# Samantha Sencer-Mura *American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2023* Samantha Sencer-Mura (born February 2, 1989) is an American politician of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) who has held a seat in the [[Minnesota House of Representatives]] since 2023.[^1] Her district, 63A, lies in the Twin Cities metropolitan area of [[Minnesota]] and takes in part of [[Minneapolis]] in Hennepin County.[^1] She won the seat in the 2022 election. It was an open seat, the result of legislative redistricting and of the retirement of [[Jim Davnie]], a DFL member who had served eleven terms.[^2] The cited record of her House service lists her committee and caucus memberships.[^3] It also lists three bills she sponsored or wrote, on bias-crime tracking, high-school ethnic studies and transit safety. It does not state whether any of the three became law.[^4] ## Early life, education and career Sencer-Mura grew up in Minneapolis, where she attended [[South High School (Minnesota)]]. Her father is David Mura, a poet and playwright. Her grandparents were held in internment camps during World War II.[^5] Her undergraduate degree is a Bachelor of Arts in critical theory and social justice from Occidental College. She later received a Master of Education in school leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.[^6] Her first teaching job was at Citizen Schools in New York City. She subsequently held posts in Oakland, California, as a coordinator with Safe Passages and as community schools director at United for Success Academy.[^7] She moved back to Minneapolis in 2017 to become executive director of 826 MSP, a nonprofit offering after-school programming.[^7] ## Minnesota House of Representatives Her committee assignments are Agriculture Finance and Policy, Education Finance, Workforce Development Finance and Policy, and Transportation Finance and Policy.[^3] She belongs to two House caucuses, the People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus and the Minnesota Asian and Pacific (MAP) Caucus.[^3] ### Political positions In the 2023 session she sponsored a bill that would fund better tracking of bias crimes and training for law enforcement.[^4] In support of the bill she pointed to anti-Asian backlash connected with the origins of COVID-19, and she said "our communities are living in this state of red alert".[^4] She authored a bill that would require high schools in Minnesota to offer an ethnic studies course. She said "students of all racial and ethnic identities benefit from ethnic studies".[^8] She also sponsored a transit safety measure. She did so after a woman aged 87 who lived in her district was hurt while using public transit.[^9] ## Personal life She resides in Minneapolis with her spouse, Lance, and she has one child.[^10] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Samantha Sencer-Mura*, lead section (rev. 1365779293, retrieved 2026-10-26) — establishes her birth date, DFL membership, House service since 2023, and District 63A in Minneapolis, Hennepin County. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Sencer-Mura [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *Samantha Sencer-Mura*, "Minnesota House of Representatives" section (rev. 1365779293, retrieved 2026-10-26) — establishes the 2022 election and the open seat created by redistricting and the retirement of 11-term DFL incumbent Jim Davnie. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Sencer-Mura [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *Samantha Sencer-Mura*, "Minnesota House of Representatives" section (rev. 1365779293, retrieved 2026-10-26) — establishes her four committee assignments and her POCI and MAP caucus memberships. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Sencer-Mura [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *Samantha Sencer-Mura*, "Political positions" subsection (rev. 1365779293, retrieved 2026-10-26) — establishes the three bills and the 2023 anti-hate crime bill, together with her quoted statement; the source does not state the bills' outcomes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Sencer-Mura [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *Samantha Sencer-Mura*, "Early life, education and career" section (rev. 1365779293, retrieved 2026-10-26) — establishes her Minneapolis upbringing, South High School, her father, and her grandparents' wartime incarceration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Sencer-Mura [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *Samantha Sencer-Mura*, "Early life, education and career" section (rev. 1365779293, retrieved 2026-10-26) — establishes her Occidental College and Harvard Graduate School of Education degrees. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Sencer-Mura [^7]: Wikipedia contributors, *Samantha Sencer-Mura*, "Early life, education and career" section (rev. 1365779293, retrieved 2026-10-26) — establishes her positions at Citizen Schools, Safe Passages, United for Success Academy, and, from 2017, 826 MSP. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Sencer-Mura [^8]: Wikipedia contributors, *Samantha Sencer-Mura*, "Political positions" subsection (rev. 1365779293, retrieved 2026-10-26) — establishes the ethnic studies bill and her quoted statement. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Sencer-Mura [^9]: Wikipedia contributors, *Samantha Sencer-Mura*, "Political positions" subsection (rev. 1365779293, retrieved 2026-10-26) — establishes the transit safety bill and the injury that preceded it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Sencer-Mura [^10]: Wikipedia contributors, *Samantha Sencer-Mura*, "Personal life" section (rev. 1365779293, retrieved 2026-10-26) — establishes her residence, spouse and child. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Sencer-Mura