Tom Saxhaug (born February 22, 1948) 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 ...

politician and former 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 ...

. A member of the

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is the Minnesota affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party. As of 2022, it controls four of Minnesota's eight U.S. House seats, both of its U.S. Senate seats, the Minnesota House of Represen ...

(DFL), he represented District 5, which included portions of Beltrami,

Cass Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Cass, ...

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, and Itasca counties in the northern part of the state.

Early life, education, and career

Saxhaug completed his secondary education at

Grand Rapids High School Grand Rapids High School is a four-year public high school located in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, United States, on 800 Conifer Drive. GRHS offers a wide range of extracurricular activities, and has one of the few competitive field show marching band ...

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

and later received a

B.A. 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 ...

from St. Olaf College in

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. Prior to his election to the Senate, he served on the Grand Rapids City Council from 1995 to 1997, and was an Itasca County Commissioner from 1997 to 2003. He is a retired insurance agent.

Minnesota Senate

Saxhaug was first elected in 2002, and was re-elected in 2006, 2010, and 2012. Following redistricting in 2012, Saxhaug was placed in District 5 alongside Republican Senator John Carlson. Saxhaug defeated Carlson on November 6, 2012. He lost

re-election The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

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 ...

Justin Eichorn Justin Eichorn (born May 7, 1984) is an American politician and member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represents District 5 in north-central Minnesota. Early life, education, and career Eichorn attende ...

in 2016.

Electoral history

Personal life

Saxhaug and his wife, Nancy, have two children. Son Tim is a member of Bluegrass band

Trampled by Turtles Trampled by Turtles is an American bluegrass-influenced folk band from Duluth, Minnesota. They have released ten full albums, three of which reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard bluegrass chart. Their fifth release, ''Palomino'', stayed in the c ...

References

External links

Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Senator Tom Saxhaug
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saxhaug, Tom Democratic Party Minnesota state senators 1948 births Living people People from Grand Rapids, Minnesota St. Olaf College alumni 21st-century American politicians