Linda Runbeck (born June 11, 1946) is an American politician who was a member of 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 ...

from 1989 to 1993 and again from 2011 to 2021. She was also a 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 ...

from 1993 to 2001.

Career

Prior to serving in the

Minnesota Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decenn ...

, she was a member of the Circle Pines City Council. She was president of the Taxpayers League of Minnesota, served on the Northwest

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

’s Advisory Board, receiving its Distinguished Leader Award in 2007, and was also development director at the Minnesota Free Market Institute. She has also been a frequent guest on ''Almanac'', a weekly public affairs television show in Minnesota. She previously worked as director of advertising for County Seat Stores and vice president for Dahlberg Incorporated, a hearing aid manufacturer. She later owned a Miracle-Ear hearing aid franchise.

Minnesota Legislature

Runbeck served in the

, representing District 53 from 1993 to 2001, leaving to make an unsuccessful run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Minnesota's 4th District in 2000 against Betty McCollum. She also served in the House previously, representing the old District 52A from 1989 to 1993 after winning a 1989 special election held after Rep. Gordon Voss resigned to accept an appointment by Governor

Rudy Perpich Rudolph George Perpich Sr. (born Rudolph George Prpić; June 27, 1928 September 21, 1995) was an American politician who served as the governor of Minnesota from 1976 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor ...

as chief administrator of the Minnesota Metropolitan Waste Control Commission. Runbeck was elected to the

in 2010 and re-elected in 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018. She did not seek re-election in 2020 and was succeeded by Donald Raleigh.

Political positions

Runbeck is a conservative Republican, receiving a lifetime score of 89% from the

American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for Conservatism in the United States, conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Poli ...

. She supported the 2012 amendments to the Minnesota State Constitution that intended to ban gay marriage and to require a photo ID to vote. Both of these proposals were later rejected by voters. Runbeck opposes abortion and voted to ban them past 20 weeks. She has voted to reduce funding for

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...

. She supports lifting the moratorium on nuclear power in the state.

References

External links

Rep. Runbeck Web Page
*
Project Votesmart – Rep. Linda Runbeck Profile

Linda Runbeck Campaign Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Runbeck, Linda 1946 births Living people People from Circle Pines, Minnesota Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Republican Party Minnesota state senators Women state legislators in Minnesota Lutherans from Minnesota 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature