Maria Isa Pérez-Vega
Maria Isa Pérez-Vega (Democratic Party) is a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing District 65B. She assumed office on January 3, 2023. Her current term ends on January 12, 2027.
Pérez-Vega (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Minnesota House of Representatives to represent District 65B. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Maria Isa Pérez-Hedges was born in Minnesota and lives in St. Paul. Pérez-Hedges' career experience includes working as a cultural community organizer, recording artist, and mentorship program director for the Twin Cities Mobile Jazz Project. Isa volunteered for the Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board Public Engagement Advisory Task Force.[1]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Pérez-Vega was assigned to the following committees:
- Children and Families Finance and Policy
- Education Finance Committee
- House Housing Finance and Policy Committee
Elections
2024
See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 65B
Incumbent Maria Isa Pérez-Vega defeated Mike Hilborn in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 65B on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Maria Isa Pérez-Vega (D) | 76.5 | 15,100 |
 | Mike Hilborn (R)  | 23.2 | 4,572 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 63 | ||
| Total votes: 19,735 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Maria Isa Pérez-Vega advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 65B.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Mike Hilborn advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 65B.
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Pérez-Vega in this election.
2022
See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 65B
Maria Isa Pérez-Vega defeated Kevin Fjelsted in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 65B on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Maria Isa Pérez-Vega (D) | 78.5 | 11,955 |
| Kevin Fjelsted (R) | 21.3 | 3,247 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 19 | ||
| Total votes: 15,221 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 65B
Maria Isa Pérez-Vega defeated Anna Botz in the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 65B on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Maria Isa Pérez-Vega | 81.7 | 3,613 |
 | Anna Botz | 18.3 | 809 | |
| Total votes: 4,422 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 65B
Kevin Fjelsted advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 65B on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Kevin Fjelsted | 100.0 | 602 | |
| Total votes: 602 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Maria Isa Pérez-Vega did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Maria Isa Pérez-Vega completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Pérez-Vega's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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María Isa currently directs the mentorship program for the Twin Cities Mobile Jazz Project which empowers young people through music and a cultural curriculum. She also serves on the Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board Public Engagement Advisory Task Force, working to ensure the Capitol is a welcoming space for community.
A Type 1 diabetic and insulin organizer, she has been a prominent leader in the fight for affordable health care in Minnesota. In April 2020, she played an integral role in advocating for the passage of the Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act, and she continues her leadership within the Minnesota #Insulin4all Chapter.
She is an alumni of the Wilder Foundation Community Equity Program, which brings together Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to advance their knowledge and skills to build community power and solidarity at the Capitol.
For her work with Youthrive Live!, educating incarcerated youth throughout the state of Minnesota, she received the National Hispana Leadership Institute’s “Rising Latina Star" award.- The time is here, the time is now for community-centered leadership at the Minnesota State Capitol.
- Healthcare, education, housing, the economy, and the environment are not separate issues. They are fundamentally braided and must be addressed together, comprehensively.
- We deserve an ethical healthcare system that puts people before profits and a public education system that allows our youth to thrive.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Minnesota scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from February 12 to May 20.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from January 3 to May 22.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Minnesota House of Representatives District 65B |
Officeholder Minnesota House of Representatives District 65B |
Personal |
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Carlos Mariani (D) |
Minnesota House of Representatives District 65B 2023-Present |
Succeeded by - |
