Joe McDonald (politician)

Joe McDonald
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 29A district
Assumed office
January 4, 2011
Preceded byTom Emmer
Personal details
Born (1966-07-21) July 21, 1966 (age 57)
Watertown, Minnesota
Political partyRepublican
SpouseRachel
Children3
ResidenceDelano, Minnesota
EducationHennepin Technical College (A.A.)
Occupation
WebsiteGovernment website Campaign website

Joseph P. McDonald (born July 21, 1966) is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2011. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, McDonald represents District 29A northwest of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Delano and Rockford and parts of Wright, Meeker, and Hennepin Counties.[1][2]

Early life, education, and career[edit]

McDonald was born in Watertown, Minnesota, to parents of Irish descent. His father, K. J. McDonald, served as a Minnesota state representative from 1977 to 1991, and as Watertown mayor.[1][3][4]

McDonald graduated from Hennepin Technical College with an A.A. in photography. He earned his master's degree in photography in 2003 and his Craftsman's degree in photography in 2008. He is a photographer and business owner.[1]

McDonald was a member of the Delano School Board and served on the city council from 2000 to 2006 and as mayor from 2007 until his election to the state legislature.[1]

Minnesota House of Representatives[edit]

McDonald was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2010 and has been reelected every two years since. He first ran after three-term incumbent Tom Emmer announced he would not run for reelection in order to run for governor of Minnesota.[1][5] In 2022, Joe Crawford, a member of the right-wing group Action 4 Liberty, challenged McDonald in the Republican primary.[6] McDonald was kicked out of an Action 4 Liberty event, and called the Wright County sheriff about the incident. He criticized the group's methods and defended his conservative voting record.[6] He called the group "frauds" and called Erik Mortensen, a fellow lawmaker associated with the group, "a petulant child".[6] No charges were ultimately filed.[7]

McDonald serves as the minority lead for the Labor and Industry Finance and Policy Committee and sits on the Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee.[1]

McDonald opposed legislation that would ban noncompete clauses for many workers, and a bill that would allow a lower minimum wage for tipped employees.[8][9] He authored a bill to fully repeal the estate tax.[10]

McDonald has supported reforms to the Metropolitan Council, a regional transit planning agency, saying, "we'll do everything we can to make sure the Met Council doesn't put its tentacles into our county".[11] He has voted to repeal gun permit laws in Minnesota.[12] He has said he was open to restoring voting rights to felons in 2020, but advocated for a standalone bill vote.[13]

McDonald opposed legislation to allow liquor stores to open on Sundays, saying, "stay home with your family. Value church and family times".[14] He supported a bill to allow bars to stay open till 4 a.m. during the 2018 Super Bowl LII week, but later expressed reservations about the proposal.[15][16] McDonald opposed raising taxes to pay for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium and later voted against the final bill.[17][18]

Electoral history[edit]

2010 Minnesota State House - District 19B[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Joe McDonald 14,770 67.22
Democratic (DFL) Christine Brazelton 7,179 32.67
Write-in 25 0.11
Total votes 21,974 100.0
Republican hold
2012 Minnesota State House - District 29A[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Joe McDonald (incumbent) 13,002 61.94
Democratic (DFL) Susann Dye 7,954 37.89
Write-in 34 0.16
Total votes 20,990 100.0
Republican hold
2014 Minnesota State House - District 29A[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Joe McDonald (incumbent) 11,839 96.80
Write-in 391 3.20
Total votes 12,230 100.0
Republican hold
2016 Minnesota State House - District 29A[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Joe McDonald (incumbent) 14,916 69.62
Democratic (DFL) Courtney Phillips 6,482 30.26
Write-in 26 0.12
Total votes 21,424 100.0
Republican hold
2018 Minnesota State House - District 29A[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Joe McDonald (incumbent) 13,114 67.86
Democratic (DFL) Renée Cardarelle 6,193 32.05
Write-in 18 0.09
Total votes 19,325 100.0
Republican hold
2020 Minnesota State House - District 29A[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Joe McDonald (incumbent) 17,823 70.29
Democratic (DFL) Renée Cardarelle 7,499 29.57
Write-in 36 0.14
Total votes 25,358 100.0
Republican hold
2022 Minnesota State House - District 29A[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Joe McDonald (incumbent) 14,798 70.68
Democratic (DFL) Sherri Leyda 6,115 29.21
Write-in 24 0.11
Total votes 20,937 100.0
Republican hold

Personal life[edit]

McDonald lives in Delano, Minnesota, with his spouse Rachel, and has three children.[1] He is Catholic and attends St. Peter's Catholic Church in Delano.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "McDonald, Joe - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.lrl.mn.gov. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  2. ^ "Rep. Joe McDonald (29A) - Minnesota House of Representatives". www.house.mn.gov. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  3. ^ "McDonald, Kenneth James "K. J." - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present".
  4. ^ Kimball, Joe (October 5, 2012). "Longtime Republican legislator K.J. McDonald has died in Watertown". MinnPost. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  5. ^ Pugmire, Tim (December 29, 2010). "New GOP House members, vol. 2". MPR News. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Winter, Deena (February 25, 2022). "Action 4 Liberty candidates challenging Republicans across the state". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  7. ^ Winter, Deena (February 11, 2022). "No charges filed after lawmaker was yanked out of Action 4 Liberty meeting". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  8. ^ Van Berkel, Jessie (February 22, 2022). "DFL legislators hope to ban noncompete clauses for many workers". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  9. ^ May 18, 2018 (May 18, 2018). "House supplemental budget bill would create statewide 'tip credit' in Minnesota". MinnPost. Retrieved April 25, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Pugmire, Tim (January 12, 2017). "Lawmakers OK initial tax cuts, begin debating others". MPR News. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  11. ^ Nelson, Emma (October 22, 2016). "Met Council critics will seek bill to overhaul agency in 2017". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  12. ^ Collins, Bob (January 26, 2011). "The gulf of St. Paul". MPR News. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  13. ^ Pugmire, Tim (June 16, 2020). "House Democrats move quickly on police changes". MPR News. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  14. ^ Collins, Bob (March 30, 2012). "Sunday liquor sales dies again at Capitol". MPR News. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  15. ^ Pheifer, Pat (January 17, 2017). "Bill would let bars stay open till 4 a.m. during 2018 Super Bowl week". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  16. ^ Pugmire, Tom (April 16, 2018). "Lawmakers consider lower minimum wage for tip earners". MPR News. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  17. ^ Kimball, Joe (October 20, 2011). "16 GOP legislators say no new taxes for stadium". MinnPost. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  18. ^ MinnPost staff (May 10, 2012). "Vikings stadium — what's in final deal and how House members voted". MinnPost. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  19. ^ "2010 Results for State Representative District 19B". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  20. ^ "2012 Results for State Representative District 29A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  21. ^ "2014 Results for State Representative District 29A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  22. ^ "2016 Results for State Representative District 29A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  23. ^ "2018 Results for State Representative District 29A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  24. ^ "2020 Results for State Representative District 29A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  25. ^ "2022 Results for State Representative District 29A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 17, 2023.

External links[edit]

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