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Katie Jones (politician)

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This article is about the Minnesota politician. For other people named Kate or Katie Jones, see Catherine Jones.

Katie Jones
Jones in 2024
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 61A district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 14, 2025
Preceded byFrank Hornstein
Personal details
Born1987 or 1988 (age 37–38)[1]
Indiana
Political partyDemocratic (DFL)
Residence(s)Lowry Hill East, Minneapolis, Minnesota
EducationBS in engineering, Purdue University
Occupation

Katie Jones is an American politician and engineer who is the Minnesota House of Representatives representative for district 61A in Minneapolis, succeeding Frank Hornstein. Jones is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor party. She was sworn in on January 13, 2025.[2][3]

Early career

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Katie Jones grew up in rural Lebanon, Indiana[4] and received a Bachelor of Science in engineering from Purdue University.[5] She moved to Minnesota to work with Habitat for Humanity in Rochester before relocating to Minneapolis.[6]

Prior to beginning her political career, she worked as a lobbyist and policy writer with the Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) and did work in the Sustainability Office with the City of Minneapolis.[7] She was also a member and president of the Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association,[1] served on the City of Minneapolis Capital and Long-Range Improvement Committee,[8] and was appointed to Governor Tim Walz's Sustainable Transportation Advisory Council.[9]

In 2021, Jones ran a campaign to represent Ward 10 (representing Whittier, South Uptown and the Wedge) in the Minneapolis City Council.[1] She was eliminated at third place in the third round of ranked-choice voting behind Aisha Chughtai and Alicia Gibson after receiving 19.57% of first-round votes.[10] In the following years, Jones returned to the Capital Long Range Improvement Committee and continued her work with the Center for Energy and Environment.[11]

Minnesota House of Representatives

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In February 2024, Representative Frank Hornstein announced he would not run for re-election to the Minnesota House of Representatives after 22 years of service representing district 61A, which includes Loring Park and much of the Bde Maka Ska-Isles area.[12][13] Jones launched a campaign for the seat on March 6, 2024,[14] emerging in a crowded field of DFL candidates for the strongly Democratic district. The district DFL caucus failed to endorse a candidate,[15] and three candidates filed and appeared on the DFL primary ballot: Isabel Rolfes, a legislative staffer for House Majority Leader Jamie Long; Will Stancil, a researcher at the University of Minnesota and online persona; and Katie Jones.[16]

Stancil's online presence drew unusual attention to the primary, including a series of online threats to Jones from right-wing extremists.[16][17] Having worked on climate policy in the district, Jones positioned herself as a successor to Rep. Hornstein, who focused much of his policy on climate and chaired the Transportation Committee.[18] She secured Hornstein's endorsement shortly before the primary election.[19] Jones won the DFL nomination with 43.15% of the vote,[11] winning a plurality in all but one of the district's precincts.[20]

In the general election, no Republican candidates filed. Jones instead faced Green Party candidate Toya Lopez.[21] In the general election on November 5, 2024, Katie Jones was elected to represent District 61A with 83.92% of the vote.[22]

Electoral history

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2021 Minneapolis City Council Election, Ward 10[10]
Party Candidate % 1st
Choice 		Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 % Final
Democratic (DFL) Aisha Chughtai 36.91% 3,934 4,163 5,360 59.95%
Democratic (DFL) Alicia Gibson 18.75% 1,999 3,022 3,581 40.05%
Democratic (DFL) Katie Jones 19.57% 2,086 2,476
Democratic (DFL) Chris Parsons 15.10% 1,610
Democratic (DFL) David Wheeler 5.86% 625
Democratic (DFL) Ubah Nur 3.51% 374
Write-in N/A 0.29% 31
Exhausted ballots 998 1,718 19.21%
Valid votes 10,659
Threshold 5,330
Undervotes 686
Turnout 48.7% 11,345
Candidates Rolfes, Stancil, and Jones at a League of Women Voters candidate forum
2024 Minnesota House of Representatives election, District 61A DFL primary[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic (DFL) Katie Jones 3,956 43.15
Democratic (DFL) Will Stancil 3,340 36.43
Democratic (DFL) Isabel Rolfes 1,872 20.42
Total votes 9,168 100.0
Candidates Jones and Lopez
2024 Minnesota House of Representatives general election, District 61A[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic (DFL) Katie Jones 18,234 83.92
Green Toya López 3,284 15.11
Write-in 209 0.96
Total votes 21,727 100.00
Democratic (DFL) hold

Personal life

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Jones lives in the Wedge neighborhood of Minneapolis with her husband Peter,[6] where they have built and live in a straw-bale house.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Gustavo, Solomon (January 6, 2021). "Meet the Minneapolis City Council candidate: Katie Jones". MinnPost. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  2. ^ "2025 Legislative Dates". Minnesota Governmental Relations Council. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  3. ^ Thompson, Howard (January 13, 2025). "MN House DFL members hold early swearing-in ceremony". Fox 9 KMSP. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
  4. ^ a b White, Terry (February 2025). "An Interview with Minnesota 61A State Rep. Katie Jones". Hill & Lake Press. Vol. 49, no. 2. p. 15.
  5. ^ "Katie Jones". Center for Energy and the Environment. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Hoffman, Melody (August 6, 2024). "Five questions with House of Reps 61A candidate Katie Jones". Southwest Voices. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  7. ^ Bornhoft, William (October 26, 2021). "Patch Candidate Profile: Katie Jones For Minneapolis Council". Patch. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  8. ^ "Jones, Katie". Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  9. ^ Bocklund, Katelyn (March 1, 2021). "Sustainable Transportation Advisory Council Releases Recommendations for Minnesota". Great Plains Institute. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  10. ^ a b Minneapolis, City of (November 2, 2021). "2021 City Council Ward 10 election results". City of Minneapolis. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  11. ^ a b McVan, Madison (August 13, 2024). "Results in key Minnesota House and Senate races". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  12. ^ "PollFinder: Legislative District 61A" (PDF). Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  13. ^ "Release: Rep. Frank Hornstein announces he will not run for re-election to the Minnesota House". Minnesota House of Representatives. December 6, 2024. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  14. ^ "Campaign Kickoff". Katie for MN 61A. Archived from the original on December 7, 2024. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  15. ^ "No endorsement for 61A". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Albertson-Grove, Josie (August 9, 2024). "Internet celebrity colors one state House primary in Minneapolis". Minnesota Star Tribune. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  17. ^ Coolican, J. Patrick (March 1, 2024). "What are the Nazis doing in a south Minneapolis legislative race?". Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  18. ^ Griffith, Michelle (August 2, 2024). "In Minneapolis House DFL race, candidates knock doors while Twitter looms". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  19. ^ Griffith, Michelle (August 9, 2024). "Race for Minneapolis House seat heats up in final weekend before DFL primary election". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  20. ^ a b "State Representative District 61A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  21. ^ "State House: District 61A". MPR News. 2024. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  22. ^ a b "2024 Results for All State Representative Races". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
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