Aaron Repinski (born ) is an American politician serving in the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

since 2023. 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 26A, in Winona County.

Early life, education and career

Repinski grew up in

Winona, Minnesota Winona ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, Minnesota, United States. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf (Winona, Minnesota), Sugar Loaf. The population was 2 ...

, where he attended Cotter High School. He received an associate's degree from

Winona State University Winona State University is a public university in Winona, Minnesota, United States. It was founded as First State Normal School of Minnesota in 1858 and is the oldest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. It was the fi ...

. Earlier in life, he was a firefighter in Winona and in

Fountain City, Wisconsin Fountain City is a small city bordering the Mississippi River in Buffalo County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 859 at the 2010 census. Fountain City is also known for where Northwest Airlines Flight 421 crashed. History Fountai ...

. In 2020, he was elected to represent the at-large district of the Winona City Council, defeating incumbent Paul Schollmeier by over 11 percentage points.

Minnesota House of Representatives

In 2024, after 38 years in office,

Gene Pelowski Gene P. Pelowski, Jr. (born February 2, 1952) is an American politician, teacher, and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represented District 26A, which in ...

of the

Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Minnesota ( ) is a 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 south, and No ...

, representative for Legislative District 26A in the

, retired and did not seek reelection. District 26A was quickly identified as a potential flip for the Republican Party: although Pelowski had won by over 10 points in 2022, the Winona area been trending conservative in recent years. Repinski ran for the seat in the 2024 election, defeating S. James Doerr in the Republican primary. He then won the general election by five points over the DFL nominee,

Fair Vote FairVote is a 501(c)(3) organization and Lobbying groups, lobbying group in the United States. It was founded in 1992 as Citizens for Proportional Representation to support the implementation of proportional representation in American elections ...

Minnesota leader Sarah Kruger. This was a 16-point swing in favor of the Republican Party, one of the largest swings in the House that year.

Electoral history

Personal life

Repinski lives in Winona with his wife, Michelle. He is a member of the Basilica of Saint Stanislaus Kostka, a

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He owns Winona Tour Boat, a company offering Mississippi River cruises. He also officiates weddings and has a hypnosis act.

References

External links

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Repinski, Aaron Living people Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature People from Winona, Minnesota