minneapolis as a toddler in 1992. He is a graduate of Carleton College, and is an employee in the office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. He has previously worked under then-Representative Steve Simon, Representative Dan Schoen, Representative John Lesch, and Congressman Keith Ellison.

Community leaders encouraged Fue Lee to run into the primaries after losing the DFL convention endorsement during the first round of voting by a delegate. Many felt the local senate district DFL and current lawmaker was not representative of the people. According to Lee, "One of the reasons I decided to run for office is because candidates that were supposed to represent all of the city and its communities weren’t doing their job. I want to be able to respect my community by understanding the issues we’re facing on a daily basis."

On August 9, 2016, Fue Lee unseated 20-year incumbent Joe Mullery who was backed by the political establishment including state Senator Foung Hawj, Congressman Keith Ellison, and Governor Mark Dayton.

Lee won the primary election decisively, receiving 55.5% of the vote, to 44.5% for Mullery. His Republican opponent in the November 8, 2016 election was Jessica Newville. Lee was elected on November 8, 2016 receiving 81.3% of the vote.