Tom Emmer


Thomas Earl Emmer Jr. is an American attorney and politician who has been the U.S. Representative for since January 2015. The district includes most of the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities, as well as St. Cloud.
Emmer served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2005 until 2011 and was the Republican nominee for governor in the 2010 election. In the November 2014 general election, he won the 6th Congressional District seat being vacated by Michele Bachmann.

Early life, education, and early political career

Emmer was born in South Bend, Indiana; his family later moved to Edina, Minnesota. He attended St. Thomas Academy, an all-male, Catholic, military, college-preparatory high school in Mendota Heights, near Saint Paul.
Emmer attended Boston College and the University of Alaska Fairbanks, graduating in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. He played hockey for both schools. In 1988 Emmer received a Juris Doctor from William Mitchell College of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Private sector career

Emmer began his legal career representing cities and counties through the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust and the League of Minnesota Counties Insurance Trust, handling lawsuits against police officers. He also represented volunteer firefighters and city and county inspectors, and handled a variety of land use issues. He was licensed to practice law in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Emmer served on city councils in Independence, Minnesota, and then in Delano, Minnesota.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Elections

In 2004 incumbent Republican State Representative Dick Borrell of Minnesota's House District 19B decided to retire. District 19B includes portions of Wright and Hennepin Counties and the cities of Otsego, Albertville, St. Michael, Rockford, Delano, Montrose, and Waverly. Emmer, the Republican candidate, defeated Democrat Lori M. Schmidt, an attorney, 60%–40%, in the November 2004 general election.
In 2006 Emmer won reelection to a second term with 61% of the vote. In 2008 he was reelected to a third term with 61% of the vote. In 2010 he chose to run for governor of Minnesota rather than seek reelection.
During legislative sessions, Emmer regularly rode the bus to the Minnesota State Capitol.

Committee assignments

Emmer served on the Finance Committee, the Health Care and Human Services Policy and Oversight Committee, and the State and Local Government Operations Reform, Technology and Elections Committee. He was also a member of the Finance Subcommittee for the Health Care and Human Services Finance Division, and of the Health Care and Human Services Policy and Oversight Subcommittee for the Licensing Division.

2010 gubernatorial election

Primary

Emmer officially announced his candidacy for governor of the State of Minnesota in July 2009. In January 2010, Emmer came in second to Marty Seifert in a non-binding straw poll of Republican Party caucus participants. In April 2010, Emmer announced that his running mate would be Metropolitan Council member Annette Meeks. Emmer received the endorsements of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Governor Tim Pawlenty, and Lieutenant Governor Carol Molnau. On April 30, 2010, the Republican Party of Minnesota officially endorsed Emmer as its candidate for governor at the state convention in Minneapolis. His main opponent, Marty Seifert, withdrew from the race and endorsed Emmer when it became apparent that Emmer was nearing the threshold for party endorsement. On August 10, 2010, Emmer won the Republican primary with 82% of the vote, a 75-point margin over Bob Carney.

Corporate sponsorship

The race attracted national attention as the "first case in this election cycle of a company hit by national protests over a campaign donation". Minnesota-based Target Corporation donated $150,000 to Minnesota Forward, a new political action committee paying for advertising that supported Emmer's gubernatorial election. Emmer said he viewed Target's donation as an exercise in free speech and wanted to keep his campaign focused on economic issues. Best Buy also donated $100,000 to Minnesota Forward.

Results

Emmer trailed his Democratic opponent Mark Dayton by 9,000 votes in the initial general election results, a margin small enough to trigger an automatic recount. Most analysts felt it was unlikely that the Emmer campaign could overcome such a deficit in a recount. After the recount made little difference in the results, Emmer conceded the election on December 8, 2010.

Post-2010 election activities

Emmer was a registered lobbyist in Minnesota, and co-hosted a morning talk radio program with Bob Davis on KTLK in Minneapolis.
In early 2011, he ran for an open Minnesota seat on the Republican National Committee, but lost that election to Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson.
Emmer hosted a 2011 event promoting the launch of Representative Ron Paul's presidential campaign in Minnesota.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2014 election

Upon the surprise retirement of U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann, Emmer was considered a possible candidate for the Sixth Congressional District seat; his state house district included a large slice of the congressional district's western portion. On June 5, 2013, Emmer officially announced he would seek the Republican nomination for the seat. On February 4, 2014, Emmer received 67.9% of the vote in a 6th district straw poll. On April 12 he received the Republican Party endorsement for the nomination on the first ballot with 76%, but he still faced a primary challenge from his two competitors, Anoka County Board Chairwoman Rhonda Sivarajah and former state representative Phil Krinkie. Emmer was endorsed by the Tea Party Express, Young Americans for Liberty's Liberty Action Fund, and many Minnesota legislators. He won the primary with 73% of the vote, and easily prevailed in the November general election.

2016 election

In 2016 Emmer defeated Democratic nominee David Snyder, 66% to 34%.

2018 election

In 2018 Emmer defeated Democratic nominee Ian Todd, 61% to 39%.

Tenure

According to the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, Emmer held a Bipartisan Index Score of -0.0 in the 116th United States Congress for 2019, which placed him 192nd out of 435 members. Based on FiveThirtyEight's congressional vote tracker at ABC News, Emmer voted with Donald Trump's stated public policy positions 91.5% of the time, which ranked him average in the 116th United States Congress when predictive scoring is used.

Current committee assignments

Abortion

Emmer identifies as pro-life from conception to birth.

BPA

In 2009, Emmer voted against S.F. 247. This Minnesota law states that as of January 1, 2010, no manufacturer, retailer, or wholesaler may sell or offer for sale in Minnesota any children's product that contains Bisphenol-A, except for used children's products, which were prohibited after January 1, 2011. Emmer said he voted against the law because of fear of "increased costs." As well-intentioned as people may be, he said, "they don't think about what this vote means five steps down the line."

Bullying

During an October 9, 2010, televised debate, Emmer said he would oppose legislation to combat school bullying against gay and lesbian young people. Emmer, who voted against anti-bullying legislation as a state lawmaker, said that teachers are most responsible for halting bullies, but suggested that the threat of lawsuits keeps them from doing so. "I don't think we need more laws; I think we need more understanding," he said.

Copper nickel mining in northern Minnesota

Emmer supports two copper nickel mines in the Superior National Forest planned by Polymet, which is owned by Switzerland-based mining giant Glencore, and Twin Metals, which is owned by Antofagasta, a Chilean mining company controlled by the Luksics, one of Chile's wealthiest families.
When the Department of Interior did not list copper or nickel as two of 35 "critical minerals" essential to national security, Emmer released a press release of a letter he wrote to Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke requesting that copper and nickel be included.
Emmer and Representative Pete Stauber both stood beside Assistant Secretary of the Interior Joseph Balash as he signed leases permitting Twin Metals to explore a large area of national forest land nine miles southeast of Ely for copper-nickel reserves on May 15, 2019. The Obama administration had mothballed the lease renewal pending an environmental review, but Twin Metals is now in possession of a 10-year lease to explore the area, with a view toward opening a mine there.

Drunk driving

In 2009, Emmer sponsored a bill that would shorten the period of license revocation for driving under the influence and for refusing to take a sobriety test. Additionally, though "suspected drunken drivers face revocation before they go to court," Emmer's bill would have delayed revocations until after conviction. Supporters of Emmer's bill said "it's needed because pre-conviction revocations penalize drivers before proving they're guilty." Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the head of the Minnesota DWI task force opposed the legislation because it would allow arrested drivers to continue to drive during the time between their arrest and hearing.
Emmer's own history became an issue in relation to his bill. At age 20, Emmer received a driving under the influence-related ticket. In 1991 he pleaded guilty to careless driving while two charges for DWI and a license-plate violation were dropped. Emmer denied that his own drunk driving and legal consequences played a part in the bill, stating, "We all come to the Legislature with life experiences, but it has nothing to do with this bill." Emmer also said that his sentence in 1981 should have been harsher, because in that case he "probably wouldn't have taken the second chance" that led to his subsequent arrests and guilty plea in 1991.
On May 13, 2010, Emmer was one of three legislators not to vote on a bill that would have provided such tougher penalties for drunk drivers. He said he missed the vote when a previously scheduled lunch ran long, and that he had "no idea" how he would have voted on the bill, but that he "assume" he would have supported it.

Healthcare

Emmer favors repealing the Affordable Care Act. After supporting the March 2017 version of the American Health Care Act, he voted for it on May 4, 2017, before it had been scored by the Congressional Budget Office to determine its economic impact.

Minimum wage

In 2005, as a state representative, Emmer introduced an amendment that would have eliminated Minnesota's minimum wage law.

National security

Emmer supported President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order to temporarily curtail immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries until better screening methods are devised, saying, "Everybody needs to take a deep breath. There is no litmus test based on religion. The administration and I understand it has — takes the seven countries identified by the Obama administration, not this administration, as the most dangerous countries when it comes to potential terrorists."

Pharmacy conscience clause

Emmer has supported "conscience clause" legislation that would allow pharmacists to refuse to dispense contraception on the basis of "ethical, moral or legal grounds as long as the pharmacist notifies their employer in advance and the employer can ensure a patient has timely access to the drug or device".

Same-sex marriage

Emmer supported a state constitutional amendment banning civil recognition of same-sex marriage or its legal equivalent, stating, "I believe marriage is the union between one man and one woman." In March 2007, Emmer introduced HF 1847, a proposed amendment to the Minnesota Constitution "recognizing as marriage or its legal equivalent only a union between one man and one woman." Voters later rejected this proposal.

Antisemitism

In 2019, Emmer sent a fundraising letter utilizing known anti-Semitic tropes: "Emmer's anti-Semitism lies in his use of the trope of a plutocratic Jewish conspiracy" His accusatory letter claimed that "left-wing radicals essentially BOUGHT control of Congress for the Democrats".

State sovereignty"

In 2010 Emmer sponsored an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution that would allow the state to nullify federal laws.

Taxes

Emmer strongly opposes tax increases. He has also proposed gradually reducing the state corporate tax, with the eventual goal of repealing it altogether.

"Tip credit"

On July 5, 2010, after visiting a restaurant in St. Paul, Emmer was asked during a press conference if he supported a tip credit, the policy of allowing businesses to subtract tips from a server's hourly wage. His response was "Yes... if you didn't have a minimum wage law", adding, "somebody could be taking home well over one hundred thousand dollars as a server" while the restaurant owner could be making much less.
One week after that press conference, Emmer announced a proposal that would exempt the first $20,000 a server makes in tips from state taxes. At the same press conference a protester dumped $20 in pennies in Emmer's lap.

Personal life

In 1910 Emmer's great-grandfather and his two brothers founded Emmer Brothers Lumber. It is now called Viking Forest Products and is employee-owned.
Emmer has seven children with his wife, Jacqueline, whom he married in 1985. He is an avid hockey player and coach.

Electoral history