Mary Murphy won election to the Minnesota House of Representatives for the first time in 1976 and served until 2022—when she lost the seat by 33 votes.
Murphy, the longest-serving woman in the Minnesota Legislature, died Christmas Day after a brief illness. She was 85.
The lifelong Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party member stayed in the house that her father proudly proclaimed “Roosevelt built” in the Duluth suburb of Hermantown, she said in a PBS interview. The Works Progress Administration built the family home during the Great Depression, and it inspired Murphy’s view of government.
“Mary was in so many ways ahead of her time and was often the only woman at the table in Northern Minnesota.”
—U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar
“We learned that government was good, and that government should be helpful, and government addresses the wants and needs of the people of the state of Minnesota,” Murphy said in the interview.
In her long tenure representing her Duluth-area district at the Statehouse, Murphy advocated for women’s rights, Head Start, labor, health care and criminal justice. She introduced legislation to fund statewide juvenile correction facilities and worked to increase penalties for domestic abuse and sexual misconduct, according to Minnesota Public Radio. The former history and social studies teacher at Duluth Central High School chaired multiple committees, including Judiciary, Finance and the Ethics and Energy committees.
In addition to her work in the House, Murphy served on NCSL’s Task Force on Redistricting and elections, from 2011-2013, and NCSL’s Legislative Effectiveness Committee, from 2005-2007.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar praised Murphy in a statement as “an incredible Minnesotan. “As a former teacher, she was a strong advocate for improving education for our children, and she also fought to protect victims of domestic violence and stalking,” Klobuchar said. “Mary was in so many ways ahead of her time and was often the only woman at the table in Northern Minnesota.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz posted on social media that she was “a true champion of the Northland.”
Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy (DFL) called Murphy (no relation) a longtime friend. “She knew my girls when they were babies,” Erin Murphy wrote on social media. “She taught me how to pass a law long before I was elected. Quiet mentor, trusted friend—she showed me how to lead by leading.”
Kelley Griffin is a senior editor in NCSL’s Communications Division.