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Erik Simonson

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Erik Simonson
Image of Erik Simonson

Democratic Party

Prior offices
Minnesota House of Representatives District 7B
Successor: Liz Olson
Predecessor: Kerry Gauthier
Minnesota State Senate District 7
Successor: Jen McEwen
Elections and appointments
Last election

August 11, 2020

Contact

Personal LinkedIn

Erik Simonson (Democratic Party) was a member of the Minnesota State Senate, representing District 7. He assumed office in 2017. He left office on January 5, 2021.

Simonson (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Minnesota State Senate to represent District 7. He lost in the Democratic primary on August 11, 2020.

Simonson is a former Democratic-Farmer-Labor member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing District 7B from 2013 to 2017. Simonson did not seek re-election to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016.

Committee assignments

2019-2020

Simonson 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
• Energy and Utilities
• Environment and Natural Resources Finance
• Jobs and Economic Growth

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Simonson served on the following committees:

2013-2014

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

Minnesota committee assignments, 2013
• Labor, Workplace and Regulated Industries
• Public Safety Finance and Policy
• Taxes
• Transportation Policy

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

See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Minnesota State Senate District 7

Jen McEwen defeated Donna Bergstrom in the general election for Minnesota State Senate District 7 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jen McEwen
Jen McEwen (D) Candidate Connection
 
68.3
 
30,526
Image of Donna Bergstrom
Donna Bergstrom (R) Candidate Connection
 
31.5
 
14,081
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
76

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 44,683
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Minnesota State Senate District 7

Jen McEwen defeated incumbent Erik Simonson in the Democratic primary for Minnesota State Senate District 7 on August 11, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jen McEwen
Jen McEwen Candidate Connection
 
73.5
 
8,603
Image of Erik Simonson
Erik Simonson
 
26.5
 
3,095

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 11,698
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Minnesota State Senate District 7

Donna Bergstrom advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota State Senate District 7 on August 11, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Donna Bergstrom
Donna Bergstrom Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
2,129

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 2,129
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign finance

2016

See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the Minnesota State Senate 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 Roger Reinert (D) did not seek re-election.

Erik Simonson defeated Donna Bergstrom in the Minnesota State Senate District 7 general election.[1][2]

Minnesota State Senate, District 7 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Erik Simonson 65.67% 27,677
     Republican Donna Bergstrom 34.33% 14,470
Total Votes 42,147
Source: Minnesota Secretary of State


Erik Simonson ran unopposed in the Minnesota State Senate District 7 Democratic primary.[3][4]

Minnesota State Senate, District 7 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Erik Simonson  (unopposed)


Donna Bergstrom ran unopposed in the Minnesota State Senate District 7 Republican primary.[3][4]

Minnesota State Senate, District 7 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Donna Bergstrom  (unopposed)

2014

See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 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 Erik Simonson was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Travis Silvers defeated Carla Bayerl in the Republican primary. Simonson defeated Silvers in the general election.[5][6][7]

Minnesota House of Representatives, District 7B General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngErik Simonson Incumbent 71% 9,435
     Republican Travis Silvers 28.6% 3,803
     Write-in Write-in 0.3% 42
Total Votes 13,280
Minnesota House of Representatives, District 7B Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngTravis Silvers 57.4% 371
Carla Bayerl 42.6% 275
Total Votes 646

2012

See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2012

Simonson was selected to replace former candidate Kerry Gauthier after his name was removed from the ballot by the Minnesota Supreme Court. He defeated Travis Silvers (R) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[8]

Minnesota House of Representatives, District 7B, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngErik Simonson 74.1% 12,450
     Republican Travis Silvers 25.9% 4,345
Total Votes 16,795

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Erik Simonson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Simonson's campaign website highlighted the following issues:[9]

Transit

  • Excerpt: "I believe in implementing a fuel based wholesale tax, dedicated to funding statewide transportation needs."

Education

  • Excerpt: "I have been proud of my votes in the Minnesota legislature in support of sustainable public education, and I am also proud to once again have earned the support and endorsement of Education Minnesota for my Senate campaign."

Sustainable energy

  • Excerpt: "Sustainability is a serious part of our conversation as we look to diversification of energy generation going forward, and I have the experience in the legislature to work towards that goal."

Environment

  • Excerpt: "I have been a strong supporter of renewable energy policy, and have worked to reduce fossil fuel reliance all across Minnesota."

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.

Erik Simonson campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2020Minnesota State Senate District 7Lost primary$56,006 N/A**
2016Minnesota State Senate, District 7Won $46,832 N/A**
2014Minnesota House of Representatives, District 7bWon $23,807 N/A**
2012Minnesota State House, District 7BWon $22,342 N/A**
Grand total$148,987 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Minnesota

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


2018


2017


2016


2015


2014


2013


See also

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External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Candidate Filing Search," accessed August 25, 2016
  2. ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "General election results, 2016," accessed December 19, 2016
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Minnesota Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings," accessed June 3, 2016
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Minnesota Secretary of State, "Minnesota State Primary: Tuesday, August 9, 2016," accessed August 9, 2016
  5. ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "2014 general election results," accessed November 5, 2014
  6. ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "State Canvassing Board Report," August 19, 2014
  7. ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "2014 State General Election Candidate Filings," accessed July 25, 2014
  8. ↑ Minnesota Public Radio, "Minn. Supreme Court removes Gauthier from ballot," September 25, 2012
  9. ↑ Simonson for Senate', "Policy positions," accessed October 6, 2016
Political offices
Preceded by
Roger Reinert (DFL) 		Minnesota State Senate, District 7
2017-2021 		Succeeded by
Jen McEwen (D)
Preceded by
Kerry Gauthier (DFL) 		Minnesota House of Representatives District 7B
2013–2017 		Succeeded by
Liz Olson (DFL)


Current members of the Minnesota State Senate
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