Matt Bliss 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 2021, who also served from 2017 to 2019. 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 ...

, Bliss represents District 2B in northern

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 ...

, which includes parts of

Becker Becker () is one of the German-language surnames, along with Bäcker and Baecker, that derive from the root, which refers to baking. The surname began as a name for a baker (and thus his family). In northern Germany, it can also derive from th ...

, Beltrami,

Cass Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Cass, ...

, Clearwater, Hubbard, Itasca, and Mahnomen Counties.

Early life, education, and career

Bliss was raised on a farm and is one of ten siblings. He joined the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

after high school and was trained in communications and electronics. Bliss owns Bliss Point Resort along Cass Lake and worked as an IT director for the Red Lake Nation. He was the president of the Pennington Resort Association. Bliss ran unsuccessfully for the Beltrami County Board of Commissioners in 2014.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Bliss was elected to the

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. He defeated four-term DFL incumbent John Persell. In

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, Bliss lost to Persell by 11 votes. A state-mandated recount confirmed Persell's victory. In

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, Bliss once again defeated Persell, and was reelected in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. Bliss criticized Persell for his co-authorship of a red-flag gun control proposal and Democrats for defunding the police, though Persell stated he advocated for more public safety funding. Bliss serves as the minority lead on the Veteran and Military Affairs Committee and also sits on the Children and Families Finance and Policy and the Elections Finance and Policy Committees.

Electoral history

Personal life

Bliss lives in Pennington, Minnesota with his wife Emily, and has four children. He was previously married to Christine until she died of cancer. He is a member of the Minnesota Deer Hunters’ Association, Pheasants Forever,

Ducks Unlimited Ducks Unlimited (DU) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife, and people. History and profile In 1927, an offshoot of the Boone and ...

, and the Ruffed Grouse Society.

References

External links

Official House of Representatives website

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, Matt Living people Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature