Leigh Finke

Leigh Dawn Finke is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2023. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Finke represents District 66A in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Roseville and Saint Paul, and parts of Ramsey County in Minnesota. She is the first openly transgender member of the Minnesota Legislature.

Early life, education, and career Finke was born in Minnesota and grew up in the western suburbs of the Twin Cities, graduating from Maple Grove Senior High School in Maple Grove, Minnesota. While at Bethel, she became active in politics protesting the Iraq War.

From 2018 to 2021, Finke was the senior producer at 1517 Media. There, she wrote and produced two documentary films: Ending the Silence: Confronting Sexual Shame in the Church and White Savior: Racism in the American Church. She also edited two nonfiction books for Beaming Books: Queerfully and Wonderfully Made and Welcoming and Affirming. In late 2022, she was publicly critical of Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen for spreading the transphobic litter boxes in schools hoax.

In March 2023, Finke started the Queer Equity Institute, a nonprofit that supports and encourages queer politicians.

Minnesota House of Representatives Finke was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2022. She first ran after legislative redistricting and the retirement of 17-term DFL incumbent Alice Hausman.

Finke serves on the Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy, Human Services Policy, Judiciary Finance and Civil Law, and Legacy Finance Committees. She supported an Iowa school district's policy that required staff and students to use a student's preferred name and pronouns, saying: "We need to be supporting kids. We need to be including and recognizing them and believing them".

Finke sponsored legislation to remove language associating sexual orientation with pedophilia in state law and adding gender identity as a protected class in Minnesota's human rights statute. Republican representatives opposed the measure, some threatening to misgender Finke. Backlash led to Finke receiving death threats.

In February 2026, Finke pushed back against a proposal for age verification checks on content for adults, such as porn sites. She argued the bill could be used to restrict access to educational content helpful for queer children in the absence of proper sex education about LGBTQ+ topics in schools. Several right-wing outlets, including The Daily Caller, misrepresented Finke's comments as suggesting that pornography is educational.

Trans refuge bill Finke authored legislation that would protect people in the state and those traveling to Minnesota to receive gender-affirming care and has consistently opposed Republican efforts to ban transgender healthcare in the state. During a House floor debate on an amendment to ban transgender healthcare, Finke said: "You want to ban gender-affirming care for minors. What you want to do is you want to make sure minors never grow up to be me".

Finke sponsored an executive order protecting access to gender-affirming care for Minnesotans, which Governor Tim Walz signed on March 8, 2023. Her bill to protect access to gender-affirming care, the "Trans Refuge Bill", passed the House on March 24, 2023, after five hours of debate and was signed into law by Walz on April 27.

Other political positions Finke is pro-choice and supports removing limitations on abortions in the state. She also supports increasing education funding, including raising teacher pay and increasing special education and mental health support.

In 2025, Finke proposed a bill requiring free water at ticketed events with over 100 attendees, in an effort to prevent heat-related injuries after an outdoor food festival in Minneapolis during a 2023 heat wave initially had no water available to the public.

Awards and honors In 2023, Finke was named as one of USA Today's Women of the Year, which recognizes women who have made a significant impact across the country. She was highlighted by Minnesota Public Radio's "Changemakers" series, which showcases Minnesotans from diverse backgrounds making an impact in the state. Children's Minnesota awarded Finke the Children's Health Hero Award in 2023 for her work on the trans refuge bill.

Personal life Finke is the first openly transgender member of the Minnesota legislature. Electoral history