Sean Nienow

Sean Nienow
Minnesota State Senate District 32
Incumbent
In office
2011 - present
Term ends
January 3, 2017
Years in position	2
Party	Republican
Compensation
Base salary	$31,140.90/year
Per diem	$96/day
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	November 2, 2010
Next election	November 8, 2016
Term limits	N/A
Prior offices
Minnesota House of Representatives
2003-2007
Education
Bachelor's	Northwestern College
Personal
Birthday	March 9, 1968
Profession	Independent Consultant
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Sean Nienow (b. March 9, 1968) is a Republican member of the Minnesota State Senate, representing District 32 since 2013. He previously represented District 17 from 2011 to 2013. He previously served in the Senate from 2003-2007.

Sean currently works as a consultant and adviser. Prior his time in the Senate he worked for American Express Financial Advisers for 14 years.

Issues

Campaign themes

Nienow's website highlights the following campaign themes:

Taxes

• Excerpt:"Generally speaking, I believe that we over-taxed and should not pursue more increases in taxes."

State Budget

• Excerpt:"With responsible budgeting we can balance future budget without job-hindering tax increases, let businesses expand and grow jobs, and get the state back on the sound financial footing it was on when I first left the MN Senate in 2007- and left Minnesota with a $2 Billion budget Surplus!"

Jobs and Economic Growth

• Excerpt:"Without employers there can’t be employees. We must create an employer-friendly environment to expand the Minnesota economy. We need to restructure our tax, regulation, permitting & licensing, and work to make get state bureaucracies in a supporting role for job creation rather than a barrier to job creation."

Health Care

• Excerpt:"Our health care system needs dramatic changes to help improve service and reduce costs. We must reform medical malpractice system, which now mostly benefits trial lawyers. We need to open up free market competition so that more providers can compete offering better less-expensive options."

Education

• Excerpt:"Our education system is in dire need of improvements and reform. We need more local control with less state involvement and fewer mandates. Equity in the convoluted and archaic funding formula is desperately needed, so that schools in other parts of Minnesota are not receiving upwards of twice as much per student as our local districts."

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Nienow served on the following committees:

Minnesota Committee Assignments, 2013
• Education
• Finance
• Health, Human Services and Housing

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Nienow served on these committees:

Minnesota Committee Assignments, 2011
• Agriculture and Rural Economies
• Education
• Finance, Vice-chair
• Health and Human Services

Issues

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Sean Nienow endorsed Rick Santorum in the 2012 presidential election.

Elections

2012

See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2012

Nienow won election in District 32 in 2012 due to redistricting. He was unopposed in the August 14 Republican primary and defeated Jeske Noordergraaf (D) in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Minnesota State Senate, District 32, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Sean Nienow Incumbent	54.3%	21,955
	Democratic	Jeske Noordergraaf	45.7%	18,450
Total Votes				40,405

2010

See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2010

Nienow had no opponent in the primary. He defeated incumbent Rick Olseen (DFL) in the general election.

Minnesota State Senate, District 17 (2010)
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Sean Nienow (R)		21171	56.01%
Rick Olseen (DFL)		16569	43.83%
Write-In		62	0.16%

Campaign donors

2012

Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.

2010

In 2010, Nienow received $30,963 in campaign donations. The top contributors are listed below.

Minnesota State Senate 2010 election - Campaign Contributions
Top contributors to Sean Nienow's campaign in 2010
Public Fund	$11,294
Eastlund Volunteer Cmtee	$2,400
Isanti County Republicans	$1,100
Chisago County Rpm	$1,000
Hamilton, Harold E	$500
Total Raised in 2010	$30,963

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Sean + Nienow + Minnesota + Senate

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Sean Nienow News Feed

• Senator Sean Nienow statement on same sex marriage bill - Isanti County News
• After 17-hour debate, Minnesota Senate OKs unions for child, personal care ... - Pioneer Press
• Legislature adjourns as tax bill closes $627 million state budget deficit - Coon Rapids Herald
• Minnesota Senate OKs unions for child, personal care workers - Pioneer Press
• Senate education bill passes test, but graduation test fails - South Washington County Bulletin
• Minnesota Senate: Caregiver union drive efforts stall on tie vote - Pioneer Press
• States Consider Drug Testing Lawmakers - Utah Policy
• Nienow doesn't mind being vocal in the minority - East Central Minnesota Post Review
• MN lawmaker wants Vikings to cover all stadium shortfalls - KARE
• Minnesota National Guard launches its $3.9 million drone facility - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Personal

Nienow and his wife Cyndy have six children.

External links

Suggest a link

• Campaign site
• House website
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
• Campaign Contributions: 2010
• Facebook profile

References

Political offices
Preceded by Warren Limmer (R)	Minnesota State Senate District 32 Febuary 2013–present	Succeeded by NA
Preceded by Rick Olseen (DFL)	Minnesota State Senate District 17 2011–2013	Succeeded by Lyle Koenen (DFL)