# Erin Murphy (Minnesota politician) *American politician; Majority Leader of the Minnesota Senate (since 2024)* Erin Murphy (born March 13, 1960) is a [[Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party]] (DFL) politician who has been Majority Leader of the [[Minnesota Senate]] since 2024.[^1] Her Senate seat, District 64, covers the Highland Park, Macalester-Groveland, Merriam Park, Summit Hill and St. Anthony Park neighborhoods of Saint Paul in Ramsey County.[^1] She is a registered nurse and a former executive director of the Minnesota Nurses Association. She previously served as DFL Majority Leader of the [[Minnesota House of Representatives]].[^1] Murphy won her first House election in 2006. In June 2018 she received the DFL endorsement for governor, but she lost the August primary to [[Tim Walz]]. She entered the Senate after the 2020 election.[^1][^2] ## Education After finishing high school in Janesville, Wisconsin, Murphy earned a bachelor of science in nursing from the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh in 1984.[^1] In 2005 the College of St. Catherine in Saint Paul awarded her a master's degree in organizational leadership in health care. From 2005 to 2006 she was a policy fellow at the Humphrey Institute of the [[University of Minnesota]].[^1] ## Career and community service Murphy has held several roles at the Minnesota Nurses Association, including organizer, lobbyist and executive director. She has also worked as an operating-room nurse at the University of Minnesota Medical Center.[^1] In state government, she was legislative director to [[Minnesota Attorney General]] [[Hubert H. Humphrey III]]. She was also community relations director at the Minnesota Department of [[Children, Families and Learning]].[^1] From 1999 to 2001 she sat on the board of Citizens for a Safer Minnesota. She has also been a trustee of the American Nurses Association's political action committee and a member of the executive board of the AFL–CIO's Minnesota chapter.[^1] ## Political career ### State House Voters first sent Murphy to the House in 2006 and returned her in every election from 2008 through 2016.[^1] Her committee assignments included Rules and Legislative Administration, Taxes, and Health Care and Human Services Policy and Oversight. She also served on subcommittees on health and human services finance and on licensing.[^1] After the 2012 election the DFL House caucus chose her as Majority Leader. She held the post until 2015, when the DFL lost its House majority.[^1] ### 2018 gubernatorial campaign On November 17, 2016, Murphy declared her candidacy for [[Governor of Minnesota]].[^1] Her stated priorities were care for the state's aging population, narrowing the educational achievement gap, reducing racial disparities among Minnesotans, and job growth. She backed a statewide single-payer health care system.[^1] On June 2, 2018, delegates at the DFL state convention in Rochester endorsed her on the seventh round of voting.[^1] MinnPost, FOX 9 and the Mankato Free Press reported the endorsement. The Mankato report's headline also records Walz's promise to run in the primary.[^2][^3][^4] [[Lori Swanson]] had lost the convention's endorsement for attorney general, and after the convention she entered the race for governor.[^1] In the August 14 primary, Walz, then a U.S. Representative, defeated both Murphy and Swanson. He won the governorship in November.[^1] ### State Senate In October 2019 Murphy announced that she would challenge State Senator Dick Cohen in a primary. Her House district made up the northern half of Cohen's Senate district.[^1] Cohen withdrew from the race the following month.[^1] Murphy won the Senate seat in 2020. By 2024 she chaired the Rules and Administration committee and also sat on the Finance committee and a higher education committee.[^1] ## Personal life Murphy moved to Saint Paul in 1988 and has lived there since. She married Joe Faust in 1989, and the couple has two children. She is Catholic.[^1] ## In the Minnesota record ### What On January 14, 2026, during Murphy's tenure as Senate Majority Leader, the [[United States Department of Justice]] announced a lawsuit against the State. The announcement was release No. 26-21, titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. It reports that Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^5] The project's catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages finds no other U.S. state so described. The record assembled for this entry does not include the complaint's docket, its status, or the instruments it cites. It also does not include any vote or action by Murphy on those instruments, so it does not establish a role for her in the matters the suit addresses.[^5] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Erin Murphy (Minnesota politician)* (revision 1359113213, retrieved 2026-10-26; CC BY-SA 4.0) — biographical, education, career, legislative, campaign and personal facts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erin_Murphy_(Minnesota_politician) [^2]: MinnPost, *DFL endorses Erin Murphy for governor* (June 2018) — reports the DFL endorsement of Murphy for governor. https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2018/06/dfl-endorses-erin-murphy-governor/ [^3]: FOX 9, *Rep. Erin Murphy captures DFL endorsement for Minnesota governor* (June 2018) — reports the DFL endorsement of Murphy for governor. https://www.fox9.com/news/rep-erin-murphy-captures-dfl-endorsement-for-minnesota-governor [^4]: Mankato Free Press, *Murphy wins DFL endorsement; Walz promises primary run* (June 2018) — reports the DFL endorsement and Walz's stated intention to run in the primary. https://www.mankatofreepress.com/news/local_news/murphy-wins-dfl-endorsement-walz-promises-primary-run/article_74cfd054-66c8-11e8-a3a2-136832fd6c64.html [^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — announces the United States' lawsuit against Minnesota and Attorney General Bondi's certification of the case as a matter of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime