Minnesota assassination prompts many lawmakers to wonder: Is service worth the danger?
A year into her first term in office, New Jersey Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer decided not to run for reelection.
The political world saw her as a rising star in 2023; Jaffer, a Democrat, previously served as the nation’s first female Muslim mayor. But rampant harassment from online commenters and other politicians about her religion, as well as high-profile acts of violence against other public officials, made her reconsider her political future.
“I was concerned about my family,” Jaffer said in an interview. “They didn’t sign up for this. I didn’t want to put them in harm’s way.”
In the wake of the assassination of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, as well as the wounding of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, more public officials across the country are taking stock of their safety. Some say death threats have become part of the job. They fear that violence — real attacks and constant threats — will scare potential candidates away from seeking public office.
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/06/22/minnesota-assassination-prompts-many-lawmakers-to-wonder-is-service-worth-the-danger/
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