Erin Murphy is a member of the Minnesota State Senate, representing District 64. She assumed office on January 5, 2021. Her current term ends on January 5, 2027. Murphy began serving as State Senate Majority Leader for the Minnesota Senate in February of 2024 after Kari Dziedzic stepped down due to ongoing health problems related to a cancer diagnosis. Murphy received a bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1984, and a master's degree in organizational leadership in healthcare from the College of St. Catherine in 2005. She began her career working as a surgical nurse, first in Wisconsin and later at the University of Minnesota Hospital on a transplant team. In 1990, Murphy started working as a lobbyist for the Minnesota Nurses Association, a union for nurses in Minnesota. She worked there until 1997, at which point she became the legislative director for Minnesota Attorney General Skip Humphrey. Murphy returned to the Minnesota Nurses Association in 2001 as executive director, a position she held through 2007. Murphy first ran for public office in 2006, seeking to represent District 64A in the Minnesota House of Representatives. She won the Democratic primary with 83% of the vote, and went on to win the general election with 66% of the vote. Murphy served as assistant majority leader from 2008 to 2012, as majority leader from 2013 to 2014, and as deputy minority leader in the 2015 legislative session. During her time as majority leader, the Minnesota House passed bills related to raising taxes to eliminate a budget deficit and reducing property taxes, increasing funding for health and human services and education, legalizing same-sex marriage, legalizing medical use of cannabis for certain medical conditions, and increasing the minimum wage.
