Matt Bliss

Matt Bliss is an American politician and member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party, Bliss represents District 2A in northern Minnesota.[1]

Matt Bliss
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 2A district
5A (2017-18, 2021-22)
Assumed office
January 5, 2021
Preceded byJohn Persell
In office
January 3, 2017 – January 7, 2019
Preceded byJohn Persell
Succeeded byJohn Persell
Personal details
Political partyRepublican Party of Minnesota
Spouse(s)Christine (died of cancer)
Emily
Children4
Occupationsmall business owner

Early life, education, and career

Bliss joined the Navy after high school and was trained in electronics.[2] He owns Bliss Point Resort along Cass Lake and is the president of the Pennington Resort Association.[3] He unsuccessfully sought election to the Beltrami County Board of Commissioners in 2014, losing to Keith Winger.[4]

Minnesota House of Representatives

Bliss was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016, unseating DFL Representative John Persell. In 2018, he lost to John Persell by just 11 votes.[5] In 2020 he challenged Persell again, this time defeating him with 53.5 percent of the vote. Bliss was reelected in 2022.

Bliss currently 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.[1]

Electoral History
2016 Minnesota State House - District 5A[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Matt Bliss 10,318 53.88
Democratic (DFL) John Persell 8,808 45.99
Write-in 25 0.13
Total votes 19,151 100.0
Republican gain from Democratic (DFL)
2018 Minnesota State House - District 5A[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic (DFL) John Persell 8,454 50.01
Republican Matt Bliss 8,443 49.95
Write-in 7 0.04
Total votes 16,904 100.0
Democratic (DFL) gain from Republican
2020 Minnesota State House - District 5A[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Matt Bliss 11,482 53.37
Democratic (DFL) John Persell 9,996 46.46
Write-in 36 0.17
Total votes 21,514 100.0
Republican gain from Democratic (DFL)
2022 Minnesota State House - District 2B[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Matt Bliss 11,310 63.46
Democratic (DFL) Erika Bailey-Johnson 6,505 36.50
Write-in 8 0.04
Total votes 17,823 100.0
Republican hold

Personal life

Bliss is married to his wife, Emily, and they reside in Pennington.[1] He was previously married to Christine until she died of cancer. Bliss has four children and three grandchildren. He is a member of the Minnesota Deer Hunters’ Association, Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, and the Ruffed Grouse Society.[2]

References
  1. "Bliss, Matt". Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  2. "Matt Bliss announces plans to run for House dist. 5A". The Pilot-Independent. Adams Publishing Group. August 18, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  3. "ELECTION 2016: District 5A: Bliss defeats incumbent Persell". Brainerd Dispatch. November 9, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  4. Liedke, Matthew (August 7, 2015). "Bliss enters 2016 race for Minnesota House 5A seat". The Bemidji Pioneer. Forum Communications. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  5. Enger, John (December 3, 2018). "DFLer John Persell wins after a Minn. House seat recount". Minnesota Public Radio.
  6. "2016 Results for State Representative District 5A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  7. "2018 Results for State Representative District 5A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  8. "2020 Results for State Representative District 5A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  9. "2022 Results for State Representative District 2B". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
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