Minnesota state senator and former DFL majority leader Kari Dziedzic has died of cancer at age 62, her family announced on Saturday.
“Kari will be remembered by her family and those she served for her enthusiastic and humble leadership, which inspired all who knew her. She had a heart of gold, willing to go to any measure to help those she loved. Like her father, she was fearless, even as she entered her battle with an ovarian cancer diagnosis in 2023 while serving as Senate Majority Leader,” her family said in a released statement, noting that the senator had died on Friday “surrounded by her family.”
In 2023, Dziedzic had surgery to remove a tumor before learning it was cancer. It happened during one of the busiest legislative sessions in years, but Dziedzic said later her illness didn’t slow down efforts to pass significant legislation.
Undated courtesy photo from the 2023-24 legislative session of Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Senate)
In February, she stepped down as majority leader saying her cancer had returned.
“Unfortunately, in the last week, I learned that my cancer has returned, and I am facing some serious challenges,” Dziedzic said in a statement in February. “As we prepare for the next session, I decided it is in the best interest of the caucus for me to step down as Majority Leader after our caucus has selected a new leader.”
At the time she stepped down, Dzeidzic said it was an honor to lead the new Senate DFL Majority last year during one of the most consequential legislative sessions in a generation. Democrats in control of state government passed paid family and medical leave, universal school meals and created protections for abortion access in state law.
Those bills and others, such as universal background checks for gun sales, passed in a 34-33 Senate where Democrats had just a one-seat advantage over Republicans. Dziedzic in her announcement thanked staff and colleagues for helping her lead her caucus after her diagnosis and urged people to get early checkups, which she said are key to early detection of cancer.
The eldest daughter of Walter and Patricia Dziedzic, she followed her father’s footsteps into community service, her family said. She was a lifelong “Nordeaster” graduating from Edison High School in northeast Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota. She worked as an executive assistant to U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone and in other positions for Hennepin County.
She was elected to Senate District 60 in January 2012 and then served as Senate Majority Leader from January 2023 until February 2024.
“Kari is survived and will be sorely missed by her mother, Pat Dziedzic, her five siblings and their spouses, her beloved nieces and nephews, and uncounted friends and colleagues,” her family said in the written statement, saying that memorial service details are pending.
In a statement on Saturday, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar said Dziedzic was “an incredible public servant who gave so much to our state. She long served as my state Senator and I got to see firsthand how she listened to and worked with the people in the district and how effective she was. She governed with strength and calm and grace and was able to get big things done without political drama. That earned her the respect of her colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Our family’s prayers are with Kari’s friends and family during this difficult time.”
Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy (DFL- St. Paul) said she was deeply saddened to hear of Dziedzic’s death.
“Kari’s loss will echo across Minnesota, felt by her family, friends, colleagues — and by millions of Minnesotans whose lives have been made better by her work on their behalf,” Murphy said in a statement. “For the past year, I have been in awe of her strength as she continued to heroically work — with skill and compassion — as she underwent treatment for cancer. Her talents as a consequential and thoughtful leader made us all better legislators, and her examples of kindness, humor, and selflessness made us all better people. She was an uncommon leader and touched us all in a great many ways. I will miss her greatly.”
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