As the nation grapples with the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, two candidates are vying for a legislative seat left open by another political attack in Minnesota. Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in June and another state lawmaker and his wife were injured in what investigators call a politically motivated attack. The Republican candidate for Hortman's now vacant seat, Ruth Bittner, says the political violence briefly made her reconsider running. Democrat Xp Lee, a former city council member, is also running. He supports a ban on semiautomatic weapons to reduce the charged political atmosphere.