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A Democrat who once claimed to be living in the US illegally has won a hotly contested mayoral election in Minnesota against her former ally. Kaohly Vang Her, 52, was elected in the city of St Paul on Tuesday night, beating incumbent Democratic Mayor Melvin Carter, who she previously served as an aide. Carter, 46, gained 40.83 percent of the vote, followed by Her with 38.43 percent, but since no-one secured a majority, the newcomer stormed to victory based on a tabulation of second choice votes. Her arrived in the US as a three-year-old refugee from Laos following the Vietnam War. She claimed this summer that she was an illegal immigrant, but later said this was untrue. 'I am illegal in this country. My parents are illegal here in this country,' Her said in June during a Minnesota House of Representatives floor debate about Medicaid eligibility for illegal migrants. 'I tell you this story because I want you to think about who it is that you are calling illegal,' she continued. 'My family was just smarter in how we illegally came here.' Later that day, Her told the Minnesota Reformer that she and her parents were American citizens, and that she had made an exaggerated claim in an effort to inspire empathy from her Republican colleagues. However, Her explained that her father technically broke the law when filling out paperwork for her family's entry to the US. 'Technically, you would say my father broke the law, right? But we would have come anyway,' she told the Minnesota Reformer at the time. Her is making history as the first woman and first member of the Hmong community to lead St Paul, the state capital of Minnesota, which is home to 300,000 people. Like her opponent Carter, she represents the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. She previously worked as his policy director around five years ago. Her victory marks a major upset in the city, demonstrating voter discontent with Carter, who has presided over seven years of local economic decline, which was recently underscored by the closure of the downtown's only grocery store. The incoming mayor, who will take the reins from Carter in January, ran on a similar platform to the newly-elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani - with both candidates' key policy issue being improving housing affordability. Like Mamdani, Her was a relative unknown until this year, when she burst onto the political scene. She joined the mayoral race as late as August. A campaign spokesperson for Her told the Minnesota Reformer they knocked on 40,000 doors in their last-minute attempt to secure victory. Her told St Paul residents she would 'always show up' as she made a victory speech at a downtown bar when the results were revealed. 'We are a large city, but a small community. Being involved matters. How we run our government matters. How we show up for people — in every corner of our city — matters.' 'Three months ago, people told us this (their election win) was impossible — look at us now!' she added. Her also said in a statement: 'My family came here as refugees. Never in their wildest dreams would I be standing here today accepting the position of mayor.' The incoming mayor has a background in banking and raised two children before entering politics at the age of 45 as Carter's policy aide. She has been serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019, as the local lawmaker for parts of St Paul in Ramsey County. St Paul is located beside Minneapolis in the east of the state, forming the Twin Cities. It has been led by a steady stream of Democrat and Independent mayors since 1926, with the exception of 1996-2002 when Norm Coleman was at the helm. Coleman switched party allegiances to Republican during this period - his second term serving the city after previously leading as a Democrat from 1994.
