John Persell
John Persell (Democratic Party) was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing District 5A. He assumed office in 2019. He left office on January 5, 2021.
Persell (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Minnesota House of Representatives to represent District 5A. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Persell is a former Democratic-Farmer-Labor member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing District 5A from 2009 to 2017. Persell served as Majority Whip in the 2013-2014 legislative session.[1]
Biography
Persell's professional experience includes working as an environmental policy analyst for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and as a water quality specialist. He served in the United States Air Force.[2]
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Persell was assigned to the following committees:
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Persell served on the following committees:
| Minnesota committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance |
| • Health and Human Services Finance |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Persell served on the following committees:
| Minnesota committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Environment and Natural Resources Policy |
| • Jobs and Economic Development Finance and Policy, Vice chair |
| • Rules and Legislative Administration |
| • State Government Finance and Veterans Affairs |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Persell served on the following committees:
| Minnesota committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Rural Development |
| • Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Persell served on the following committees:
| Minnesota committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Environment Policy and Oversight |
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
See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 5A
Matt Bliss defeated incumbent John Persell in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 5A on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Matt Bliss (R) | 53.4 | 11,482 |
 | John Persell (D) | 46.5 | 9,996 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 36 | ||
| Total votes: 21,514 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent John Persell advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 5A.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Matt Bliss advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 5A.
Campaign finance
2018
General election
General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 5A
John Persell defeated incumbent Matt Bliss in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 5A on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | John Persell (D) | 50.0 | 8,454 |
| Matt Bliss (R) | 49.9 | 8,443 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 7 | ||
| Total votes: 16,904 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 5A
John Persell advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 5A on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | John Persell |
| ||||
| = 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 House of Representatives District 5A
Incumbent Matt Bliss advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 5A on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Matt Bliss |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
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.
Matt Bliss defeated incumbent John Persell in the Minnesota House of Representatives District 5A general election.[3][4]
| Minnesota House of Representatives, District 5A General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Matt Bliss |
53.95% | 10,318 | |
| Democratic | John Persell Incumbent | 46.05% | 8,808 | |
| Total Votes | 19,126 | |||
| Source: Minnesota Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent John Persell ran unopposed in the Minnesota House of Representatives District 5A Democratic primary.[5][6]
| Minnesota House of Representatives, District 5A Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | John Persell Incumbent (unopposed) | |
Matt Bliss ran unopposed in the Minnesota House of Representatives District 5A Republican primary.[5][6]
| Minnesota House of Representatives, District 5A Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Matt Bliss (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 John Persell defeated Lavern Pederson in the Democratic primary. Phillip Nelson was unopposed in the Republican primary. Persell defeated Nelson in the general election.[7][8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John Persell Incumbent |
55.2% | 7,871 | |
| Republican | Phillip Nelson | 44.7% | 6,385 | |
| Write-in | Write-in | 0.1% | 14 | |
| Total Votes | 14,270 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
John Persell Incumbent |
84.6% | 1,544 |
| Lavern Pederson | 15.4% | 281 |
| Total Votes | 1,825 | |
2012
Persell won re-election in the 2012 election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 5A. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary on August 7 and defeated incumbent Larry Howes (R) in the general election on November 6.[10][11]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John Persell Incumbent |
56.2% | 10,901 | |
| Republican | Larry Howes Incumbent | 43.8% | 8,497 | |
| Total Votes | 19,398 | |||
2010
Persell won re-election to the District 4A seat in 2010. He defeated Mark Thorson in the August 10 Democratic primary. He faced Richard Lehmann (R) in the general election on November 2, 2010.[12][13]
| Minnesota House of Representatives, District 4A (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| John Persell (DFL)
|
7,744 | 52.89% | ||
| Richard Lehmann (R) | 6,808 | 46.49% | ||
| Write-In | 91 | 0.62% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Persell won election to the District 4A Seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives, defeating opponents John Carlson (R) and Sharatin Blake (I).[14]
| Minnesota House of Representatives, District 4A (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| John Persell (DFL)
|
10,259 | 52.06% | ||
| John Carlson (R) | 8,666 | 43.89% | ||
| Sharatin Blake (I) | 758 | 3.85% | ||
| Write-In | 23 | 0.12% | ||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
John Persell did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2012
Persell's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[15]
Grow Good Jobs With A Clean Environment
- Excerpt: "Our economic future requires a clean and healthy environment. Minnesota must practice sustainable resource management, support green industries and the jobs they generate."
Make Education A Priority
- Excerpt: "Our economy depends on an educated workforce. I will champion Minnesota’s education system, including adequate funding for all education levels—early childhood, K-12, and higher education."
Fight For A Fair Tax System
- Excerpt: "Working families want a tax system that is fair. We need to reduce taxes on homeowners and require the wealthiest Minnesotans to pay their fair share. "
Close The Healthcare Gap
- Excerpt: "I will fight for affordable health care for working Minnesotans and their employers. We must fix the system that is hurting families, hampering businesses and crippling our economy."
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]. |
|---|
|
In 2019, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from January 8 through May 20.
|
2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2018, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from February 20 through May 21.
|
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."[16]
2013
Persell received a score of 0% in the 2013 scorecard, ranking 87th out of all 134 Minnesota House of Representatives members.[17]
2012
Persell received a score of 0% in the 2012 scorecard, ranking 114th out of all 134 Minnesota House of Representatives members.[18]
2011
Persell received a score of 0% in the 2011 scorecard, ranking 116th out of all 134 Minnesota House of Representatives members. [19]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Persell is married and with three children. He has served on the Frohn Township Board of Supervisors, and has been a member of the American Legion Honor Guard, mentor with the Leech Lake Tribal College Science, Technology, Engineering, Math Program, and a guide for Take a Kid Fishing.[2]
See also
2020 Elections
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Official campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2008
- John Persell on Facebook
Footnotes
- ↑ The Bemidji Pioneer, "Persell name House Majority Whip," December 21, 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Project Vote Smart - Rep. Persell
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Candidate Filing Search," accessed August 25, 2016
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "General election results, 2016," accessed December 19, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Minnesota Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings," accessed June 3, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Minnesota Secretary of State, "Minnesota State Primary: Tuesday, August 9, 2016," accessed August 9, 2016
- ↑ 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, "2014 Election Results," accessed November 4, 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
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Report of Votes Cast - Minnesota State Primary - Tuesday, August 10, 2010," accessed November 29, 2014
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "State of Minnesota Canvassing Report," accessed November 29, 2014
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State - Minnesota Secretary of State, "All Races by Legislative District," accessed April 23, 2014
- ↑ "johnpersell," Official Campaign Website
- ↑ 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 Matt Bliss (R) |
Minnesota House of Representatives, District 5A 2017 - Present |
Succeeded by Matt Bliss (R) |
| Preceded by Tom Rukavina (DFL) |
Minnesota State House District 5A 2013–2017 |
Succeeded by Matt Bliss (R) |
| Preceded by - |
Minnesota State House District 4A 2009–2013 |
Succeeded by Ben Lien (DFL) |
