Matthew "Matt" Keating Entenza (born October 4, 1961) is a

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 ...

lawyer and former politician who served six terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He served as House Minority Leader from 2003 to 2006. After leaving the legislature, he was an unsuccessful candidate for various statewide offices, including

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, and most recently

state auditor State auditors (also known as state comptrollers, state controllers, state examiners, or inspectors general) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, financial ...

Background

Entenza was born in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

. He studied at

Augustana College Augustana College may refer to: *Augustana College (Illinois) *Augustana University Sioux Falls, South Dakota *Augustana University College, Alberta See also *Augustana Divinity School (Neuendettelsau) The Augustana-Hochschule Neuendettelsau is ...

in South Dakota before transferring to Macalester College. After graduating, Entenza studied law at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and taught

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. After returning to Minnesota, he received his J.D. with honors from the University of Minnesota Law School.

Service in the Minnesota House of Representatives

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Entenza was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives from District 64A in 1994. The district includes portions of the city of

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

in Ramsey County. He served on the K-12 Finance, Education Policy, and Commerce committees.

2006 Minnesota Attorney General race

In 2006, Entenza resigned as House Minority Leader to focus on a campaign for Minnesota Attorney General. He withdrew from that race on July 18, 2006. Critics had raised concerns of a conflict of interest due to Entenza's wife's high ranking executive position at UnitedHealth Group. Entenza's political campaign committee was also fined $28,000 by the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board on August 15, 2006, for exceeding the legal amount for contributions.

2010 gubernatorial campaign

Entenza sought the office of governor in 2010. He first announced that he would seek the Minnesota DFL's endorsement for the 2010 Minnesota gubernatorial race, later dropping out of the endorsement process and running a primary campaign without the DFL endorsement. Before removing himself from the official endorsement process, he was endorsed by Minnesota Congressman

Keith Ellison Keith Maurice Ellison (born August 4, 1963) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 30th attorney general of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Ellison was the U.S. representative for from 2007 to ...

in May 2009 and Minnesota

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DFL in December 2009. On May 27, 2010, he announced television broadcaster

Robyne Robinson Robyne Robinson (born 1961 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American television journalist and entrepreneur. She ran as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota in 2010. Biography Robyne L. Robinson was born in Chicago as the younger of two d ...

as his lieutenant governor running mate. Entenza was not endorsed by the state party, and elected to participate in the primary election, in which he finished third, after Mark Dayton and

Margaret Anderson Kelliher Margaret Anderson Kelliher (born March 11, 1968) is an American politician, Director of the Minneapolis Department of Public Works, former Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and a former member of the Minnesota House of R ...

2014 Minnesota State Auditor race

In the 2014 election, Entenza ran for Minnesota State Auditor against the DFL-endorsed incumbent, Rebecca Otto. He bypassed public financing, which allowed him to exceed state spending limits. Despite spending more than $675,000 of his personal money on the race, Entenza received only 19% of the votes cast in the primary contest on August 12.

Personal life

Entenza has three adult sons and is divorced from their mother,

Lois Quam Lois Elaine Quam (born 1961) is an American executive who has worked in the public and the private sectors to expand access to health care. She was named three times to FORTUNE's list of the most influential women leaders in business, She has also ...

. He has since remarried, to Minnesota-native Jean Fox Entenza.

References

External links

Entenza Robinson for Minnesota
''official campaign site'' *
Voting record (2005-2006)
at Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker {{DEFAULTSORT:Entenza, Matt 1961 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota People from Santa Monica, California University of Minnesota Law School alumni Macalester College alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford 21st-century American politicians