Lee was born to Hmong refugees who emigrated to the United States from a Thai refugee camp after being displaced from Laos.[3] She was raised in public housing on the east side of Saint Paul, Minnesota, where she delivered papers for the Eastside Review.[4][3] In high school, she worked as a House aide to state representative Tim Mahoney.[4]
Lee serves as vice chair of the Property Tax Division of the Taxes Committee and as an assistant majority leader of the House DFL caucus. She also sits on the Children and Families Finance and Policy, Education Policy, and Taxes Committees.[1] Lee is a member of the House People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus and the Minnesota Asian and Pacific (MAP) Caucus.[9]
Political positions
Lee ran on a platform of rent stabilization, well-paying jobs, infrastructure, and health equity.[4] She joined a group of Minnesota legislators in urging the U.S. Census Bureau to reclassify several Asian ethnicities, including Hmong, saying the bureau "didn't do proper stakeholder engagement" with the Asian community.[10] At a press conference on anti-Asian hate crimes, Lee said she and the MAP Caucus would push for further gun regulations.[9][11]
Electoral history
2022 DFL Primary - Minnesota State House - District 67A[12]