Sen. Sandy Pappas plans to retire in 2026 after 42 years in the state Legislature, the St. Paul lawmaker announced on Thursday.
Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Senate)
Pappas, a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party representing Senate District 65 in the heart of St. Paul, was first elected to the Minnesota House in 1984. She was elected to the Senate in 1990 and served as Senate President from 2013 to 2016.
Pappas is chair of the Senate Capital Investment Committee, which reviews borrowing and funding proposals for large public projects. The powerful committee is responsible for advancing bonding and other spending bills that fund billions of dollars in infrastructure projects.
Neighborhoods in her district include Midway, Frogtown, North End, West Seventh, Summit-University, downtown, as well as the West Side and parts of West St. Paul.
In a news release announcing her retirement at the end of the 2026 legislative session, Pappas expressed gratitude for more than four decades of representing her community.
“The Legislature has been so much a part of my life that leaving is like saying farewell to my family,” Pappas said. “I have worked alongside Minnesotans on issues from reproductive rights to pension policy; traveled from the Northwest Angle to our Iowa border on countless bonding tours; and collaborated with hundreds of colleagues to improve Minnesotans’ lives.”
The Senate DFL Caucus, in a statement, described Pappas as a “steadfast ally to workers and unions; and an advocate for social and economic equality for women and people of color.”
Besides her work on the Capital Investment Committee, Pappas has backed bills requiring employers to provide workers with “sick and safe time,” establishing a child protection program and eliminating the statute of limitations on sexual assault.
Pappas led the effort to pass the 2014 Women’s Economic Security Act, a bill aimed at protecting and promoting opportunities for women in the workplace. She also sponsored legislation creating the St. Paul Sales Tax Revitalization program, which provides funding for neighborhood and arts projects.
Projects funded by Pappas’ bills include downtown St. Paul’s Pedro Park, reconstruction of the Third Street-Kellogg Bridge, the new North End Community Center and Union Depot.
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The Minnesota Legislature has not passed a bonding bill for infrastructure projects since the DFL-controlled state government passed a record $2.6 billion borrowing and spending package in 2023. Pappas will have one more opportunity to pass a capital investment bill during the 2026 session in a now-divided state government.
Pappas is just one of several state lawmakers to announce plans to leave the Legislature in 2026. In September, Senate Taxes Committee Chair Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, announced she would retire at the end of her current term.
Rep. Kelly Moller, a Shoreview DFLer elected in 2018, and Ron Kresha, a Little Falls Republican elected in 2012, announced they wouldn’t run for new terms earlier in October.
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