Reed Olson

Reed Olson (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Minnesota House of Representatives to represent District 2A. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Reed Olson was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1998. His career experience includes working as an executive director of the Nameless Coalition for the Homeless. Olson has also owned and operated a restaurant.^[1]

Olson has served with the following organizations:^[2]

BiCAP, vice chair
Kitchigami Regional Library Board, board member
PrimeWest Health, alternate board member
Bemidji Area Airport Authority, board member

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 2A

Bidal Duran defeated Reed Olson in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 2A on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Bidal Duran (R)	51.9	11,518
	Reed Olson (D)	48.0	10,667
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	26

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 22,211
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Reed Olson advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 2A.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Bidal Duran advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 2A.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Olson in this election.

Pledges

Olson signed the following pledges.

U.S. Term Limits

2022

State House

General election

General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 2A

Incumbent Matthew Grossell defeated Reed Olson in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 2A on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Matthew Grossell (R)	54.4	8,836
	Reed Olson (D)	45.5	7,405
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	16

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 16,257
= 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

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Reed Olson advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 2A.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Matthew Grossell advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 2A.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

To view Olson's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.

Congress

General election

General election for U.S. House Minnesota District 7

Incumbent Michelle Fischbach defeated Jill Abahsain and Travis Johnson in the general election for U.S. House Minnesota District 7 on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Michelle Fischbach (R)	66.9	204,766
	Jill Abahsain (D)	27.6	84,455
	Travis Johnson (Legal Marijuana Now Party)	5.4	16,421
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	224

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 305,866
= 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 U.S. House Minnesota District 7

Jill Abahsain defeated Alycia Gruenhagen in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7 on August 9, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jill Abahsain	59.0	14,352
	Alycia Gruenhagen	41.0	9,972

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 24,324
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Mark Lindquist (D)
Reed Olson (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7

Incumbent Michelle Fischbach advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7 on August 9, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michelle Fischbach	100.0	59,429

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 59,429
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Annette Watson (R)

Legal Marijuana Now Party primary election

Legal Marijuana Now Party primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7

Travis Johnson advanced from the Legal Marijuana Now Party primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7 on August 9, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Travis Johnson	100.0	509

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 509
= 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

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

Reed Olson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

State House

Reed Olson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Olson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a cook, small business owner & community nonprofit director. I have been a worker my whole life & I look forward to supporting our workers as your representative.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I will support policies and legislation that will create more housing in rural Minnesota.
The working families in our district need access to childcare. We need to support people trying to create daycare businesses.
As the director of a local homeless shelter, I see the need for more investment in mental health services.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Housing/Homelessness

Healthcare
Public Safety
Infrastructure

Education

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Note: Olson submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on September 29, 2022.

April 25 submission

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a cook, a small business owner and the director of a community nonprofit in Bemidji. I'm also in my 2nd term as a Beltrami County Commissioner, where I have a proven track record as a problem-solver, bridge-builder, and skilled-collaborator who gets things done. I have successfully championed measures related to housing and homelessness, funding the new Veterans Home in Bemidji, and supporting small businesses through pandemic relief. In St. Paul, I will work to build more housing in rural Minnesota, expand rural access to quality childcare and create high quality jobs for rural Minnesotans.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I will fight to better the lives of working families in rural Minnesota.
I will work with lawmakers to support workers and small businesses.
I will challenge the divisive politics which continue to distract from the needs of rural Minnesotans. Instead, I look forward to building partnerships and working together to improve our quality of life.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I will work to pass legislation that lowers the cost of prescription drugs, expands access to quality healthcare, creates more housing in rural Minnesota and gives working families access to high quality and affordable childcare.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Nothing by Ayn Rand. Her stuff is awful.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am thoughtful and I am compassionate and I am pragmatic. I have devoted years of my life to helping those less fortunate. My work in the world of housing and homelessness has taught me that good intentions are not enough. We need real change to existing policy to truly move people out of poverty and into the fold of the larger community. I know how difficult it is to make lasting change. I have worked with local law enforcement, local healthcare providers and county adult services to make changes to complex systems to deliver better results to our community.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The fundamental social contract between individuals and the state is that the state has a monopoly on the use of force and the people have security. Therefore, the core responsibility of any legislator is to provide for the welfare and security of the people. This means access to clean water, food and shelter. Workers' rights, environmental standards, effective housing policies are the charge of a Minnesota legislator.

What legacy would you like to leave?

It is my goal to be remembered as a consensus builder who got things done.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job that wasn't mowing lawns or a paper route was dishwasher at a local restaurant in my home town. I held it for a little more than a year before moving to a different restaurant. I would work for over 30 years in foodservice. Though I did not particularly enjoy the job, I learned many important lessons. One is that hard work alone is not enough to get ahead in life. Another is that employers will take advantage of their employees if they have an opportunity. Even as a fourteen year old making $3.24/hour, my employers did not hesitate to engage in wage theft. After that job, I never let an employer take advantage of me again.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Billy Pilgrim, an unassuming man, who lived an extraordinary life in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughter "House 5."

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I have always been a doer. I get frustrated with the pace of change. I don't want to do a needs assessment on housing. I want to build homes. I don't want to talk about studies concerning mental health and criminality. I want to build our the behavioral health infrastructure to get people the services they need before they end up in jail or prison. Policy making is a long deliberative process. At times it tries my patience, but when I look back at the almost six years I have spent on the Beltrami County Board of Commissioners and the decade working on issues related to housing and homelessness I can see that the needle has moved in the direction of positive change for my neighbors.
In the legislature, I will need to remember: "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice" (To quote MLK).

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe legislators benefit greatly from holding local office beforehand. As a county commissioner, I understand the effects that state policy has on counties. I wince every time I hear politicians talk about cutting corporate taxes. Cutting income tax to wealthy corporations will automatically result in rising property taxes at the county. Policy making at the state level can occur in a bubble--cut off from the real lives of their constituents. Having experience at the local level can help policy makers avoid unintended consequences.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Frank Moe has been an inspiration and role model to me for years. Frank unabashedly pushed legislation to support working people and protect our environment. I hope to emulate him when I arrive in St Paul.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Though not always enjoyable, compromise is often the only way to get anything done in the legislature. Politicians with differing views can build trust through compromise. This trust can be leveraged against future legislation. Minnesota has had divided government for most of the past two decades. Only through trust building and compromise, can we get anything done for the people of Minnesota.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Note: Olson submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on April 25, 2022.

Congress

Reed Olson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Olson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a DFLer running for US Congress to fight for Minnesota's working families. For the past 16 years (and counting!) I have owned a MN small business, a restaurant + coffee shop called The Wild Hare. In 2016, I helped found a 36-bed homeless shelter which I now oversee as Executive Director. I am also currently serving my second term as a County Commissioner, where I have established a proven track record as a problem solver, bridge-builder, and skilled-collaborator who gets things done. I know my district and I see the challenges my neighbors face daily. I understand what we need to do to improve the lives of all rural Minnesotans.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I will fight to better the lives of working families.
I will work with lawmakers to support small farmers and small businesses.
I will challenge the divisive politics which continue to distract from the needs of rural Minnesotans. Instead, I look forward to building partnerships and working together to improve our quality of life.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I will work to pass legislation that lowers the cost of prescription drugs, expands access to quality healthcare, creates more housing in rural Minnesota and gives working families access to high quality and affordable childcare.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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.

Reed Olson campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Minnesota House of Representatives District 2A	Lost general	$78,901	$83,283
2022	Minnesota House of Representatives District 2A	Lost general	$43,997	$43,279
2022	U.S. House Minnesota District 7	Withdrew primary	$48,641	$48,736
Grand total			$171,539	$175,297
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Minnesota House of Representatives District 2A

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 13, 2021
↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 25, 2022

[show]

Current members of the Minnesota House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Lisa Demuth

Majority Leader:Harry Niska

Representatives

District 1A

John Burkel (R)

District 1B

Steve Gander (R)

District 2A

Bidal Duran (R)

District 2B

Matt Bliss (R)

District 3A

Roger Skraba (R)

District 3B

Natalie Zeleznikar (R)

District 4A

Heather Keeler (D)

District 4B

Jim Joy (R)

District 5A

Krista Knudsen (R)

District 5B

Mike Wiener (R)

District 6A

Ben Davis (R)

District 6B

Josh Heintzeman (R)

District 7A

Spencer Igo (R)

District 7B

Cal Warwas (R)

District 8A

Pete Johnson (D)

District 8B

Alicia Kozlowski (D)

District 9A

Jeff Backer (R)

District 9B

Tom Murphy (R)

District 10A

Ron Kresha (R)

District 10B

Isaac Schultz (R)

District 11A

Jeff Dotseth (R)

District 11B

Nathan Nelson (R)

District 12A

Paul Anderson (R)

District 12B

Mary Franson (R)

District 13A

Lisa Demuth (R)

District 13B

Tim O'Driscoll (R)

District 14A

Bernie Perryman (R)

District 14B

Dan Wolgamott (D)

District 15A

Chris Swedzinski (R)

District 15B

Paul Torkelson (R)

District 16A

Scott Van Binsbergen (R)

District 16B

Dave Baker (R)

District 17A

Dawn Gillman (R)

District 17B

Bobbie Harder (R)

District 18A

Erica Schwartz (R)

District 18B

Luke Frederick (D)

District 19A

Keith Allen (R)

District 19B

Tom Sexton (R)

District 20A

Pam Altendorf (R)

District 20B

Steven Jacob (R)

District 21A

Joe Schomacker (R)

District 21B

Marj Fogelman (R)

District 22A

Bjorn Olson (R)

District 22B

Terry Stier (R)

District 23A

Peggy Bennett (R)

District 23B

Patricia Mueller (R)

District 24A

Duane Quam (R)

District 24B

Tina Liebling (D)

District 25A

Kim Hicks (D)

District 25B

Andy Smith (D)

District 26A

Aaron Repinski (R)

District 26B

Greg Davids (R)

District 27A

Shane Mekeland (R)

District 27B

Bryan Lawrence (R)

District 28A

James Gordon (R)

District 28B

Max Rymer (R)

District 29A

Joe McDonald (R)

District 29B

Marion Rarick (R)

District 30A

Walter Hudson (R)

District 30B

Paul Novotny (R)

District 31A

Harry Niska (R)

District 31B

Peggy Scott (R)

District 32A

Nolan West (R)

District 32B

Matt Norris (D)

District 33A

Patti Anderson (R)

District 33B

Josiah Hill (D)

District 34A

Danny Nadeau (R)

District 34B

Vacant

District 35A

Zack Stephenson (D)

District 35B

Kari Rehrauer (D)

District 36A

Elliott Engen (R)

District 36B

Brion Curran (D)

District 37A

Kristin Robbins (R)

District 37B

Kristin Bahner (D)

District 38A

Huldah Hiltsley (D)

District 38B

Samantha Vang (D)

District 39A

Erin Koegel (D)

District 39B

Sandra Feist (D)

District 40A

Kelly Moller (D)

District 40B

David Gottfried (D)

District 41A

Wayne Johnson (R)

District 41B

Tom Dippel (R)

District 42A

Ned Carroll (D)

District 42B

Ginny Klevorn (D)

District 43A

Cedrick Frazier (D)

District 43B

Mike Freiberg (D)

District 44A

Peter Fischer (D)

District 44B

Leon Lillie (D)

District 45A

Andrew Myers (R)

District 45B

Patty Acomb (D)

District 46A

Larry Kraft (D)

District 46B

Cheryl Youakim (D)

District 47A

Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger (D)

District 47B

Ethan Cha (D)

District 48A

Jim Nash (R)

District 48B

Lucille Rehm (D)

District 49A

Alex Falconer (D)

District 49B

Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (D)

District 50A

Julie Greene (D)

District 50B

Steve Elkins (D)

District 51A

Michael Howard (D)

District 51B

Nathan Coulter (D)

District 52A

Liz Reyer (D)

District 52B

Bianca Virnig (D)

District 53A

Mary Clardy (D)

District 53B

Rick Hansen (D)

District 54A

Brad Tabke (D)

District 54B

Ben Bakeberg (R)

District 55A

Jessica Hanson (D)

District 55B

Kaela Berg (D)

District 56A

Robert Bierman (D)

District 56B

John Huot (D)

District 57A

Jon Koznick (R)

District 57B

Jeff Witte (R)

District 58A

Kristi Pursell (D)

District 58B

Drew Roach (R)

District 59A

Fue Lee (D)

District 59B

Esther Agbaje (D)

District 60A

Sydney Jordan (D)

District 60B

Mohamud Noor (D)

District 61A

Katie Jones (D)

District 61B

Jamie Long (D)

District 62A

Aisha Gomez (D)

District 62B

Anquam Mahamoud (D)

District 63A

Samantha Sencer-Mura (D)

District 63B

Emma Greenman (D)

District 64A

Kaohly Her (D)

District 64B

Dave Pinto (D)

District 65A

Samakab Hussein (D)

District 65B

Maria Isa Pérez-Vega (D)

District 66A

Leigh Finke (D)

District 66B

Athena Hollins (D)

District 67A

Liz Lee (D)

District 67B

Jay Xiong (D)

Republican Party (67)

Democratic Party (66)

Vacancies (1)

[bio-1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 13, 2021

[bio2-2] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 25, 2022

[1]

[2]

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Reed Olson

Biography

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 2A

Democratic primary election

Republican primary election

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Pledges

2022

State House

General election

General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 2A

Democratic primary election

Republican primary election

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Congress

General election

General election for U.S. House Minnesota District 7

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Legal Marijuana Now Party primary election

Legal Marijuana Now Party primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 7

Campaign finance

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

2022

State House

Congress

Campaign finance summary

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

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