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Seeberger said she also wants more funding for mental health services, like many Republicans have urged. It’s part of a reach-across-the-aisle posture she’s cultivated since reaching the Senate — and that she hopes appeals to voters next year. ‘Ran and ran and ran’ to win seat Seeberger likely wouldn’t be in this position at all were it not for a new Senate district created in the 2020 redistricting cycle that covered liberal-leaning suburbs like Cottage Grove and Lake Elmo and conservative rural areas stretching down to Hastings. Eileen Weber, a DFL party activist from Denmark Township, was looking for a candidate who could run in 2022 when someone told her about Seeberger. Related Coverage The two met at a cafe in Bayport, where Seeberger had served on the City Council. Weber also learned of Seeberger’s three-decade-long legal career, her years as an English teacher at her son’s school in Woodbury, and her current occupation as a paramedic for Allina Health. Weber and other DFLers knew they needed someone like Seeberger, comfortable both in the back of an ambulance and in front of a courtroom, to run. Within a few days, she entered the race. State Sen. Judy Seeberger, DFL-Afton, poses for a portrait outside of Silver Bay, Minn., where she participated in a group ATV ride with other legislators on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (Nathaniel Minor/The Minnesota Star Tribune) “She just committed herself to it and ran and ran and ran,” Weber said. “I don’t know how many pairs of shoes she went through.” The conversations that swayed her, she said, were with Republican constituents who want more gun laws on the books but don’t feel comfortable speaking out against the strong conservative push to protect gun rights. Sen. Judy Seeberger, DFL-Afton knitted listening to debate on the Jobs bill from her seat on the Senate floor Tuesday, May 16, 2023 St. Paul, Minn. ] GLEN STUBBE • glen.stubbe@startribune.com (Glen Stubbe/The Minnesota Star Tribune) “That really spoke to me,” she said. “This is an issue that so many people feel so strongly about. But ... there’s a certain amount of, I don’t want to say intimidation, but some activity that makes it so people can’t feel like they speak freely about this.” Polling suggests that most Republicans voters are opposed to assault weapon bans — but there’s a sizable minority in support. Thirty-four percent of Republicans would support a ban in Minnesota, a recent KSTP poll found. A recent national Pew survey put Republican support for a ban at 42%. The vast majority of Democratic voters support such bans. Seeberger said she’s hopeful Democrats and Republicans can find some consensus on the issue. The 56-year-old is also thinking hard about her own political future. She’s open to running for higher office one day should the right opportunity present itself, she told the Star Tribune. But she wasn’t initially sure whether she wanted to run for the Senate again after the assassination of House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in June. In more recent months she received threats from pro-gun activists, she said. But ultimately, after encouragement from her family, she decided to run again. She kicked off her campaign at a brewery in Hastings last month, packed with supporters including Huot, Washington County Commissioner Karla Bigham, Cottage Grove Mayor Myron Bailey, and DFL Sen. Matt Klein, who, in a speech, compared Seeberger to historical figures Hubert Humphrey and Paul Wellstone. Seeberger briefly paused as she took the stage to applause, then told the crowd she wasn’t going to be intimidated out of politics. “We have to keep remembering we’re all human,” she said. “Respect each other, show a little love, show a little grace, but then get out there and kick a little ass.”
