Eric R. Pratt (born January 23, 1964) is a

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

politician and member of the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Minnesota Legislature, 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 State legislature (Unite ...

. A member of the

Republican Party of Minnesota The Republican Party of Minnesota is the state affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in Minnesota and the oldest active political party in the state. Founded in 1855, the party is headquartered in Edina, Minnesota, E ...

, he represents District 54 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 stat ...

metropolitan area.

Early life, education, and career

Pratt's family moved to

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

in 1978, where he graduated from Prior Lake High School. His father was a commercial banker for

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

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 southwest of Minneapolis. Sited on the south bank bend of the Minnesota River, Shakopee and nearby suburbs comprise the southwest portion of Minneap ...

. 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, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

, graduating in 1987 with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

, and the University of St. Thomas, graduating in 1993 with an

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

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

Bill McCartney William Paul McCartney (August 22, 1940 – January 10, 2025) was an American college football coach who was the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes for 13 seasons ( 1982–1994). He compiled a record, and won three consecutive Big Eight Co ...

. He was also a member of

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

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 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...

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 Minnesota Senate, Senate and Minnesota House of Representatives, House of Representatives, ...

, Pratt was an assistant majority leader. He was also a majority whip in the

Personal life

Pratt and his wife have two children and reside in

. Pratt was a financial services

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 environ ...

References

External links

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