Lisa Demuth

Lisa Demuth ( DAY-məth; née Pittman, born February 10, 1967) is an American politician serving since 2025 as the speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Demuth represents District 13A in central Minnesota, which includes the cities of St. Joseph and Cold Spring and parts of Stearns County. She has served since 2023 as leader of the House Republican caucus and from 2023 to 2025 as the minority leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives. In January 2025, House Republicans voted to elect Demuth Speaker of the House. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that a quorum had not been present, invalidating Demuth's election. On February 5, 2025, the two major parties reached an agreement to end a Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party boycott of the legislative session; the agreement provided that Demuth would become speaker of the House. She was elected to the role on February 6, becoming the first Black person to become speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. On August 11, 2026, Demuth won the Republican nomination for governor of Minnesota. If elected, she would be the first African-American and first female governor of Minnesota, as well as the first African-American female governor of any U.S. state in history.