Meet Kelly
Kelly has spent her career as a doctor – not a politician.
For more than 20 years, Kelly cared for patients as an OBGYN in Minnesota.
Now, she’s representing the people of Minnesota’s Third District in Congress: standing up to the Trump Administration, fighting to lower costs and make health care more accessible and affordable, and working to defend our rights and our democracy.
Lifelong Minnesotan
Kelly is a born-and-raised, sixth generation Minnesotan. She grew up and raised her three children in the west metro area that she now represents in Congress.
She is passionate about making our state the best place in the country to live, work, and raise a family.
Kelly is a huge fan of Minnesota – from our pristine lakes to our legendary sports teams. She goes on an annual camping trip with her family up to the Boundary Waters every year and never misses a Vikings game.
Doctor Fighting for Health Care in Congress
Kelly is the first and only pro-choice OBGYN to ever serve in Congress.
As a doctor who cared for Minnesotans for more than 20 years, Kelly ran for office after seeing her patients struggle to afford the healthcare and prescription drugs they need. Now, Kelly is fighting to make healthcare more affordable and accessible for all Americans.
Kelly has been a leading voice in standing up against the Trump Administration’s unprecedented cuts to health care – which will kick hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans off their health insurance and force hospitals to close.
She is also a founding member of the Democratic Doctors Caucus — a group of six doctors in Congress who are focused on fighting back against the Trump Administration’s slashing of healthcare and medical research and RFK Jr.’s dangerous misinformation and attacks on our public health.
Kelly is passionate about making sure that Minnesota remains a leader in lifesaving medical research and innovation.
Champion for Small Businesses
Kelly knows that small businesses are the backbone of our economy. In Minnesota, more than 99% of all our businesses are small businesses!
As a member of the Small Business Committee, Kelly has met with countless small business owners over the past two years and worked tirelessly to advocate on their behalf in Congress.
She is leading the fight to get small businesses relief from the chaotic and costly tariff war. She has introduced legislation to exempt them from tariffs, introduced legislation to get them refunds from tariffs, and grilled Trump Administration officials at Congressional oversight hearings on their failure to provide small businesses with the relief they need.
Kelly wants to make it easier to run a small business – not harder.
Kelly meeting with a small business owner at Colonial Market in Bloomington
Caring for Our Veterans
Kelly’s family has a long history of military service. Her husband John is an Army combat veteran, her father-in-law was a disabled Vietnam veteran who received a Purple Heart and Silver Star for his brave service, and her father and both her grandfathers are veterans.
Kelly is one of 70% of American doctors who did part of their training at a VA.
She believes it is our duty to ensure that we are providing the resources veterans need, deserve, and have earned.
In Congress, she has fought back against the Trump Administration’s efforts to gut the VA and strip veterans of their benefits. She has introduced legislation to expand care and benefits for our veterans, including bills to expand access to fertility care and guarantee housing for all homeless veterans.
Making Life More Affordable
The cost of living in the United States of America has gotten out of control.
Kelly believes Congress should be doing everything it can to lower costs and build an economy that works for everyone: lowering the costs of healthcare, housing, and child care, while investing in innovation, infrastructure, and entrepreneurship.
No one should go bankrupt to get the medical care they need in the United States.
No one should be forced to give up their career or not have children because they can’t afford childcare.
No one should struggle to pay rent when they work full time or even multiple jobs.
Buying gas and groceries shouldn’t break the bank.
Kelly has voted repeatedly to end the war in Iran, which has cost the American taxpayer billions of dollars and continues to drive up the cost of everything from groceries, gas, and diesel.
Protecting Our Environment
As a doctor, Kelly knows that good health starts with a healthy environment.
She is a champion for clean air and clean water, and protecting our public lands that keep both us and our environment healthy and strong.
She is a strong voice against the Trump Administration’s dangerous rollback of pollution regulations, which poison the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat.
Taking on Corruption, and Getting Money Out of Politics
Kelly has never accepted a contribution from any corporate PACs, federal lobbyists, or dark money in any of her campaigns. She believes in people-powered campaigns – and that leaders should serve the people they represent – not special interest groups.
Kelly is also passionate about campaign finance reform and getting money out of politics. She supports a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, the Supreme Court decision that allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections and has flooded our politics with dark money.
In Congress, Kelly is fighting to get money out of politics and tackle corruption. She supports legislation to ban stock trading, and has signed the discharge petition to force a vote on the Restore Trust in Government Act, which would ban Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Members of Congress from owning stocks.
Getting Work Done for Minnesotans
Kelly is a freshman member and is currently in her first term in Congress. She was sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives on January 3, 2025.
She became the first freshman Democrat to pass a bill through the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. It was a bipartisan bill, the Rural Small Business Resilience Act, that helps small businesses recover after natural disasters.
Kelly has secured $11 million for local funding projects for the Third District to make our neighborhoods safer, communities healthier, and the state stronger. This funding will help fix our roads, upgrade our local police and fire departments, clean up our public parks, treat our drinking water, improve critical infrastructure, and prevent domestic violence.
She serves on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the House Committee on Small Business, and is a proud member of the:
Democratic Doctors Caucus
Reproductive Freedom Caucus (Leadership Role: Freshman Representative)
Democratic Women’s Caucus (Leadership Role: Reproductive Health Task Force Co-Chair and Liaison)
Congressional Equality Caucus
New Democrat Coalition (Leadership Role: Chair of Reproductive Health Task Force)
Congressional Mamas Caucus
Gun Violence Prevention Task Force
Congressional Women in STEM Caucus
Great Lakes Task Force
Mental Health Caucus