| Marty Seifert | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 21A district |
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| In office January 7, 1997 – January 3, 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Jim Girard |
| Succeeded by | Chris Swedzinski |
| Minnesota House Minority Leader | |
| In office January 3, 2007 – June 3, 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Margaret Anderson Kelliher |
| Succeeded by | Kurt Zellers |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 23, 1972 Springfield, Minnesota |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Traci |
| Children | Brittany and Braxton |
| Residence | Marshall, Minnesota |
| Alma mater | Southwest Minnesota State University |
| Occupation | educator admissions counselor legislator |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Website | www.martyseifert.com |
Marty Seifert (born April 23, 1972 in Springfield, Minnesota) is a former Republican Minority Leader and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. He represented District 21A, a predominantly rural district in southwestern Minnesota that includes portions of Lyon, Redwood and Yellow Medicine counties, and the cities of Marshall and Redwood Falls.[1] In 2010, he ran for Governor of Minnesota.
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First elected in 1996, Seifert served as House Majority Whip from 1999-2006. When the Republicans lost control of the House after the 2006 election, he took over leadership of the party in the House from former Speaker Steve Sviggum.[1]
Seifert served on the House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee and was an ex officio member of the House Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.[2]
On June 3, 2009, Seifert announced that he was stepping down from his position as minority leader to run for governor of Minnesota.[3] On October 15, 2009, he also announced that he would not seek re-election to the House, but would concentrate his efforts on the 2010 governor's race.[4]
At the Republican Party of Minnesota's off-year state convention held on October 3, 2009, at the Saint Paul River Centre, Seifert was the first place winner of a non-binding straw poll, receiving 37% of the vote. He was followed by state representative Tom Emmer with 23% of the vote and former state auditor Patricia Anderson with 14% of the vote.[5]
On February 2nd, 2010, Seifert won a statewide straw poll of Republican voters attending their precinct caucuses. He garnered 50% of the vote, followed by Rep. Tom Emmer with 39%. No other candidate got beyond single digits.[6]
On February 18th, 2010, Seifert announced that Rhonda Sivarajah would be his running mate for Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota. [7]
Seifert went into the 2010 State Republican Convention in a close battle with Tom Emmer, but fell behind on the first ballot. After the second ballot showed Emmer near the threshold for party endorsement, Seifert withdrew from the race, endorsed Emmer, and asked the convention to give Emmer their unanimous endorsement.[8] The gubernatorial race ultimately resulted in Democratic-Farmer-Labor nominee Mark Dayton defeating Emmer by less than 9,000 votes.
Following his endorsement of Emmer at the state convention, Seifert withdrew from the governors' race and served the rest of his term as a state representative, which he had promised would be his last term.[9] Following the end of his term, he acquired a real estate license and began selling houses. [10] He eventually became the executive director of the Avera Marshall Foundation but also retained his real estate license and maintains a job as a buyer's agent with Real Estate Retrievers in Marshall.[11]
In September 2010, he was admitted to a hospital after experiencing pain and shortness of breath, which was revealed to be the result of a fluid buildup in his left lung.[12]
Following speculation that he may challenge incumbent Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar in 2012, Seifert posted on his Facebook page on May 9, 2011, that he would not seek the Senate seat.[13]
Seifert attended college at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. During his time there, he brought the College Republicans back to the school, and later became the student body president. Upon graduation in 1995, he received a B.S. in Political Science. He is a member of the Southwest State University Alumni Association, and a former member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees.[14]
Seifert is married to Traci (DeSutter) and has two children. He is a former government and history teacher at Marshall Senior High School, and is currently an admissions counselor at Southwest Minnesota State University.[2]
Seifert is currently a real estate agent and the executive director of the Avera Marshall Foundation.[15]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Margaret Anderson Kelliher |
Minnesota House Minority Leader 2007 – 2009 |
Succeeded by Kurt Zellers |
| Preceded by Jim Girard |
State Representative from Minnesota District 21A 1997 – 2011 |
Succeeded by Chris Swedzinski |
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