Summary
Kelly Louise Morrison (born February 2, 1969) is an American physician and politician who is the U.S. Representative-elect for Minnesota’s 3rd congressional district. Morrison was a member of the Minnesota Senate from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, she represented District 45 in the western Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Minnetonka, Mound, Minnetrista, and Orono in Hennepin County. She served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2019 to 2023.
On November 9, 2023, Morrison announced she would run in the Democratic primary for Minnesota’s 3rd congressional district in the 2024 House elections, after the incumbent, Dean Phillips, announced his run against President Joe Biden in the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries. She was elected on November 5, 2024.
OnAir Post: Kelly Morrison MN-03
About
Source: Campaign Site
Kelly Morrison has spent most of her career as a doctor – not a politician. As an OB-GYN who has been practicing in Minnesota for over 20 years, Kelly has dedicated her life to helping people. Her husband, John Willoughby, was an Army Ranger, and their family has always valued service above all.
Kelly first ran for office in 2018 after Donald Trump was elected, because she was concerned about the future of our state and wanted to be a voice of reason. She was elected to the Minnesota House and then the Minnesota Senate after winning tough races in districts that were previously held by Republicans, and she did it without taking any corporate PAC or lobbyist money.
In the Minnesota legislature, Kelly has a proven track record of working across the aisle to get things done – she passed over 90 bills in just six years, more than almost every other legislator.
As an obstetrician gynecologist who still sees patients, Kelly led the fight to protect a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions. She knows what it’s like to see her patients struggle to afford the medications they need, so she took on the big pharmaceutical companies and passed legislation to lower the cost of prescription drugs.
And as a mom, Kelly is focused on keeping our kids safe and healthy and has championed efforts to combat gun violence, take on the opioid crisis, strengthen mental health support in schools, fight climate change and protect our lakes and rivers.
Kelly puts her constituents and their priorities first. She has fought for legislation to strengthen our infrastructure in the Third District, provide resources for our veterans, address racial and geographic disparities in maternal health, improve early childhood education, and support our seniors and caregivers.
Kelly has received numerous awards for her work, including the Paul Wellstone Advocacy Award from the Minnesota Psychiatric Society, the Children’s Health Hero Award from the Minnesota Children’s Hospital, the Legislator of the Year Award from the Minnesota Psychological Association, and was just named the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)’s Legislator of the Year.
Kelly is a 6th-generation Minnesotan who has deep roots in the state and the MN-03 community. Kelly and John live in Deephaven and have three children and two (very good) dogs.
Web Links
Politics
Source: none
Morrison was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018, defeating Republican incumbent Cindy Pugh. She was reelected in 2020, defeating Republican nominee Andrew Myers.
After legislative redistricting in 2022, Morrison announced she would run for the DFL endorsement in the newly created Senate District 45. She was endorsed by Speaker of the Minnesota House Melissa Hortman and U.S. Representative Dean Phillips. Morrison won the party’s endorsement over incumbent Senator Ann Johnson Stewart. Stewart announced she would not challenge Morrison in the primary and endorsed her. In the general election, Morrison defeated Republican nominee Kathleen Fowke.
Finances
Source: Vote Smart
New Legislation
Issues
Source: Campaign page
Lowering the Cost of Health Care
All Minnesotans deserve quality, affordable health care. As a practicing physician, Kelly has seen firsthand the out-of-control health care costs that rise every year. That’s why she has worked to lower health care costs during her time in the Minnesota legislature. She took on Big Pharma and passed legislation to lower prescription drug prices, including capping the price of insulin from $600/month to $35/month.
Kelly has also led the fight to improve maternal health care in Minnesota and address racial disparities, and she successfully extended health insurance for new moms on Medicaid from just 60 days to 12 months. Kelly is ready to take on these fights in Congress
Protecting Reproductive Rights
As an OB-GYN, Kelly has dedicated her career to making sure women are able to make their own health care decisions without interference from the government. In the state legislature, Kelly helped lead the effort to pass a comprehensive legislative package protecting reproductive rights in Minnesota.
When Kelly is elected, she will be the only pro-choice OB-GYN in Congress, and will be a strong voice for protecting reproductive rights across the country.
Strengthening the Economy
We need a robust economy that supports families, workers and businesses. Kelly is committed to lowering costs and building an economy that works for everyone. This means lowering the cost of everyday needs such as health care, housing and child care, while investing in innovation, infrastructure and entrepreneurship.
A skilled workforce is the foundation of the economy, so we must train our workforce for the jobs of tomorrow, and ensure our unions are strong. Kelly also believes that we need a tax system that ensures opportunity for all.
Supporting Our Seniors
By 2040, there will be 80 million seniors in America, more than double the number of seniors in 2000. Kelly is a champion for policies that support seniors and their caregivers, including protecting seniors’ ability to live independently in their homes, ensuring access to safe, convenient, and reliable transportation, addressing workforce shortages in our long-term care facilities, and making sure our family caregivers have the resources and support they need.
Kelly is strongly committed to protecting Medicare and Social Security to ensure that people can live in dignity in their senior years.
Investing In Education
Every Minnesotan deserves access to an excellent education. As a physician, Kelly understands that the majority of brain development occurs before age 3, so she knows how important it is for kids to get off to a strong, healthy start. Kelly believes we need to prioritize education funding so that all students can get a world-class education, and during her time in the Minnesota legislature, she helped pass a historic education budget that will provide much-needed funding to our state’s schools.
Kelly also believes that providing students with a variety of higher education options, and not just a one-size-fits-all four-year college approach, will help ensure that students find their best fit. This will help us build a skilled and diverse workforce to fill quality jobs across the state.
Protecting Our Climate and Minnesota’s Water
As a 6th-generation Minnesotan, Kelly is proud of our state’s history of protecting our lakes, rivers, and wetlands, and believes we need to continue that legacy for generations to come. Kelly has been a leader in the effort to protect Minnesota’s water – she has championed legislation to protect our lakes from invasive species and to protect the Boundary Waters from copper sulfide mining.
Kelly also believes that as we see more wildfires, floods and other extreme weather wreak havoc on our homes, our businesses, and our farms, we need to take swift action to tackle climate change and plan mitigation strategies. This will not only help avert catastrophic warming and protect our environment – it will also create good, clean energy jobs.
Improving Mental Health Services
We need to improve our mental health services for both children and adults. Kelly was named the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)’s Legislator of the Year for 2023, and has been a champion for improving access to mental health care.
Kelly worked to expand mental health resources in our schools and provide funding for children’s residential mental health facilities. She passed bipartisan legislation to ensure that psychologists can practice across state lines, which has increased access to virtual mental health appointments for college students, seniors, veterans, and those living in areas with fewer practitioners.
Strengthening Public Safety
Everyone deserves to feel safe in their communities. We also need to make sure our law enforcement officers have the resources they need to do their jobs well – that’s why Kelly supported legislation providing $300 million in aid to local law enforcement, including police, fire and 911 departments, and she also co-authored legislation to crack down on violent carjackings.
We also need to invest in crime prevention so that young people can live up to their potential and lead satisfying and productive lives.
Tackling Gun Violence
As a physician and a mother, Kelly is appalled that the number one killer of children in America is now gun violence, and she is ready to work to end that preventable tragedy.
Kelly supported the passage of universal background checks and extreme risk protection orders in Minnesota and supports reinstating the ban on the sale of assault weapons. Kelly understands the urgency of curtailing gun violence and will continue to take this issue on in Congress.
Taking on the Opioid Crisis
Kelly believes we must curb the opioid crisis that continues to devastate families in our community and across the country. She worked with a mother in her district who tragically lost her son to an accidental overdose to pass legislation requiring that naloxone (or Narcan) be available in all school buildings so that no one dies from an overdose on school grounds.
She also serves on the Opioid Epidemic Response Advisory Council in the Minnesota legislature, and is committed to preventing overdose deaths and ensuring access to treatment and medication assisted treatment (MAT) for those struggling with substance use disorder.
Supporting our Veterans
Our veterans deserve our respect, gratitude, and support. Kelly’s husband, John Willoughby, is a combat veteran and former Army Ranger. Her father-in-law was an Airborne Ranger who received a Purple Heart and Silver Star for his brave service, and both her father and grandfathers are veterans. Kelly also spent the beginning of her career caring for veterans at a VA hospital.
Because of these experiences, Kelly is committed to ensuring that our veterans have the resources and support they need. She was proud to co-author and pass legislation that provides 9/11 veterans and their families with service bonuses, and she will continue to advocate on behalf of veterans in Congress.
Protecting Democracy & Campaign Finance Reform
Kelly believes it’s time to put the voters back at the center of the decision-making process. One of the most important issues facing our state is protecting democracy and ensuring that all eligible voters are able to exercise their right to vote and to have their vote counted. Kelly favors reforms including instituting a popular vote, protecting against political gerrymandering, and ranked choice voting. She also passed legislation to allow automatic voter registration and put in place other key voting rights reforms in Minnesota.
Kelly is proud to not take any contributions from corporate PACs or federal lobbyists, and is committed to getting dark money out of politics.
Strengthening our National Security and Foreign Policy
Kelly believes that protecting our nation from foreign threats must be one of the federal government’s top priorities. That means ensuring we have a strong military, bolstering our cybersecurity, and fostering alliances with global partners to counter adversaries. Kelly believes we must support Ukraine in its fight for their democracy and stand up to Russian aggression. She also supports the alliance between the U.S. and Israel and believes that the United States should do everything it can to bring about an immediate ceasefire and an end to the violence, bring home the remaining hostages, get humanitarian aid to innocent civilians in Gaza, and work towards a two-state solution.
Fixing our Immigration System
Immigrants are an essential part of our state’s cultural and economic fabric, and we need to ensure that we are always a beacon for the world’s talent. Right now our immigration system is broken, and Congress needs to take action to fix it. Kelly is a strong supporter of comprehensive immigration reform that would strengthen border security, provide a pathway to citizenship, including for DREAMers, and reform our visa system. She also supported the recent bipartisan efforts in Congress to give the President emergency powers to secure the border and give law enforcement more tools to stop fentanyl from entering this country.
Standing Up for Civil Rights
Standing up for the civil rights of all Americans is at the foundation of our democracy. In the Minnesota legislature, Kelly has worked hard to address inequities and foster a more just society. That means standing up for LGBTQ rights, fighting systemic and institutional racism, supporting people with disabilities, and taking on religious discrimination including antisemitism and Islamophobia.
More Information
Wikipedia
Kelly Louise Morrison (born February 2, 1969)[1] is an American physician and politician who is the U.S. Representative-elect for Minnesota’s 3rd congressional district. Morrison was a member of the Minnesota Senate from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, she represented District 45 in the western Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Minnetonka, Mound, Minnetrista, and Orono in Hennepin County. She served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2019 to 2023.[1]
On November 9, 2023, Morrison announced she would run in the Democratic primary for Minnesota’s 3rd congressional district in the 2024 House elections, after the incumbent, Dean Phillips, announced his run against President Joe Biden in the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries.[2] She was elected on November 5, 2024.[3]
Early life, education, and career
Morrison was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She attended Jefferson Elementary School in Minneapolis and graduated from The Blake School.[1][4][5]
Morrison attended Yale University and graduated cum laude[6] with a Bachelor of Arts in history. She attended Boston University for her pre-medical requirements and graduated with a Doctor of Medicine from Case Western University.[1]
Morrison is a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist.[1][7]
Minnesota House of Representatives
Morrison was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018, defeating Republican incumbent Cindy Pugh.[8] She was reelected in 2020, defeating Republican nominee Andrew Myers.[9]
Morrison represented District 33B, including portions of Hennepin and Carver counties.[1] During the 2021-2022 session, she served as an assistant majority leader for the House DFL Caucus.[1]
2019-2020 committee assignments:[1]
- Health and Human Services Policy
- Education Finance Division/Health and Human Services Finance Division: Early Childhood Finance and Policy Division
- Environment and Natural Resources Finance
- Water Division
2021-2022 committee assignments:[1]
- Early Childhood Finance and Policy
- Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy
- Health Finance and Policy
- Health Finance and Policy: Preventive Health Policy Division
Minnesota Senate
After legislative redistricting in 2022, Morrison announced she would run for the DFL endorsement in the newly created Senate District 45. She was endorsed by Speaker of the Minnesota House Melissa Hortman and U.S. Representative Dean Phillips.[10] Morrison won the party’s endorsement over incumbent Senator Ann Johnson Stewart.[10] Stewart announced she would not challenge Morrison in the primary and endorsed her.[11] In the general election, Morrison defeated Republican nominee Kathleen Fowke.[12]
Morrison served as an assistant majority leader for the Senate DFL Caucus during the 2023-2024 session.[1]
Morrison resigned from the Minnesota Senate on June 6, 2024, to focus on her 2024 congressional campaign.[13]
2023-2024 committee assignments:[1]
- Vice Chair: Transportation
- Environment, Climate and Legacy
- Health and Human Services
- State and Local Government and Veterans
Campaign for U.S. Congress
On November 9, 2023, Morrison announced she would run in the Democratic primary for Minnesota’s 3rd congressional district after the incumbent, Dean Phillips, decided to run against President Joe Biden in the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries. Morrison said she strongly supports Biden, calling him a “transformational president”.[2]
Morrison and Phillips have endorsed each other in previous races, and Morrison called Phillips “a good friend of hers”.[2] Her announcement emphasized her work passing pro-choice legislation and that she would be the only OB-GYN in Congress if elected.[14] Morrison’s campaign has been endorsed by several state legislators, former Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, and a former president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States.[2][15]
On November 24, Phillips announced he would not seek reelection to the House regardless of the outcome of his presidential campaign. He also said he would not endorse anyone in the race for his former seat.[16] Morrison thanked Phillips for his service in a statement after his announcement.[16]
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Kelly Morrison | 11,786 | 50.43 | ||
| Republican | Cindy Pugh (Incumbent) | 11,570 | 49.50 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Kelly Morrison (Incumbent) | 14,202 | 50.52 | ||
| Republican | Andrew Myers | 13,889 | 49.41 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Kelly Morrison | 27,222 | 56.27 | ||
| Republican | Kathleen Fowke | 21,128 | 43.67 | ||
Personal life
Morrison and her husband, John Willoughby, have three children. She resides in Deephaven, Minnesota.[1] She is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Excelsior, Minnesota.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m “Morrison, Kelly L. – Legislator Record – Minnesota Legislators Past & Present”. www.lrl.mn.gov. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Faircloth, Ryan (November 9, 2023). “DFL state Sen. Kelly Morrison to run for Minnesota congressional seat held by Dean Phillips”. Star Tribune. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
- ^ “Former state Sen. Kelly Morrison defeats Tad Jude for Minnesota’s only open congressional seat”. Star Tribune.
- ^ Schier, Steven (December 2, 2023). “OPINION EXCHANGE | Six takeaways on Minnesota’s critical races in 2024”. Star Tribune. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
- ^ Bush, Amelia (February 1, 2024). “Kelly Morrison ’87 Runs for Office”. The Blake Spectrum. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
- ^ “About Kelly | KMsenate”.
- ^ Bierschbach, Briana (July 9, 2018). “Is there a doctor in the (state) House?”. Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
- ^ “2018 Results for State Representative District 33B”. electionresults.sos.mn.gov. November 21, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ “2020 Results for State Representative District 33B”. electionresults.sos.mn.gov. November 30, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ a b Lopez, Ricardo (April 11, 2022). “In endorsement race for western suburban district, Rep. Kelly Morrison wins over Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart”. Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ Bork, Corey (April 14, 2022). “State Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart Won’t Seek Re-election”. CCX Media. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ “2022 Results for State Senator District 45”. electionresults.sos.mn.gov. December 16, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ Faircloth, Ryan (June 6, 2024). “DFL senator resigns to focus on congressional run, putting control of Minnesota Senate on ballot”. Star Tribune. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
- ^ Ferguson, Dana (November 9, 2023). “State Sen. Kelly Morrison launches bid for Phillips’ U.S. House seat”. MPR News. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
- ^ “Endorsements”. Kelly Morrison for Congress. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
- ^ a b Faircloth, Ryan (November 24, 2023). “Rep. Dean Phillips, running for president, won’t seek reelection to Congress”. Star Tribune. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
- ^ “Results for State Representative District 33B”. Results for State Representative District 33B. Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
- ^ “Results for State Representative District 33B”. Results for State Representative District 33B. Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
- ^ “Results for Senate District 45”. Results for State Senator District 45. Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
External links
- Kelly Morrison at Minnesota Legislators Past & Present
- Official House of Representatives website
- Official campaign website
