# Katie Jones (politician)

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.

## Early career

Katie Jones grew up in rural Lebanon, Indiana and received a Bachelor of Science in engineering from Purdue University. She moved to Minnesota to work with Habitat for Humanity in Rochester before relocating to Minneapolis.
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. She was also a member and president of the Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association, served on the City of Minneapolis Capital and Long-Range Improvement Committee, and was appointed to Governor Tim Walz's Sustainable Transportation Advisory Council.
In 2021, Jones ran a campaign to represent Ward 10 (representing Whittier, South Uptown and the Wedge) in the Minneapolis City Council. 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. In the following years, Jones returned to the Capital Long Range Improvement Committee and continued her work with the Center for Energy and Environment.

## Minnesota House of Representatives

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. Jones launched a campaign for the seat on March 6, 2024, emerging in a crowded field of DFL candidates for the strongly Democratic district. The district DFL caucus failed to endorse a candidate, 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.
Stancil's online presence drew unusual attention to the primary, including a series of online threats to Jones from right-wing extremists. 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. She secured Hornstein's endorsement shortly before the primary election. Jones won the DFL nomination with 43.15% of the vote, winning a plurality in all but one of the district's precincts.
In the general election, no Republican candidates filed. Jones instead faced Green Party candidate Toya Lopez. In the general election on November 5, 2024, Katie Jones was elected to represent District 61A with 83.92% of the vote.

## Electoral history

2021 Minneapolis City Council Election, Ward 10 :
| Party | 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 | Exhausted ballots | Exhausted ballots | Exhausted ballots | Exhausted ballots | 998 | 1,718 | 19.21% |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 10,659 | | | |
| Threshold | Threshold | Threshold | Threshold | 5,330 | | | |
| Undervotes | Undervotes | Undervotes | Undervotes | 686 | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48.7% | 11,345 | | | |
2024 Minnesota House of Representatives election, District 61A DFL primary :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 9,168 | 100.0 |
2024 Minnesota House of Representatives general election, District 61A :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Katie Jones | 18,234 | 83.92 |
| | Green | Toya López | 3,284 | 15.11 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 209 | 0.96 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 21,727 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold | Democratic (DFL) hold |

## Personal life

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