For House DFL Leader Zack Stephenson, his new role brings with it mixed emotions.

It’s an honor, he says, to be chosen by his peers. But it’s a reminder of why he is even in this position in the first place. 

“I would give anything to not have this job and have Melissa Hortman back doing this job,” Stephenson, who represents Anoka and parts of Coon Rapids, said in an interview Wednesday, less than 48 hours after his caucus elected him to steer their members going forward. 

The moment is bittersweet and was emotional for Democrats who are still mourning Hortman, their longtime and beloved leader who was assassinated in her home along with her husband Mark in June. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were also shot and wounded. 

“One of the difficulties about having this job right now these last 48 hours is I can’t count the amount of times I wanted to reach for my phone and call her and ask her for advice because she would know what to do, right? She was the person who I would turn to for a lot of stuff,” he said. 

Stephenson, 41, was an ally of Hortman, whom he met at 17 and soon worked as her campaign manager in 2004, the year she was first elected to the Minnesota House after trying twice before. He called her both a mentor and friend, and served as pallbearer at her funeral. 

He said her leadership will shape how he steps into this role succeeding her.

“There’s a lot of things that we talked about that I watched her do that can still guide me today. Her kids have talked a lot about her focus on the golden rule and treating everyone with respect and trying to listen,” he explained. “That first campaign, we had a motto: ‘It’s not about you, it’s about the voter’— trying to keep the vote focus on the people that you serve, not on yourself. Those are things that I’ll keep with me.”

There is little time to settle into the job. The day after his caucus chose him in a closed-door meeting, he was inside Gov. Tim Walz’s cabinet room for a discussion with other legislative leaders about an imminent special session. 

Walz wants lawmakers back in St. Paul to take action on gun policies in wake of the Annunciation Catholic Church shooting two weeks ago that left two children dead and injured 21 more.

Democrats want to ban assault weapons while Republicans are floating proposals like increased funding for mental health beds and grants for school security. No matter what they do, legislation will need bipartisan support to advance in the closely divided capitol and it’s unclear what would have the requisite number of votes to pass. 

In 2023, when Democrats controlled both chambers, they approved expanding background checks and a “red flag” law that enables a judge to temporarily suspend someone’s access to firearms if determined to be a harm to themselves or others.

Additional proposals like a safe storage law and reporting of missing or stolen firearms to law enforcement passed the House, but failed to clear the DFL-led Senate.

Legislative leaders are meeting to find some agreement, though Walz said he would call a special session regardless of if they set the parameters ahead of time.

“As a prosecutor, as a representative, I just fundamentally believe in accountability. If you have the view that there should be weapons of war on the streets of Minnesota and you want to take that vote then do it. Then stand behind it. Say that to the public if that’s what you believe.”