A Minnesota Democratic state lawmaker who was found guilty of burglarizing her stepmother’s home resigned from office Friday.
“I am stepping down from the MN Senate, but I can’t do that without expressing my gratitude,” former state Sen. Nicole Mitchell posted on social platform X. “Thank you to my family, friends, & constituents who shared the issues they care about & trusted me to work on their behalf.”
“It’s been a true honor to serve MN & the community I grew up in,” she added.
The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that Mitchell separately penned a note to constituents thanking them for support as she formally tendered her resignation to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D).
“It has been a true honor to serve the state of Minnesota and the community I grew up in,” Mitchell, 51, wrote in the email message to supporters, per the Tribune.
Mitchell, a former Weather Channel meteorologist and lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, was convicted on two felony counts last week after breaking into the home of her father’s widow last year. She alternately claimed she was trying to check on her estranged stepmother and that she was attempting to recover personal items from her father, who died in 2023.
“I was just trying to get a couple of my dad’s things because you wouldn’t talk to me anymore,” police video of her arrest showed Mitchell telling her stepmother the night of the burglary.
Mitchell, who was first elected to the state Senate in 2022, hasn’t been sentenced in the case, but she could face 20 years behind bars.
Walz, who was the Democratic vice presidential nominee last fall, will be responsible for calling a special election to pick Mitchell’s successor in her deep Democratic seat, but the governor’s office didn’t immediately respond to The Hill’s requests for details.
Democrats held a one-seat majority in the Minnesota Senate, so Mitchell’s vote was viewed as crucial to passing Democratic legislation while she was awaiting trial. She refused to resign before her conviction last week but was expected to ultimately step down by Aug. 4.
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