Senator Erin Murphy of St. Paul was elected by her Senate DFL Caucus colleagues to serve as Senate Majority Leader in February 2024.
She led the caucus through the second year of a historic legislative biennium, which produced the most consequential Minnesota legislature in 50 years. The impact of the work of those two years has been recognized across the country for the ways it will improve the lives of Minnesotans for decades.
Long Record of Public Service
Majority Leader Murphy has a long history of public service in Minnesota. She first came to the Senate in 2021, representing Senate District 64, which includes portions of the city of Saint Paul. Besides her leadership post, she now serves as Chair of the Rules and Administration Committee and also serves on the Finance and Higher Education Committees. Prior to her election as Majority Leader, Murphy chaired the State and Local Government and Veterans Committee.
Before coming to the Senate, Leader Murphy served six terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives, including one as the House Majority Leader.
Leader Murphy has a broad set of interests and accomplishments as a legislator, including healthcare access, labor rights, reproductive care, fairness in the tax code, prescription drug affordability, universal pre-K, marriage equality, civil rights and veterans’ issues.
Leader Murphy is a registered nurse. Before running for office, she served as executive director of the Minnesota Nurses Association. She also worked in state government as legislative director for former Minnesota Attorney General Hubert H. Humphrey II, and as community relations director for the Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning.
Leader Murphy grew up in Janesville, Wisconsin, and attended the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. She earned her M.A. in organizational leadership in health care at the University of St. Catherine in Saint Paul. She has also attended the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota as a policy fellow.
She currently lives in Saint Paul with her husband, Joe Faust, and they have two grown children.
