Lisa Demuth
Lisa Demuth is the speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Demuth represents District 13A in central Minnesota, which includes the cities of St. Joseph and Cold Spring and parts of Stearns County. She has served since 2023 as leader of the House Republican caucus and from 2023 to 2025 as the minority leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives.
In January 2025, House Republicans voted to elect Demuth Speaker of the House. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that a quorum had not been present, invalidating Demuth's election. On February 5, 2025, the two major parties reached an agreement to end a Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party boycott of the legislative session; the agreement provided that Demuth would become speaker of the House. She was elected to the role on February 6, becoming the first black person to become speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Early life, education, and career
Demuth was born in Paynesville, Minnesota. She graduated from Bloomington Kennedy High School. Demuth is biracial. Her father is black, and her mother is white. Demuth experienced racism during her childhood.Demuth co-owns and manages commercial property with her husband, Nick. She was elected to the Rocori school board as a write-in candidate in 2007 and was reelected twice.
Minnesota House of Representatives
Demuth was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018. She was recruited to run by the former representative for 13A, Jeff Howe, who was stepping down to run for the Minnesota Senate. During the 2021-22 legislative session, Demuth served as an assistant minority leader in the House. She opposes abortion and supported fetal heartbeat legislation in the Minnesota House.After the 2022 Minnesota House of Representatives Election saw Republicans fail to flip the House from Democratic control, the Republican caucus elected Demuth minority leader. She has portrayed herself as more collaborative and calmer than her predecessor, Kurt Daudt. According to the American Conservative Union's scorecard, Demuth was ranked as less conservative than the average Republican legislator.
Demuth is the first African American and first biracial person to serve as minority leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives and the House Republican caucus. According to Demuth, she asked fellow legislators to pick her based on her qualifications, not her race.