Liish Kozlowski wins second term in 8B house race

Unofficial results in Tuesday’s Minnesota general election show Liish Kozlowski has won a second term for Minnesota House District 8B, beating Republican challenger Shawn Savela. The Associated Press called the race for Kozlowski at 12:43 a.m. with 63% of the vote counted. At that time, they led with 67% of the vote

Kozlowski is the first Ojibwe and Latine person to serve Duluth and the first non-binary/Two Spirit person to be elected to the Minnesota State legislature and uses they/them pronouns. Kozlowski’s Ojibwe name is Yellow Cloud and their English name is Liish.

“We know that our work’s not over, but we’re so proud of the way that we have run with collaboration, with really listening to the needs of Duluthians and my elders who raised me up here in Duluth in this community,” they said Tuesday night at a DFL watch party.

They are a first-generation graduate from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, going on to earn a Master’s of Business Administration from the College of St. Scholastica, serving as Community Relations Officer for the the City of Duluth.

Entering their first term, Kozlowski held leadership positions as Vice Chair of the House POCI Caucus – a powerful bloc of Black, Brown, and Indigenous members and was co-founder of the Minnesota Queer Caucus.

Kozlowski was born and raised in Duluth, the child of a Mexican father who worked as a union electrician, and an Ojibwe mother, who with an eighth grade education, worked as a housekeeper and child care provider that instilled in them the value of taking care of this place and others.

Kozlowski was both DFL- and labor-endorsed heading into Tuesday’s election and says it’s been an honor to represent the people of 8B in their first term.

Lawmakers will be sworn into office on the opening day of the 94th session of the Minnesota legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.