Matt Bliss 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 ...

since 2021, who also served from 2017 to 2019. 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 ...

, Bliss represents District 2A in northern

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 ...

, which includes parts of

Becker Becker () is one of the German-language surnames, along with Bäcker and Baecker, that derive from the root, which refers to baking. The surname began as a name for a baker (and thus his family). In northern Germany it can also derive from the ...

, 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 * Ca ...

, Clearwater, Hubbard, Itasca, and Mahnomen Counties.

Early life, education, and career

Bliss was raised on a farm and is one of ten siblings. He joined the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

after high school and was trained in communications and electronics. Bliss owns Bliss Point Resort along Cass Lake and worked as an IT director for the Red Lake Nation. He was the president of the Pennington Resort Association. Bliss ran unsuccessfully for the

Beltrami County Beltrami County ( ) is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,228. Its county seat is Bemidji. The county's name comes from Italian adventurer Giacomo Beltrami from Bergamo, ...

Board of Commissioners in 2014.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Bliss was elected to the

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. He defeated four-term DFL incumbent

John Persell John Sterling Persell, Jr. (born 1950) is an American DFL politician who represented District 5A in northern Minnesota, first winning election in 2008. Early life, education, and career Persell majored in biology at Bemidji State University, ...

. 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 Unit ...

, Bliss lost to Persell by 11 votes. A state-mandated recount confirmed Persell's victory. In

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, Bliss once again defeated Persell, and was reelected in

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

. Bliss criticized Persell for his co-authorship of a red-flag gun control proposal and Democrats for defunding the police, though Persell stated he advocated for more public safety funding. Bliss serves as the minority lead on the Veteran and Military Affairs Committee and also sits on the Children and Families Finance and Policy and the Elections Finance and Policy Committees.

Electoral history

Personal life

Bliss lives in Pennington, Minnesota with his wife Emily, and has four children. He was previously married to Christine until she died of cancer. He is a member of the Minnesota Deer Hunters’ Association,

Pheasants Forever Pheasants Forever, Inc. (PF), a 501(c)(3) non-profit conservation organization, is dedicated to conserving wildlife habitat suitable for pheasants. Formed in 1982 as a response to the continuing decline of upland wildlife and habitat throughout t ...

Ducks Unlimited Ducks Unlimited (DU) is an American nonprofit organization 501(c) dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife, and people. It has had a membership of around 700,000 since January 2013. ...

, and the Ruffed Grouse Society.

References

External links

Official House of Representatives website

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, Matt Living people Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 21st-century American legislators Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Minnesota politicians