Abigail Whelan (born January 13, 1988) is an American politician from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and former member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint ...

. A member of the

Republican Party of Minnesota The Republican Party of Minnesota is the oldest active political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Republican Party’s platform is relatively moderate. The party’s main issues are economic growth, education, healthcare, civi ...

, she represented District 35A, which included a portion of

Anoka County, Minnesota Anoka County ( ) is the fourth-most-populous county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 363,887. The county seat and namesake of the county is the city of Anoka, which is derived from the Dakota word '' ...

Education and career

Whelan graduated from

Anoka High School Anoka High School is a four-year public high school located in Anoka, Minnesota, United States. It serves grades 9– 12 for the Anoka-Hennepin School District 11. History The first Anoka High School was opened in 1904 and located in downtown An ...

in 2006. She attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

where she majored in political science and history and minored in economics. During her time there, she studied abroad in England and traveled extensively through Europe. She earned her degree in 2010. After working for a time at the Minnesota Legislature, Whelan returned to the University of Minnesota

Humphrey School of Public Affairs The Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs is a public policy and planning school at the University of Minnesota, a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is named after Hubert ...

on a scholarship and earned her master's degree in public policy in 2013. From September 2012 until May 2013, Whelan worked as a Research/Teaching Assistant. Before the 2014 election, Whelan worked locally with a home health care agency in business development.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Elections

Whelan was elected on November 4, 2014 defeating the ( DFL) nominee, Peter Perovich, by 20.09% or 2616 votes.

Tenure

Whelan was sworn in on January 6, 2015. During her time as a state representative, she expressed disapproval of fetal tissue research at the University of Minnesota.

Committee assignments

For the 89th Legislative Session, Backer is a part of: *Education Innovation Policy Committee *Higher Education Policy & Finance Committee *Taxes Subcommittee: Property Tax & Local Government Finance Division *Transportation Policy & Finance Committee.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whelan, Abigail 1988 births Living people People from Anoka, Minnesota University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Women state legislators in Minnesota 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Anoka High School alumni