A stunning upset unfolded in St. Paul, Minnesota, as Kaohly Vang Her secured the mayoral seat, defeating incumbent Melvin Carter in a closely contested race decided by ranked-choice voting. Her victory marks a historic first for the city – the first woman and the first Hmong individual elected to lead St. Paul.
The election outcome is particularly striking given comments Vang Her made just months prior, during a debate on the Minnesota House floor. In a startling admission, she publicly stated she was an illegal alien, detailing a family history involving altered paperwork and undocumented status.
“My father… put my grandmother down as his mother, and so I am illegal in this country,” she declared, adding that both her parents were also undocumented. The statement, made during a discussion about healthcare access for undocumented immigrants, sent shockwaves through the political landscape.
Almost immediately after the recording surfaced, Vang Her attempted to retract her statement, clarifying to the Minnesota Reformer that she and her parents are, in fact, American citizens. She framed her initial claim as a strategic attempt to appeal to Republican colleagues, hoping to evoke empathy during the legislative debate.
However, she conceded her father had committed a legal infraction while completing refugee resettlement paperwork for the family. Vang Her’s official biography details her family’s journey as refugees fleeing Laos, arriving in the United States when she was just four years old.
Her narrative paints a picture of a hardworking family striving for the American dream, facing financial hardship but persevering through multiple jobs. She describes a childhood in a Wisconsin paper town, shaped by her father’s factory work and her mother’s dedication as a teacher’s aide.
The conflicting accounts have raised serious questions, prompting calls for investigation by federal authorities. The core issue now centers on determining the veracity of Vang Her’s statements – was the initial claim a calculated political maneuver, or a revealing truth?
Regardless of the ultimate findings, Vang Her’s election to the highest office in St. Paul represents a remarkable and unsettling turn of events. The fact that a candidate could openly discuss an alleged illegal status and still win public trust is a development that demands scrutiny and reflection.
