Karen Clark, a longtime Minnesota state legislator and trailblazer for LGBTQ rights, died Monday, June 30, 2026, after a brief illness. She was 80 years old. Her family shared the news on social media, and a spokesperson for the House DFL confirmed her passing.
Clark was born July 23, 1945, and represented District 62A, covering portions of Minneapolis including the Whittier, Phillips, Ventura Village, Seward, and Lyn-Lake neighborhoods, as a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
She was raised on a sharecropping farm in Rock County after being born in Oklahoma. She earned her nursing degree from the College of Saint Teresa in Winona, then later completed a master’s degree in public administration at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Before entering politics, she worked as a public health and OB/GYN nurse at the Hennepin County Health Department.
A trailblazer for equality
Clark served in the Minnesota House from 1980 until her retirement in 2019, a tenure spanning nearly four decades. She was Minnesota’s first openly lesbian legislative member and remains the longest-serving openly lesbian member to serve in a state legislature in the country.
In 1993, she helped pass an amendment to the Minnesota Human Rights Act that banned discrimination against LGBTQ residents in employment, education, and housing.
Two decades later, she authored the House bill that made same-sex marriage legal in Minnesota, a measure signed into law by Governor Mark Dayton in 2013. Colleagues recalled a memorable moment when she turned her back on then-Governor Tim Pawlenty during a floor speech supporting the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
Her advocacy extended well beyond LGBTQ issues. Clark championed environmental justice throughout her career, and after leaving office, she co-founded the Women’s Environmental Institute, where she served as executive director.
In recent years, she supported the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute’s effort to redevelop the Roof Depot warehouse in south Minneapolis into a community space.
Tributes from Minnesota leaders
Tributes poured in from across Minnesota’s political landscape. Governor Tim Walz offered condolences to her family, calling her one of the champions behind the state’s marriage equality law.
U.S. Senator Tina Smith described Clark as a mentor who deeply influenced her own political path. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar called her a pioneer who supported her early career, while Attorney General Keith Ellison said the state had lost one of its greatest public servants.
State Senator Scott Dibble, a longtime friend and colleague, called her a giant in Minnesota politics whose career was among the most consequential the state has seen.
Clark shared 35 years with her partner Jacquelyn Zita, including 11 years of marriage. The family has asked for privacy as they grieve.
