Patricia "Patti" Anderson (born June 4, 1966) is an American politician serving in 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 ...

since 2023. 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 ...

, Anderson represents District 33A in the northeastern

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Forest Lake,

Hugo Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on ...

, and

Mahtomedi Mahtomedi ( ) is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 7,676 at the 2010 census. Mahtomedi is considered to be a suburb of St. Paul, and is located between St. Paul and Stillwater. Geography Mahtomedi i ...

and parts of Washington County. Anderson served one term as the State Auditor of Minnesota, from 2003 to 2007, and ran unsuccessfully in 2006 and 2010. She is the most recent Republican to hold that office. She was mayor of

Eagan, Minnesota Eagan ( ) is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota. It is south of Saint Paul and lies on the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from the confluence with the Mississippi River. Eagan and the other nearby suburbs form the southern section o ...

, and a national committeewoman for Minnesota to the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

Early life, education and career

Anderson graduated from

Forest Lake Area High School Forest Lake Area High School, also known as Forest Lake High School, is a public four-year high school in Forest Lake, Minnesota, United States, founded in 1909. The school is a member of Minnesota Independent School District 831 (Forest Lake Are ...

and received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in international relations and political economy from 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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. She earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in public administration from

Hamline University Hamline University is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1854, Hamline is known for its emphasis on experiential learning, service, and social justice. The university is named after Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline o ...

. Anderson served as a city council member of

, from 1991 to 1998, and as mayor from 1998 to 2002. In 2002, ''City Pages'' named her the state's best mayor. From 2008 to 2009, Anderson served as president of the Minnesota Free Market Institute, a right-wing think tank. She said that as president she hoped to expand the institute by adding personnel and partnering with nonprofits with similar goals. After Anderson left, the organization was merged into the Center of the American Experiment, last filing tax returns in 2011.

State Auditor

Anderson was elected State Auditor of Minnesota on November 5, 2002. She ran after two term DFL incumbent

Judi Dutcher Judith H. Dutcher (born November 27, 1962) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the Minnesota State Auditor from 1995 – 2003 as both a Republican and Democrat (DFL). She was the first woman to serve as Minnesota State ...

announced she would not seek reelection, running unsuccessfully for

governor of Minnesota The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. ...

. Anderson defeated DFL nominee,

State Treasurer In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...

Carol Johnson, and the

Independence Party Independence Party may refer to: Active parties Outside United States * Independence Party (Egypt) * Estonian Independence Party * Independence Party (Finland) * Independence Party (Iceland) * Independence Party (Mauritius) * Independence Part ...

nominee, Dave Hutcheson. Anderson was elected as Pat Awada, the name she had before her divorce in 2004. During her term as auditor, Governor Tim Pawlenty called for cuts across the state budget, and Anderson cut staff, earning a reputation as a "taxpayer watchdog". Anderson ran for reelection in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, losing to the DFL nominee, State Representative

Rebecca Otto Rebecca Otto (born July 9, 1963) is an American politician who served as State Auditor of Minnesota from 2007 to 2019. Affiliated with the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), she served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 20 ...

Commissioner of Employee Relations

In January 2007, Governor Pawlenty nominated Anderson to serve as Commissioner of Department of Employee Relations. Her responsibilities included the merger of that agency into the Department of Finance.

2010 run for governor and state auditor

On July 15, 2009, Anderson announced that she was running for

in the 2010 election, calling herself a "

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

-style Republican" who opposes corporate subsidies. On January 12, 2010, Anderson announced that she was withdrawing from the governor's race to run for state auditor. Anderson again lost to incumbent

Republican National Committeewoman

On April 16, 2011, Anderson was elected national committeewoman for Minnesota to the

to serve out the remaining term of Evie Axdahl, who retired. On May 19, 2012, Janet Biehoffer defeated Anderson in her quest for a full term as a national committeewoman to the RNC. Shortly after being elected to the Republican National Committee, Anderson became a lobbyist for Canterbury Park Racetrack. At the time, the Minnesota Republican Party Platform opposed expanding gambling in Minnesota. Many Republicans criticized Anderson for failing to disclose her intention to become a lobbyist for a gambling enterprise while running for the RNC.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Anderson was elected to the

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

. She first ran in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

after seven-term

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

incumbent

Matt Dean Matthew T. "Matt" Dean (born April 15, 1966) is an American politician. He served as the Majority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represented District 38B, whi ...

announced he would not seek reelection to run for governor of Minnesota. Anderson lost to DFL nominee Ami Wazlawik. Anderson ran again in 2022 and won, after redistricting and eight-term Republican incumbent Bob Dettmer announced he would not seek reelection. Anderson serves on the Education Finance and Taxes Committees.

Electoral history

Personal life

Anderson lives in

Dellwood, Minnesota Dellwood is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States and a suburb of St. Paul. The population was 1,063 at the 2010 census. History Dellwood was platted in 1882. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city ha ...

, with her spouse, Doug, and has six children.

References

External links

Official House of Representatives website

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Patricia 1966 births Hamline University alumni Living people Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota People from Eagan, Minnesota University of Minnesota alumni State Auditors of Minnesota Minnesota Republicans Mayors of places in Minnesota Women mayors of places in Minnesota 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians