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Branden Petersen
Branden Petersen (b. February 4, 1986) is a former Republican member of the Minnesota State Senate, representing District 35 from 2012 to October 31, 2015. He resigned because of the long hours and low pay for legislators.[1]
Petersen served in the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing District 49B from 2011 to 2013.
Biography
Petersen's professional experience includes working as a sales manager.[2]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Petersen served on the following committees:
| Minnesota committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Education |
| • Higher Education and Workforce Development |
| • State and Local Government |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Petersen served on the following committees:
| Minnesota committee assignments, 2012 |
|---|
| • Education |
| • Higher Education and Workforce Development |
| • State and Local Government |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Petersen served on the following committees:
| Minnesota committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Education Finance |
| • Education Reform |
Campaign themes
2012
Petersen's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[3]
Creating an environment for job creation
- Excerpt: "Government does not create jobs. It can only take from one person and give to another. Businesses create jobs and they can do more of it when the government moves out of the way."
Tax Reform
- Excerpt: "Our state, much like the federal government, has a highly complicated and inefficient tax code. On top of this, we have some of the highest net taxes in the entire world. This is not a recipe for success"
Budgeting/Spending Reform
- Excerpt: "The status quo way of operating government had lead us to a situation where government never seems to stop growing. This is in large part due to the very way that our state creates its budgets. Our state builds its budget on the previous budgets spending levels. It is time to start looking at our budget from the ground up."
Transportation Priorities
- Excerpt: "We have spent hundreds of million of dollars on projects that do nothing but continue to demand even more subsidies for operation."
Education
- Excerpt: "Our education system must continue to shift its focus from an old, adult focused system, to one that places student achievement at the center of critical decision making."
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
2012
- See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2012
Petersen won election to the open District 35 seat in the Minnesota State Senate. He was unopposed in the August 14 Republican primary and defeated Peter Perovich (D) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[4][5]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Branden Petersen |
54.3% | 22,874 | |
| Democratic | Peter Perovich | 45.7% | 19,253 | |
| Total Votes | 42,127 | |||
2010
Petersen won election to the District 49B seat in 2010. He had no primary opposition. He defeated Gerald Newton (DFL) and Harley Swarm (C) in the general election on November 2, 2010.[6]
| Minnesota House of Representatives, District 49B (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Jerry Newton (DFL) | 6,760 | 47.1% | ||
| Branden Petersen (R)
|
7,171 | 49.97% | ||
| Harley Swarrm | 410 | 2.86% | ||
| Write-In | 11 | 0.08% | ||
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
Taxpayers League of Minnesota
The Taxpayers League of Minnesota, a Minnesota-based taxpayer advocacy organization, releases a legislative scorecard for the Minnesota House of Representatives and Minnesota State Senate once a year. The scorecard gives each legislator a score based on how they voted in the prior legislative term on tax issues and “their efforts to balance the state budget without a tax increase.” The organization also compiles a legislator’s individual "Lifetime Score."[7]
2013
Petersen received a score of 85 percent in the 2013 scorecard, ranking 18th out of all 67 Minnesota State Senate members.[8]
2012
Petersen received a score of 100% in the 2012 scorecard, ranking 5th out of all 134 Minnesota House of Representatives members.[9]
2011
Petersen received a score of 77% in the 2011 scorecard, ranking 29th out of all 134 Minnesota House of Representatives members. [10]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Petersen is married to his wife, Jessica.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Branden + Petersen + Minnesota + Senate"
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ startribune.com, "Sen. Petersen announces resignation after two terms in Minnesota Legislature," accessed September 24, 2015
- ↑ Branden Peterson for State Senate, "Meet the Petersens," accessed September 30, 2014
- ↑ Branden Petersen for State Senate, "The Issues," accessed September 30, 2014
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "State of Minnesota Canvassing Report," accessed May 25, 2014
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Minnesota State Canvassing Report - State Primary - Tuesday, August 14, 2012," accessed April 23, 2014
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "2010 Election Results," accessed March 9, 2014
- ↑ Taypayers League of Minnesota, "Legislative Scorecards," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Taypayers League of Minnesota, "Legislative Scorecard, 2013," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Taypayers League of Minnesota, "Legislative Scorecard, 2012," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Taypayers League of Minnesota, "Legislative Scorecard, 2011," accessed May 15, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Claire Robling (R) |
Minnesota State Senate District 35 2013–2015 |
Succeeded by Jim Abeler (R) |
| Preceded by Gerald Newton (DFL) |
Minnesota House of Representatives District 49B 2011–2013 |
Succeeded by Paul Rosenthal (DFL) |
