Fue Lee

Fue Lee (born 1991)[1] is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2016. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Lee represents District 59A, which includes parts of northern Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota.[2] Lee is the first person of color and of Asian descent to represent his district.[3]

Fue Lee
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 59A district
Assumed office
January 3, 2017
Preceded byJoe Mullery
Constituency59A (2017-present)
Personal details
Born1991/1992 (age 30–31)
Thailand
Political partyMinnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
EducationCarleton College (B.A.)
OccupationCommunity organizer

Early life and education

Lee was born in a refugee camp in Thailand to Hmong parents from Laos, and came to Minneapolis as a toddler in 1992.[4] He is a graduate of Carleton College, and was an employee in the office of the Minnesota Secretary of State.[5][6] He co-founded the Asian American Organizing Project and Progressive Hmong American Organizers with former state Senator Mee Moua, DFL activist Yee Chang, and state Representative Jay Xiong; and has previously worked under then-Representative Steve Simon, Representative John Lesch, and then-U.S Representative Keith Ellison.[1]

Minnesota House of Representatives

Lee was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016, after defeating incumbent Joe Mullery in a DFL primary, and has been reelected every two years since.[2]

Community leaders encouraged Lee to run into the primaries after losing the DFL endorsement during the first round of voting by one delegate.[6] 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."[7]

From 2019-2020, Lee served as an assistant majority leader for the House DFL Caucus. Since 2021, Lee has served as chair of the Capital Investment Committee. He also sits on the Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy and Legacy Finance Committees.[2]

Electoral history
2016 Minnesota State House - District 59A[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic (DFL) Fue Lee 12,585 80.62
Republican Jessica Newville 2,903 18.60
Write-in 123 0.79
Total votes 15,611 100.0
Democratic (DFL) hold
2018 Minnesota State House - District 59A[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic (DFL) Fue Lee (incumbent) 12,046 86.04
Republican Fred Statema 1,916 13.69
Write-in 38 0.27
Total votes 14,000 100.0
Democratic (DFL) hold
2020 Minnesota State House - District 59A[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic (DFL) Fue Lee (incumbent) 12,409 74.87
Grassroots—LC Marcus Harcus 4,054 24.46
Write-in 110 0.66
Total votes 16,573 100.0
Democratic (DFL) hold
2022 Minnesota State House - District 59A[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic (DFL) Fue Lee (incumbent) 8,960 98.10
Write-in 174 1.90
Total votes 9,134 100.0
Democratic (DFL) hold

References
  1. Tevlin, Jon (November 8, 2016). "From Rep.-elect Fue Lee, a lesson in what democracy looks like". Minneapolis Star Tribune. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  2. "Lee, Fue - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.lrl.mn.gov. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  3. Rupar, Aaron (August 11, 2016). "From Refugee Camps To The Statehouse: Two Groundbreaking Primary Victories In Minnesota". ThinkProgress. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  4. "Neighbors for Fue Lee". fuelee.org. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  5. Jurewitsch, Andreas (August 1, 2016). "In Their Own Words: Fue Lee, Candidate for Minnesota House District 59A, North Minneapolis". Hmong Pages. Vol. 7 (8 ed.).
  6. "What Fue Lee's victory says about the political power of Hmong-Americans in Minneapolis". MinnPost. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  7. Hutchins, Marcelle (November 10, 2016). "These elected officials are among the few who were born outside the US". KERA (FM). Dallas. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  8. "2016 Results for State Representative District 59A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  9. "2018 Results for State Representative District 59A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  10. "2020 Results for State Representative District 59A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  11. "2022 Results for State Representative District 59A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
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