Jeff Backer

Jeff Backer Jr. (born January 3, 1967) is a Minnesota politician and member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represents District 9A in western Minnesota.[1] He was Woodbury Mayor Mary Giuliani Stephens's running mate in the Republican primary for the 2018 Minnesota gubernatorial election; the pair withdrew from the race during the Republican party state convention.[2]

Jeff Backer
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 9A district
12A (2015-2022)
Assumed office
January 6, 2015
Preceded byJay McNamar
Personal details
Born (1967-01-03) January 3, 1967
Browns Valley, Minnesota
Political partyRepublican Party of Minnesota
SpouseJudy Gnifkowski
ChildrenBrittany Backer
ResidenceBrowns Valley, Minnesota
Alma materSt. Cloud State University
OccupationSmall business owner Mayor legislator

Early life, education, and career

Backer his identical twin brother, Jay, were born and raised in Browns Valley, Minnesota. To help pay for their college, they ran their own lawn business, worked with their father at his independent mechanic business, and helped local farmers. He graduated from Browns Valley High School. In 1991 he graduated from St. Cloud State University with a B.S. degree in chemistry and public administration. Since 1993 Backer and his brother have run a catalog business, BW Incorporated, in Browns Valley.

Backer has served as a volunteer EMT for Browns Valley Ambulance since 1995. He was elected to Browns Valley City Council in 2000 and served until 2004, when he was elected mayor of Browns Valley. He served as mayor until 2010. Backer has also served as a member of the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training and as a School Board Member for the Browns Valley School District 801.[3]

Minnesota House of Representatives

Backer was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2014, defeating incumbent Representative Jay McNamar, and has been reelected every two years since. He serves as the minority lead for the Legacy Finance Committee, and also sits on the Health Finance and Policy and Human Services Policy Committees.[1]

Electoral history
2014 Minnesota State House - District 12A[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jeff Backer 8,725 51.85
Democratic (DFL) Jay McNamar 8,065 47.93
Write-in 38 0.23
Total votes 16,828 100.0
Republican gain from Democratic (DFL)
2016 Minnesota State House - District 12A[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jeff Backer 13,021 60.46
Democratic (DFL) Jay McNamar 8,498 39.46
Write-in 17 0.08
Total votes 21,536 100.0
Republican hold
2018 Minnesota State House - District 12A[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jeff Backer 11,382 62.02
Democratic (DFL) Murray Smart 6,959 37.92
Write-in 10 0.05
Total votes 18,351 100.0
Republican hold
2020 Minnesota State House - District 12A[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jeff Backer 14,769 66.87
Democratic (DFL) Murray Smart 7,299 33.05
Write-in 17 0.08
Total votes 22,085 100.0
Republican hold
2022 Minnesota State House - District 9A[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jeff Backer 12,248 66.30
Democratic (DFL) Nancy Jost 6,172 33.41
Write-in 54 0.29
Total votes 18,474 100.0
Republican hold

Personal life

In 1993 Backer married Judy Gnifkowski. They have one child. Backer taught fifth and sixth grade release time at Browns Valley's Zion Lutheran Church, where he is an active member. He is a member of the Browns Valley Lions Club.[3]

References
  1. "Minnesota Legislators Past & Present - Legislator Record - Backer, Jeff". leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  2. "Giuliani Stephens names Backer to ticket in GOP governor bid - StarTribune.com". web.archive.org. 2018-05-05. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  3. "Meet Jeff". jeffbackerjr.com. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  4. "2014 Results for State Representative District 12A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  5. "2016 Results for State Representative District 12A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  6. "2018 Results for State Representative District 12A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  7. "2020 Results for State Representative District 12A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  8. "2022 Results for State Representative District 9A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.