Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.

Steve Elkins

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Steve Elkins
Image of Steve Elkins

Democratic Party

Minnesota House of Representatives District 50B
Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

2

Predecessor
Prior offices
Minnesota House of Representatives District 49B
Predecessor: Paul Rosenthal

Compensation

Base salary

$51,750/year

Per diem

$66/day

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

Bishop O'Dowd High School, 1970

Bachelor's

University of California, Berkeley, 1975

Personal
Birthplace
Oakland, Calif.
Profession
Information technology
Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Steve Elkins (Democratic Party) is a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing District 50B. He assumed office on January 3, 2023. His current term ends on January 12, 2027.

Elkins (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Minnesota House of Representatives to represent District 50B. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Steve Elkins was born in Oakland, California, and lives in Bloomington, Minnesota. Elkins graduated from Bishop O'Dowd High School in 1970. He earned a B.A. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1975. His career experience includes working in information technology in roles such as data architect at Wells Fargo, information architect at Boundary Medical, information solutions architect at Daugherty Business Solutions, and senior enterprise data architect at OptumTechnology. Elkins also served as a member of the Bloomington City Council and as a member of the Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities.[1][2][3]

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Elkins was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Elkins was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Elkins was assigned to the following committees:


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

2024

See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 50B

Incumbent Steve Elkins defeated Bob Gust in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 50B on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Steve Elkins
Steve Elkins (D)
 
63.2
 
16,524
Image of Bob Gust
Bob Gust (R) Candidate Connection
 
36.7
 
9,596
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
33

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

Total votes: 26,153
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.

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Steve Elkins advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 50B.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Bob Gust advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 50B.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Elkins in this election.

2022

See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 50B

Incumbent Steve Elkins defeated Beth Beebe in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 50B on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Steve Elkins
Steve Elkins (D) Candidate Connection
 
63.1
 
14,425
Image of Beth Beebe
Beth Beebe (R)
 
36.9
 
8,437
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
15

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

Total votes: 22,877
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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 50B

Incumbent Steve Elkins defeated incumbent Andrew Carlson in the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 50B on August 9, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Steve Elkins
Steve Elkins Candidate Connection
 
61.1
 
3,179
Image of Andrew Carlson
Andrew Carlson
 
38.9
 
2,025

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

Total votes: 5,204
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 House of Representatives District 50B

Beth Beebe advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 50B on August 9, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Beth Beebe
Beth Beebe
 
100.0
 
2,206

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

Total votes: 2,206
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.

2020

See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 49B

Incumbent Steve Elkins defeated Joe Thalman in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 49B on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Steve Elkins
Steve Elkins (D)
 
62.2
 
17,883
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Joe Thalman (R)
 
37.7
 
10,836
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
21

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

Total votes: 28,740
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.

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Steve Elkins advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 49B.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Joe Thalman advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 49B.

Campaign finance

2018

See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 49B

Steve Elkins defeated Matt Sikich in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 49B on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Steve Elkins
Steve Elkins (D) Candidate Connection
 
61.7
 
15,264
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Matt Sikich (R)
 
38.2
 
9,446
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
34

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

Total votes: 24,744
(100.00% precincts reporting)
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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 49B

Steve Elkins advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 49B on August 14, 2018.

Candidate
✔
Image of Steve Elkins
Steve Elkins Candidate Connection

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

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 House of Representatives District 49B

Matt Sikich advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 49B on August 14, 2018.

Candidate
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Matt Sikich

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

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.

2010

See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2010

Elkins ran in the 2010 election for Minnesota State Senate District 41. Elkins was unopposed in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary election on August 10, 2010, and was defeated by Geoff Michel in the general election on November 2, 2010.[4][5]

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Steve Elkins did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Candidate Connection

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

Expand all | Collapse all

I have over 25 years of service to the residents of Bloomington as a City Councilmember, Planning Commissioner, Metropolitan Council representative and, for the past 4 years, as the State Representative for western Bloomington. An economist by education (UC Berkeley) and an IT information architect by vocation, I am a devoted public policy wonk who enjoys researching difficult public policy issues to develop solutions that can gain bipartisan support. Two-thirds of my bills have Republican chef authors in the state Senate. I am respected as a thoughtful legislator who listens to stakeholders on all sides of an issue before putting pen to paper. I'm recognized by my peers as a go-to expert when it comes to public policy related to local government, transportation, health insurance, data privacy and information technology, where I'm having a significant impact in improving the application of information technology in State government.
  • Protect Women's Reproductive Rights
  • Improve Public Safety and Reduce Gun Violence with common sense measures to keep guns out of the hands of criminals
  • Defend Minnesota's tradition of free, fair and accurately tablulated elections.
As a legislator, I leverage my life experiences in both my public and private sector careers to develop legislation to promote pricing transparency in the healthcare industry to promote competition and reduce prices, reforming private healthcare insurance, enacting zoning reforms to promote housing affordability, establishing safeguards for consumer data privacy, and easing the transition to a clean, multi-modal transportation system to address climate change.

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.

2020

Steve Elkins did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2018

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Steve Elkins completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Elkins' responses.

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

Healthcare reform, Education Finance, Housing and Transportation

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I have worked as a healthcare information technologist for the past decade and feel strongly that we can improve the system with more transparent pricing and evidence-based medicine. I am a transportation economist by education (and by vocation, early in my career). I want to put transportation finance (for both roads and transit) on a solid financial footing by finding new user fees to fund the system in the coming era of shared electric vehicles (which will not generate either gas taxes or motor vehicle sales taxes). We simply must increase the supply of housing by enabling homebuilders to construct the workforce housing needed by a new generation of families. Education should be financed at the state level, not from burdensome local property taxes.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Current MN Supreme Court Justice Paul Thissen (a former Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives) modeled the values of integrity, hard work and a reasoned approach to government. I look to Ted Kolderie for his example of lifelong innovation in public policy.

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

The most important books that I have read include "Thinking Fast and Slow", "The Righteous Mind", "The Big Sort", "Bowling Alone", "Our Kids", "The Rise of the Creative Class" and "The Life and Death of Great American Cities"

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Patience, persistence, collaboration and trustworthiness.

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

Patience, persistence, collaboration and trustworthiness and a willingness to roll up my sleeves and dig into the data to make reasoned, well-researched decisions based upon empirical data.

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

Listen to your constituents (all of them, not just the loud ones), do your homework and make reasoned votes based upon what the evidence shows will be the best decision for the community as a whole.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to retire knowing that I've contributed to making healthcare more affordable and accessible; that everyone has a safe place to live; that the next generation of children have been educated as well as my own children were; and that our transportation system is being adequately and sustainably funded by user fees paid by travelers in proportion to their benefit from the system.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember hiding under my grade school desk for nuclear attack drills during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

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

My first real summer job was as a stock clerk at a helicopter airline in Oakland, California.

What is your favorite holiday? Why?

Thanksgiving -- it's a time for family to gather

What is your favorite book? Why?

Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics for inventing the field of Behavioral Economics and revealed that real people don't behave in the economically optimal manner described in textbooks -- we have all kinds of cognitive biases that color both our economic and political thinking.

What is your favorite thing in your home or apartment? Why?

My wife, Judy (I love her).

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Chopin Fantasy Impromptu

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

I've been pretty lucky. Even survived a bout with melanoma.

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

Yes, I definitely feel that my experience in local and regional government will make me a better legislator.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

Reducing the cost of healthcare while improving access. Overcoming the opportunity gap and educating the next, more diverse, generation as well as we educated our own children to create a productive workforce. Housing that workforce. Building a transportation system that better connects workers and jobs.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?

A Partnership built on open communication and trust.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Of course! No-one ever accomplishes anything in a governing body without collaborating and forging consensus.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Independent, court-appointed board.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Health Care, Transportation and Local Government.

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

Paul Thissen

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

No

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.

Steve Elkins campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* Minnesota House of Representatives District 50BWon general$49,383 $47,564
2022Minnesota House of Representatives District 50BWon general$50,436 $52,050
2020Minnesota House of Representatives District 49BWon general$47,983 N/A**
2018Minnesota House of Representatives District 49BWon general$48,252 N/A**
Grand total$196,054 $99,615
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
** 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.


2024


2023


2022


2021


2020


2019


2018






See also

2024 Elections

Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
What's on the ballot?
U.S. President
U.S. Congress
U.S. Congress special elections
State executives
State legislatures
State courts
Ballot measures
Municipal government
School boards
Election analysis hub

Government

Seal of Minnesota.png
Who represents me?
U.S. Congress
State executives
State legislators
State courts
Ballot measures
Municipal government
School boards

Newsletters

Ballotpedia RSS.jpg
The Daily Brew
The Weekly Brew
The Ballot Bulletin
Checks and Balances
Economy and Society
Hall Pass
Number of the Day
Robe & Gavel


External links

Candidate

Minnesota House of Representatives District 50B
  • Website
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
    		•

    Officeholder

    Minnesota House of Representatives District 50B
  • Website
  • Facebook
    		•

    Personal

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
    		•

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Minnesota House of Representatives, "Rep. Steve Elkins," accessed March 31, 2023
    2. ↑ Facebook, "Steve Elkins," accessed March 31, 2023
    3. ↑ LinkedIn, "Steve Elkins," accessed March 31, 2023
    4. ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "General Primary" accessed September 26, 2013
    5. ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "General Election" accessed September 26, 2013

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    Andrew Carlson (D)     		Minnesota House of Representatives District 50B
    2023-Present    		 Succeeded by
    -
    Preceded by
    Paul Rosenthal (D)     		Minnesota House of Representatives District 49B
    2019-2023    		 Succeeded by
    Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (D)


    Current members of the Minnesota House of Representatives
    Leadership
    Speaker of the House:Lisa Demuth
    Majority Leader:Harry Niska
    Representatives
    District 1A
    District 1B
    District 2A
    District 2B
    District 3A
    District 3B
    District 4A
    District 4B
    Jim Joy (R)
    District 5A
    District 5B
    District 6A
    Ben Davis (R)
    District 6B
    District 7A
    District 7B
    District 8A
    District 8B
    District 9A
    District 9B
    District 10A
    District 10B
    District 11A
    District 11B
    District 12A
    District 12B
    District 13A
    District 13B
    District 14A
    District 14B
    District 15A
    District 15B
    District 16A
    District 16B
    District 17A
    District 17B
    District 18A
    District 18B
    District 19A
    District 19B
    District 20A
    District 20B
    District 21A
    District 21B
    District 22A
    District 22B
    District 23A
    District 23B
    District 24A
    District 24B
    District 25A
    Kim Hicks (D)
    District 25B
    District 26A
    District 26B
    District 27A
    District 27B
    District 28A
    District 28B
    Max Rymer (R)
    District 29A
    District 29B
    District 30A
    District 30B
    District 31A
    District 31B
    District 32A
    District 32B
    District 33A
    District 33B
    District 34A
    District 34B
    Xp Lee (D)
    District 35A
    District 35B
    District 36A
    District 36B
    District 37A
    District 37B
    District 38A
    District 38B
    District 39A
    District 39B
    District 40A
    District 40B
    District 41A
    District 41B
    District 42A
    District 42B
    District 43A
    District 43B
    District 44A
    District 44B
    District 45A
    District 45B
    District 46A
    District 46B
    District 47A
    District 47B
    Ethan Cha (D)
    District 48A
    Jim Nash (R)
    District 48B
    District 49A
    District 49B
    District 50A
    District 50B
    District 51A
    District 51B
    District 52A
    Liz Reyer (D)
    District 52B
    District 53A
    District 53B
    District 54A
    District 54B
    District 55A
    District 55B
    District 56A
    District 56B
    John Huot (D)
    District 57A
    District 57B
    District 58A
    District 58B
    District 59A
    Fue Lee (D)
    District 59B
    District 60A
    District 60B
    District 61A
    District 61B
    District 62A
    District 62B
    District 63A
    District 63B
    District 64A
    District 64B
    District 65A
    District 65B
    District 66A
    District 66B
    District 67A
    Liz Lee (D)
    District 67B
    Jay Xiong (D)
    Republican Party (67)
    Democratic Party (67)


    Flag of Minnesota
    v • e
    State of Minnesota
    St. Paul (capital)
    Elections

    What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

    Government

    Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy




    Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Steve_Elkins&oldid=10199607"