# Kristin Bahner *American politician, member of the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019* Kristin Bahner (born August 15, 1972) is a [[Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party]] (DFL) legislator who has held a seat in the [[Minnesota House of Representatives]] since 2019.[^1] Her district, 37B, lies in the northwestern Twin Cities metropolitan area and includes Maple Grove in Hennepin County, [[Minnesota]].[^1] She won the seat in 2018 by defeating Republican incumbent Dennis Smith, two years after losing to him.[^1] She was later appointed chair of the Legislative Commission on Cybersecurity.[^1] Her Wikipedia biography reports that on June 14, 2025, the man who had shot and wounded state representative [[John Hoffman (Minnesota politician)|John Hoffman]] and his wife allegedly went next to Bahner's home, while she was away on vacation.[^2] ## Early life, education, and career Bahner was raised in Richfield, Minnesota.[^1] She earned a bachelor of arts in communications at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter.[^1] Outside the legislature, she owns a small business and consults in information technology, focusing on project management and agile software development.[^1] In January 2017, Bahner was among the original organizers of the Minnesota Women's March.[^1] Wikipedia puts attendance at the Capitol at an estimated 110,000 and calls it one of the largest single-day events in the state's history.[^1] ## Minnesota House of Representatives Bahner first ran in 2016 against Dennis Smith, a Republican then in his first term, and lost.[^1] She ran against him a second time in 2018 and won.[^1] She has won reelection in each biennial election since.[^1] Wikipedia reports that her 2018 contest ranked among the three races drawing the most outside spending and that the Give Smart project backed her.[^1] According to Wikipedia, Bahner is vice chair of the Human Services Finance Committee.[^1] She is also a member of three committees: Elections Finance and Policy; Health Finance and Policy; and State and Local Government Finance and Policy.[^1] In earlier terms, she was vice chair of the Subcommittee on Elections from 2019 to 2020 and of the Human Services Finance and Policy Committee from 2021 to 2022.[^1] [[Tim Walz]], as [[governor]], named Bahner to his Blue Ribbon Panel on IT Reform, a body since renamed the Governor's Technical Advisory Council.[^1] She was also named chair of the Legislative Commission on Cybersecurity, which Wikipedia says was established to find weaknesses in the state's cybersecurity defenses.[^1] According to the same source, Bahner has authored legislation to ease access to long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC) for women shortly after childbirth.[^1] ## Assassination attempt Wikipedia's account is that on June 14, 2025, Vance Boelter shot and wounded Representative John Hoffman and his wife.[^2] It states that Boelter then allegedly targeted Bahner at her residence.[^2] By that account, he arrived at 2:24 a.m. CDT (UTC−5) dressed as a law enforcement officer and rang the doorbell.[^2] No one answered because Bahner was on vacation, and he departed after several minutes.[^2] Wikipedia qualifies the targeting of Bahner with the word "allegedly."[^2] None of this article's sources is a court filing or charging document on the incident, and the record here does not establish any charge or outcome.[^2] ## Personal life Bahner and her partner, Brahme, live in Maple Grove.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Kristin Bahner* (revision 1365669559, retrieved 2026-10-26) — Bahner's birth date, party, office, district, early life and education, career, 2016 and 2018 elections, committee roles, appointments, legislation and residence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristin_Bahner [^2]: Wikipedia, *Kristin Bahner* (revision 1365669559, retrieved 2026-10-26) — account of the June 14, 2025 approach to Bahner's home, which the article qualifies with the word "allegedly." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristin_Bahner