Tom Emmer

Thomas Earl Emmer Jr. (born March 3, 1961) is an American attorney and politician who has served as majority whip in the United States House of Representatives since 2023.

Emmer attended Boston College and the University of Alaska Fairbanks, graduating from the latter 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.

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.

In 2004, incumbent Republican State Representative Dick Borrell of Minnesota's House District 19B decided to retire.

District 19B included 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.

Before his election to Congress, Emmer served three terms as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2005 to 2011.

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.

Emmer officially announced his candidacy for governor of the State of Minnesota in July 2009.

He lost the 2010 Minnesota gubernatorial election to Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party nominee Mark Dayton by less than half a percentage point.

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.

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.

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.

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 was elected to Congress in 2014, winning the 6th district seat being vacated by Michele Bachmann.

He has been reelected four times.

The district includes the far western and northern suburbs of Minneapolis in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, most of the St. Cloud metropolitan area, and a large part of rural Central Minnesota, generally an agricultural region.

A member of the Republican Party, he has represented MN's 6th congressional district since 2015.

Emmer chaired the National Republican Congressional Committee from 2019 to 2023.

After Republicans gained a majority in the 2022 U.S. House of Representatives elections, he successfully ran for majority whip.

Emmer initially cast doubt on the 2020 U.S. presidential election results, saying that certain states used "questionable" practices in administering the vote.

After signing an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit seeking to contest the outcome in key swing states, Emmer ultimately voted to certify the Electoral College vote count.

Emmer was the House Republican Conference's third nominee for the October 2023 Speaker of the House election, after Steve Scalise withdrew and Jim Jordan failed to garner the votes needed in the first three ballots; he subsequently withdrew himself from the race four hours after being nominated.

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.