Mike Benson
Mike Benson (b. November 9, 1955) is a former Republican member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing District 30B from 2011 to 2015.
Benson ran as a 2014 Republican candidate seeking election to the U.S. House to represent the 1st Congressional District of Minnesota.[1] He decided to step down when he finished in third place to Aaron Miller and Jim Hagedorn during the first two rounds of voting within the Republican Party.[2]
Biography
Benson earned his MBA from Eastern University. His professional experience includes working as an assistant professor of Business Administration at Crossroads College.
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Benson served on the following committees:
| Minnesota committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Labor, Workplace and Regulated Industries |
| • State Government Finance and Veterans Affairs |
| • Transportation Finance |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Benson served on the following committees:
| Minnesota committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Health and Human Services Reform |
| • Higher Education Policy and Finance |
| • State Government Finance, Vice chair |
| • Transportation Policy and Finance |
Campaign themes
2012
Benson's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[3]
Budget, Economic Development, And Jobs
- Excerpt: "Mike believes in and will advocate supply-side economics, a major component of the Reagan revolution."
Education
- Excerpt: "Mike believes that there must be more local control and greater parent involvement in policy formation and curriculum choice. He believes that teachers cannot be called to be substitute parents and parents must be involved in their children’s education."
Environment And Energy
- Excerpt: "We need to be vigilant to make sure our environmental research and legislation continues to lead the country but without being a drag on the economic prosperity of all Minnesotans."
Healthcare
- Excerpt: "We need to work with and give incentive to all medical providers to duplicate the efforts of our world-class medical institutions, like Mayo Clinic, that are leading the way to reduce costs by digitizing records, paying physicians by salary rather than by procedures, and always putting the patient’s best interest first."
Agriculture
- Excerpt: "Mike understands how managing the farm has changed. He will work to reduce the taxes, permits, and fees that eat away farm families’ earnings and their ability invest in their future."
Elections
2014
Benson planned to run in the 2014 election for the U.S. House to represent Minnesota's 1st District. Benson sought the Republican nomination, but withdrew when Miller and Hagedorn received more support from Republican delegates.
2012
Benson won re-election in the 2012 election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 26B. He was unopposed in the Republican primary on August 14 and defeated Pat Stallman (D) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[4][5]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Mike Benson Incumbent |
57.2% | 12,427 | |
| Democratic | Pat Stallman | 42.8% | 9,295 | |
| Total Votes | 21,722 | |||
2010
Benson won election to the District 30B seat in 2010. He had no primary opposition. He defeated Andy Welti (DFL) in the general election on November 2, 2010.[6]
| Minnesota House of Representatives, District 30B (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Andy Welti (DFL) | 8,802 | 47.55% | ||
| Mike Benson (R)
|
9,692 | 52.36% | ||
| Write-In | 17 | 0.09% | ||
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.
2014
In 2014, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from February 25 to May 19.
- Legislators are scored on if they supported or opposed AFSCME's position.
- Legislators are scored based on votes on economic 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 bills of interest to an organization advocating "limited government, free enterprise, and individual liberty."
- Legislators are scored based on bills related to education.
- Legislators are scored on business-related bills.
- Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.
- Legislators are scored based on issues affecting nurses, healthcare, and working families.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to animals.
- Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues.
- Legislators are scored on how they voted on tax and fiscal legislation.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored by the organization on "their support for legislation forwarding an equitable and inclusive Minnesota."
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from January 8 to May 20.
|
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
Benson received a score of 92% in the 2013 scorecard, ranking 34th out of all 134 Minnesota House of Representatives members.[8]
2012
Benson received a score of 100% in the 2012 scorecard, ranking 20th out of all 134 Minnesota House of Representatives members.[9]
2011
Benson received a score of 77% in the 2011 scorecard, ranking 61st out of all 134 Minnesota House of Representatives members. [10]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Benson and his wife, Susan, have four children.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Mike + Benson + Minnesota + House"
See also
- United States House of Representatives
- Minnesota's 1st Congressional District elections, 2014
- Minnesota's 1st Congressional District
External links
- Office website
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2010
- Campaign website
Footnotes
- ↑ Nu Journal, "Hagedorn to announce run for 1st District today," accessed September 4, 2013
- ↑ Star Tribune, "GOP delegates select businessman Miller to oppose Rep. Tim Walz after 2 challengers step aside," accessed April 8, 2014
- ↑ Mike Benson, "Platform," accessed December 18, 2014 (Archived)
- ↑ 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, "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 Patti Fritz (DFL) |
Minnesota House of Representatives District 26B 2013- 2015 |
Succeeded by Nels Pierson (R) |
| Preceded by Andy Welti (DFL) |
Minnesota House of Representatives District 30B 2011–2013 |
Succeeded by David Fitzsimmons (R) |
