Ben Lien
Ben Lien (Democratic Party) was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing District 4A. He assumed office on January 8, 2013. He left office on January 5, 2021.
Lien (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Minnesota House of Representatives to represent District 4A. He won in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Lien was assigned to the following committees:
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Minnesota committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Agriculture Finance |
| • Higher Education and Career Readiness |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Lien served on the following committees:
| Minnesota committee assignments, 2015 |
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| • Greater Minnesota Economic and Workforce Development Policy |
| • Higher Education Policy and Finance |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Lien served on the following committees:
| Minnesota committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Higher Education Finance and Policy |
| • Judiciary Finance and Policy |
Campaign themes
2012
Lien's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[1]
Local Government Aid
- Excerpt: "I will fight to ensure Local Government Aid funding keeps pace with the growth of Moorhead and Oakport Township. These dollars are critical for public safety and infrastructure maintenance."
Property Taxes
- Excerpt: "We need a property tax system that does not put an unfair burden on any homeowner. Replacing the Homestead Market Value Credit with the Homestead Market Value Exclusion was a step in the wrong direction."
Enterprise Development Zones
- Excerpt: "This program delivers valuable funding for our local businesses and keeps them competitive with businesses in North Dakota and South Dakota. Everyone can agree that local businesses are an integral part of any community."
Flood Control
- Excerpt: "Both Moorhead and Oakport Township have a few final pieces of work to accomplish total flood control. I will fight to shore up funding for these projects through bonding bills, state grants and other sources."
Public Education
- Excerpt: "Public education has long been a source of pride for Minnesota. However, public education has recently fallen from the list of priorities for our state. It has even been used as a source of funding for other purposes"
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2020
Ben Lien did not file to run for re-election.
2018
General election
General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 4A
Incumbent Ben Lien defeated Jordan Idso in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 4A on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Ben Lien (D) | 65.4 | 10,335 |
| Jordan Idso (R) | 34.5 | 5,449 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 7 | ||
| Total votes: 15,791 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 4A
Incumbent Ben Lien advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 4A on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Ben Lien |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 4A
Jordan Idso advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 4A on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | Jordan Idso | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2016
Elections for the Minnesota House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 9, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was May 31, 2016.
Incumbent Ben Lien defeated Jordan Idso in the Minnesota House of Representatives District 4A general election.[2][3]
| Minnesota House of Representatives, District 4A General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Ben Lien Incumbent |
62.25% | 11,653 | |
| Republican | Jordan Idso | 37.75% | 7,066 | |
| Total Votes | 18,719 | |||
| Source: Minnesota Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Ben Lien ran unopposed in the Minnesota House of Representatives District 4A Democratic primary.[4][5]
| Minnesota House of Representatives, District 4A Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Ben Lien Incumbent (unopposed) | |
Jordan Idso ran unopposed in the Minnesota House of Representatives District 4A Republican primary.[4][5]
| Minnesota House of Representatives, District 4A Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Jordan Idso (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Minnesota House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on August 12, 2014, and a general election took place on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 3, 2014. Incumbent Ben Lien was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Brian Gramer was unopposed in the Republican primary. Lien defeated Gramer in the general election.[6][7][8]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ben Lien Incumbent |
58.3% | 6,713 | |
| Republican | Brian Gramer | 41.5% | 4,772 | |
| Write-in | Write-in | 0.2% | 21 | |
| Total Votes | 11,506 | |||
2012
Lien won election in the 2012 election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 4A. He defeated Sue Wiger in the Democratic primary on August 14 and defeated Travis Reimche (R) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[9][10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ben Lien |
54.9% | 10,011 | |
| Republican | Travis Reimche | 45.1% | 8,218 | |
| Total Votes | 18,229 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Ben Lien |
74.3% | 853 |
| Sue Wiger | 25.7% | 295 |
| Total Votes | 1,148 | |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Minnesota scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2020
In 2020, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from February 11 to May 17. Special sessions were convened: June 12 to June 19; July 13 to July 21; August 12; September 11; October 12 to October 15; and November 12.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues.
- Legislators are scored on their support for the organization's principles, which it defines as "provid[ing] a basis for a constitutionally limited government established to sustain life, liberty, justice, property rights and free enterprise."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on labor issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on gun rights.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from January 8 through May 20.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from February 20 through May 21.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from January 3 through May 22. The legislature held a special session from May 23 to May 26.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from March 8 through May 23.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from January 6 through May 18.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from February 25 to May 19.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from January 8 to May 20.
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ "lienforhouse," Official Campaign Website
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Candidate Filing Search," accessed August 25, 2016
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "General election results, 2016," accessed December 19, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Minnesota Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings," accessed June 3, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Minnesota Secretary of State, "Minnesota State Primary: Tuesday, August 9, 2016," accessed August 9, 2016
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "2014 general election results," accessed November 5, 2014
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "State Canvassing Board Report," August 19, 2014
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "2014 State General Election Candidate Filings," accessed July 25, 2014
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "2012 State General Election Candidate Filings," accessed June 18, 2012
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Minnesota State Canvassing Report - State Primary - Tuesday, August 14, 2012," accessed April 23, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Persell (DFL) |
Minnesota State House District 4A 2013-2021 |
Succeeded by Heather Keeler (D) |
