Eric R. Pratt (born January 23, 1964) 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 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 h ...

. 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 ...

, he represents District 55 in the southwestern

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 sta ...

metropolitan area.

Early life, education, and career

Pratt's family moved to

Prior Lake, Minnesota Prior Lake is an exurban city southwest of Minneapolis seated next to Savage and Shakopee in Scott County in the state of Minnesota. Surrounding the shores of Lower and Upper Prior Lake, the city lies south of the Minnesota River in an area k ...

in 1978, where he graduated from

Prior Lake High School Prior Lake High School (PLHS) is located in Savage, Minnesota, United States and enrolls students in grades 912. The school is part of the South Suburban Conference. It has approximately 2,900 students currently enrolled, along with a teaching an ...

. His father was a commercial banker for

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...

and a commercial real estate broker. His mother taught elementary school for 40 years, finishing her career 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 attended the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

, graduating in 1987 with 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 yea ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

, and the

University of St. Thomas St. Thomas University or University of St. Thomas may refer to: *Saint Thomas Aquinas University, Colombia *Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North, Tucumán province, Argentina *St. Thomas University (Canada), Fredericton, New Brunswick *St. ...

, graduating in 1993 with an

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as account ...

Pratt played outside linebacker for the University of Colorado Buffaloes under Hall of Fame head coach

Bill McCartney William Paul McCartney (born August 22, 1940) is a former American football player and coach and the founder of the Promise Keepers men's ministry. He was the head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder for thirteen seasons (1982–1994), ...

. He was also a member of

Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Phi Epsilon (), commonly known as SigEp, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College (now the University of Richmond), and its national headquarte ...

fraternity. He was a member of the Prior Lake-Savage School Board from 2000 to 2012 and served as its chair.

Minnesota Senate

Pratt was elected to the

in 2012, winning with 55% of the vote over Kathy Busch in the general election on November 6, 2012. He was reelected on November 6, 2016, over Ali C. Ali with 69% of the vote. In 2020 he won reelected over DFL nominee Sahra Odowa with 62% of the vote. In the 90th and

91st Minnesota Legislature The Ninety-first Minnesota Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota from January 8, 2019 to January 4, 2021. It is composed of the Senate and House of Representatives, based on the results of the 2016 Senate election and 2 ...

he was an Assistant Majority Leader. He was also a Majority Whip in the

Personal life

Pratt is married to his wife, Tina. They have two children and reside in

. Pratt is a

risk manager In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environme ...

References

External links

Senator Eric Pratt
''official Minnesota Senate website''
Senator Eric Pratt
''official campaign website'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Eric 1964 births Living people University of Colorado Boulder alumni University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) alumni Republican Party Minnesota state senators School board members in Minnesota 21st-century American politicians People from Prior Lake, Minnesota