Kelly Louise Morrison (born February 2, 1969) is an American physician and politician who is the U.S. representative for Minnesota's 3rd congressional district. Morrison was a member of the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Minnesota Legislature, Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any State legislature (Unite ...

from 2023 to 2024. A member of the

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is a political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota affiliated with the national Democratic Party. The party was formed by a merger between the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Minneso ...

, she represented District 45 in the western

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Minnetonka,

Mound A mound is a wikt:heaped, heaped pile of soil, earth, gravel, sand, rock (geology), rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded ...

Minnetrista Minnetrista Museum & Gardens was founded in 1988. Built on the legacy of the Ball brothers, Ball family and Ball Corporation, company, Minnetrista is a museum and garden site located on the White River in Muncie, Indiana. The organization pre ...

, and Orono in

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,281,565, and was estimated to be 1,273,334 in 2024, making it the List of counties in ...

. She served in the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

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 Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 and re ...

in the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries. She was elected on November 5, 2024, defeating Republican

Tad Jude Thaddeus Victor Jude (born December 13, 1951) is a Republican politician and lawyer from Minnesota. Jude was a candidate in the 2022 Minnesota Attorney General election, but withdrew and endorsed Jim Schultz on May 13, 2022 after being elimina ...

Early life, education, and career

Morrison was born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. She attended Jefferson Elementary School in Minneapolis and graduated from The Blake School. Morrison attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and graduated ''cum laude'' with a Bachelor of Arts in history. She attended Boston University for her pre-medical requirements and graduated with a Doctor of Medicine from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Morrison is a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist.

Minnesota Legislature

House of Representatives

Morrison was first elected to the

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, defeating Republican incumbent

Cindy Pugh Cindy Pugh (born May 1, 1957) is an American politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, she represented District 33B in the western Twin Cities metropolitan area. Educ ...

. She was reelected in 2020, defeating Republican nominee Andrew Myers. Morrison represented District 33B, including portions of Hennepin and Carver counties. During the 2021-2022 session, she served as an assistant majority leader for the House DFL Caucus. 2019-2020 committee assignments: * 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: * Early Childhood Finance and Policy * Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy * Health Finance and Policy * Health Finance and Policy: Preventive Health Policy Division

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. 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 A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

, Morrison defeated Republican nominee Kathleen Fowke. Morrison served as an assistant majority leader for the Senate DFL Caucus during the 2023-2024 session. Morrison resigned from the Minnesota Senate on June 6, 2024, to focus on her 2024 congressional campaign. 2023-2024 committee assignments: * Vice Chair: Transportation * Environment, Climate and Legacy * Health and Human Services * State and Local Government and Veterans

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2024

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

in the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries. Morrison said she strongly supported Biden, calling him a "transformational president". Morrison and Phillips had endorsed each other in previous races, and Morrison called Phillips "a good friend of hers". Her announcement emphasized her work passing pro-choice legislation and that she would be the only OB-GYN in Congress if elected. Morrison's campaign had been endorsed by several state legislators, former Minnesota Governor

Mark Dayton Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the List of governors of Minnesota, 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He served as a United States Senate, United States Senator representing Minneso ...

, and a former president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States. On November 24, 2023, Phillips announced he would not seek reelection to the House regardless of the outcome of his

presidential campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

. He also said he would not endorse anyone in the race for his former seat. Morrison thanked Phillips for his service in a statement after his announcement. A primary was not held after only one candidate per major party filed for office. Morrison won the election on November 5, 2024, by a 17-point margin.

Tenure

Morrison was sworn into the 119th Congress on January 3, 2025. At the start of the session, she joined the House's first Democratic Doctors' Caucus, expressing a hope to form a bipartisan physicians' caucus in the future.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Small Business ** Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure ** Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Supply Chains (Ranking Member) * Committee on Veterans' Affairs **

Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs The United States Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs is one of the four subcommittees within the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. Jurisdiction From the House Rules: *''Subcommittee on Disability Assista ...

** Subcommittee on Health

Caucus memberships

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily liberals and centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a liberal-to-moderate approach to fiscal matte ...

* Congressional Equality Caucus * Reproductive Freedom Caucus (Freshman Representative)

Electoral history

Personal life

Morrison and her husband, John Willoughby, have three children. She resides in Deephaven, Minnesota. She is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Excelsior, Minnesota.

References

External links

Official House of Representatives website

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Kelly 1969 births 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives Case Western Reserve University alumni Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota Female members of the United States House of Representatives Living people People from Deephaven, Minnesota Politicians from Minneapolis Women state legislators in Minnesota Yale University alumni