Richard Day (born March 9, 1937) is an American politician and a former 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 ...

who represented District 26, which includes portions of

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Freeborn "Freeborn" is a term associated with political agitator John Lilburne (1614–1657), a member of the Levellers, a 17th-century English political party. As a word, "freeborn" means born free, rather than in slavery or bondage or vassalage. Lilbu ...

, Goodhue,

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Olmsted Olmsted may refer to: People * Olmsted (name) Places * Olmsted Air Force Base, inactive since 1969 * Olmsted, Illinois * Olmsted County, Minnesota * Olmsted Falls, Ohio * Olmsted Point, a viewing area in Yosemite National Park * Olmsted To ...

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, Steele and Waseca counties in the southeastern part of the state. A Republican, he was first elected in 1990, and was re-elected in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2002 and 2006. Prior to

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

in 1992 and 2002, he represented the old districts 30 and 28.

Background

Day was born on a farm in Rochester, Minnesota, where he graduated from Rochester High School. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and business administration from Winona State College, now

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 ...

. Day lives in

Owatonna, Minnesota Owatonna ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Steele County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 26,420 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Owatonna is home to the Steele County Fairgrounds, which hosts the Steele County F ...

where he has worked in printing sales, franchise sales, Director of Franchise Sales and Development for Century 21, a real estate broker, and an

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Salesman, from which he is now retired. He served on the Owatonna City Council from 1976 to 1980, and was a Steele County commissioner from 1980 to 1988. He is married to wife, Janet, and has four children: Dan, Steve, Debbie and Julie. He is Catholic.

Career in politics

Minnesota Legislature

Prior to his resignation, Day was a member of the senate's Business, Industry and Jobs Committee, Capital Investment Committee, Finance Committee, State and Local Government Operations and Oversight Committee, and Transportation Committee. He also served on the Finance Subcommittee for the Transportation Budget and Policy Division, and on the State and Local Government Operations and Oversight Subcommittee for Gaming. He was minority leader from 1997 to 2007.

2008 congressional race

On May 27, 2008, Day entered the Republican primary in

Minnesota's 1st congressional district Minnesota's 1st congressional district spans southern Minnesota from the border with South Dakota to the border with Wisconsin. It is a primarily rural district built on a strong history of agriculture, though this is changing rapidly due to pop ...

. He lost to Brian J. Davis, a physician who was endorsed by the party, and who went on to lose the general election to the incumbent Congressman,

Tim Walz Timothy James Walz (; born April 6, 1964) is an American politician who has served since 2019 as the 41st governor of Minnesota. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States, vice pre ...

Senate resignation and Racino promotion

On December 8, 2009, Day announced that he was resigning his senate seat on January 8, 2010, to lobby full-time for slots at the state's two horse-racing tracks, with the thought that some of the proceeds generated by the slots could be used for a new

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

football stadium. Long an advocate of race track slots, he led the newly-formed non-profit Racino Now, which was backed by horse owners and business and political insiders. A special election to fill the seat was held on January 26, 2010, and was won by the Republican

Mike Parry Michael Alan Newton-Parry (born 29 December 1954) is an English broadcaster and former journalist. Early life Born in Chester, Parry attended The King's School and later completed his education at Trent Polytechnic, now known as Nottingham ...

of Waseca.

Electoral history

*2006 Race for Minnesota Senate – District 26 **Dick Day (R) 54.48% (16148 votes) **Jeremy Eller (DFL), 45.37% (13450 votes) **Write-in, 0.15% (44 votes) *2002 Race for Minnesota Senate – District 26 **Dick Day (R) 59.97% (18444 votes) **Jeremy Eller (DFL), 36.33% (11174 votes) **John E. Gibson (Green) 3.61%(1111 votes) **Write-in, 0.08% (26 votes) *2000 Race for Minnesota Senate – District 28 **Dick Day (R) 63.53% (21407 votes) **Fred Knudsen (DFL), 36.47% (12291 votes)

References

External links

Project Votesmart Profile: Senator Dick DayMinnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Senator Dick DayDick Day's Congressional Campaign Web Site

Racino Now Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Dick 1937 births Living people Winona State University alumni People from Owatonna, Minnesota Republican Party Minnesota state senators People from Rochester, Minnesota 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature