Shane Mekeland (born July 28, 1969) 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 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 ...
, Mekeland represents District 27A in central
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 ...
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 ...
Mekeland was a convenience store manager and owner for 20 years. He is a
general contractor
A contractor (North American English) or builder (British English), is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the c ...
.
Minnesota House of Representatives
Mekeland was elected to 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 ...
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 ...
and has been reelected every two years since. He first ran after three-term incumbent
Jim Newberger
James Newberger (born March 6, 1964) is an American politician who served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Newberger represented District 15B in central Minnesota, which in ...
announced he would not seek reelection in order to run in the 2018 U.S. Senate election.
Mekeland serves on the Climate and Energy Finance and Policy and Labor and Industry Finance and Policy Committees.
Political positions
Mekeland has called for an audit of the 2020 election. On December 10, 2022, he signed on to a letter calling on
Ken Paxton
Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. (born December 23, 1962) is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the attorney general of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Texas Senate representing the e ...
to include Minnesota in his unsuccessful lawsuit to invalidate election results in other states, citing "illegal voting practices" in the state.
In 2020, Mekeland wrote a letter to the Sherburne County Board of Commissioners asking it to designate the county a "Second Amendment sanctuary".
Mekeland opposed bipartisan legislation to increase worker protection laws for meatpacking workers, saying that existing laws were adequate to deal with injuries and other issues and additional regulations would lead to increased consolidation. He criticized cities for charging high fees on building permits to pay for other government services.
In 2025, Mekeland led sponsorship of a bill to designate
messenger RNA
In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of synthesizing a protein.
mRNA is created during the ...
(mRNA) treatments, which include several
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
vaccines, "weapons of mass destruction", and make possessing or administering them a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The bill was drafted by a Florida-based
hypnotist
Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychological ...
and
conspiracy theorist
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
...
who believes that mRNA treatments are "nanoparticle injections" that amount to "biological and technological weapons of mass destruction".
Electoral history
Personal life
Mekeland resides in Clear Lake, Minnesota, with his partner, Angela, and has one child.
In October 2018, Mekeland was attacked in a restaurant in St. George Township and suffered a concussion. He said he believed the attack was politically motivated, and posted online that "the media and the likes of Maxine Waters, Hillary, and Eric Holder" were responsible for driving the behavior.