Erik Mortensen is an American politician 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 Pa ...

from House District 55A. Elected in November 2020, he assumed office on January 5, 2021.

Brad Tabke Brad Tabke (pronounced ; born May 11, 1979) is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2023, having previously served from 2019 to 2022. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Tab ...

defeated incumbent Erik Mortensen and Ryan Martin in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 54A on November 8, 2022.

Early life and education

Mortensen was born and raised in

Shakopee, Minnesota Shakopee ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Minnesota, United States. It is located southwest of Minneapolis. Sited on the south bank bend of the Minnesota River, Shakopee and nearby suburbs comprise the southwest portion of ...

. He briefly attended Mesa State University and Strayer University, no degrees were awarded.

Career

From 2002 to 2014, Mortensen worked in business development for

C. H. Robinson C.H. Robinson is an American ''Fortune'' 200 provider of multimodal transportation services and third-party logistics (3PL). For 2021, it was ranked 5th in the world and 1st in the US among third-party logistics providers by gross logistics reve ...

. In 2009, he also started working as a park commissioner for the city of

Belle Plaine, Minnesota Belle Plaine is a city in Scott County, Minnesota, United States, about 40 minutes southwest of Minneapolis. The population was 7,395 at the 2020 census. History Minnesota Territorial Supreme Court Judge Andrew G. Chatfield selected the towns ...

. From 2014 to 2018, he was the president of a local AdvantaClean franchise, specializing in mold remediation and indoor air quality issues. From 2018 to 2021, he worked as a contract business consultant for Keystone Group International in St. Louis Park. Since July 2019, he has worked as the vice president of Utility Energy Systems, an equipment supplier.

Minnesota Legislature

Mortensen was elected to the

in November 2020 and assumed office on January 5, 2021, succeeding

. After winning his election in November, Mortensen hosted a "freedom party" in violation of Minnesota's

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

guidelines. After assuming office in 2021, Mortensen was a member of the newly formed New House Republican Caucus, though he was removed from the group in May 2021 amid disagreements with leadership. After Mortensen left the New House Republican Caucus, Minority Leader

Kurt Daudt Kurt Louis Daudt (born September 26, 1973) is an American politician and the Minority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives. He is a former Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minneso ...

issued a short memo, stating that Mortensen would not be a member of the House GOP Caucus. In June 2021, fellow Republican

David Osmek David Joseph Osmek ( ; born October 11, 1964) is an American politician and businessman who is a member of the Minnesota Senate. He has served as the 16th List of presidents of the Minnesota Senate, President of the Minnesota Senate since 2022. ...

, a member of the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are hel ...

, called Mortensen "the

village idiot The village idiot in strict terms is a person locally known for ignorance or stupidity but is also a common term for a stereotypically silly or nonsensical person or stock character. Description The term "village idiot" is also used as a stereo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mortensen, Erik Living people People from Shakopee, Minnesota Colorado Mesa University alumni Strayer University alumni Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Year of birth missing (living people)