Jeremy Munson

Jeremy Munson (born December 31, 1975)^[1][2] is an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Munson represented District 23B in the Minnesota House of Representatives.^[3] He lives on a farm outside Lake Crystal, Minnesota.^[4][5]

Jeremy Munson
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 23B district
In office February 20, 2018 – January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Tony Cornish
Succeeded by	Bjorn Olson
Personal details
Born	(1975-12-31) December 31, 1975 (age 48) Brainerd, Minnesota, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Children	2
Education	University of Minnesota, Crookston (BS)

Early life and education

Munson grew up in Brainerd, Minnesota. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business from the University of Minnesota Crookston.^[6]

Career

After graduating from college, Munson lived in New York City for a year and worked as an account manager for RBC Capital Markets. He has since worked as a business analyst for the Taylor Corporation, Target, Ameriprise Financial, Allianz Life, Prime Therapeutics, Edina Realty, Aon, and the Andersen Corporation. In 2013, he founded Minnesota Hops Company, which specializes in growing hops for Minnesota's craft brewing industry.^[7]

Munson was chair of the Blue Earth County Republican Party for two years before becoming chair of the Minnesota's 1st congressional district Republicans in 2017.^[7] He is a self-employed business consultant in regulatory compliance.^[7]

Munson has supported false claims and conspiracy theories regarding the 2020 election. He has repeated the lie that Donald Trump won the election and advocated for overturning the 2020 election results.^[8][9][10] Munson was one of seven Minnesota lawmakers to sign a letter demanding that states decertify their election results despite no evidence of fraud.^[8]

Minnesota House of Representatives

Munson was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in a 2018 special election, succeeding Republican incumbent Tony Cornish, who, after facing sexual harassment and assault allegations from multiple women who worked as staffers, legislators and lobbyists, signed a settlement agreement with one of the women and resigned from office.^[11] In December 2018, Munson and three other House members formed a separate New House Republican Caucus out of dissatisfaction with the House minority leadership.^[12]

On March 25, 2021, Munson proposed HF2423, a bill that would cede several Minnesota counties to South Dakota.^[13] Munson claimed, "Minnesota becomes more politically polarized every year and the metro politicians have shown us that rural Minnesotans are no longer represented by Saint Paul. It's time to leave."^[14] South Dakota governor Kristi Noem supported his idea.^[14]

U.S. House of Representatives special election campaign

Main article: 2022 Minnesota's 1st congressional district special election

In February 2022, Munson filed paperwork to run in the Minnesota's 1st congressional district special election to replace U.S. Representative Jim Hagedorn, who had died of kidney cancer earlier that month.^[15] He has been endorsed by U.S. Senator Rand Paul and U.S. Representatives Jim Jordan, Thomas Massie, and Scott Perry.^[16][17][18]

Munson faced fellow state representative Nels Pierson, former state representative Brad Finstad, and former Minnesota Republican Party chair Jennifer Carnahan in the August 9 primary election.^[18]

Munson lost the special primary election and the general primary election to Finstad, who won the general election for the seat in both August and November.^[19]

Electoral history

2022 General Republican primary results^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brad Finstad	48,252	76.0
	Republican	Jeremy Munson	15,207	24.0
Total votes			63,459	100.0

2022 Special Republican primary results^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brad Finstad	13,695	38.12
	Republican	Jeremy Munson	13,268	36.93
	Republican	Jennifer Carnahan	2,887	8.04
	Republican	Matt Benda	2,629	7.32
	Republican	Nels Pierson	1,878	5.22
	Republican	Kevin Kocina	960	2.67
	Republican	Bob Carney Jr.	193	0.54
	Republican	Roger Ungemach	151	0.42
	Republican	J.R. Ewing	142	0.40
	Republican	Ken Navitsky	127	0.35
Total votes			35,930	100.00

2020 Minnesota House of Representatives general election, District 23B

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeremy Munson	13,919	64.7
	Democratic (DFL)	Leroy McClelland	7,577	35.2
	Write-in		27	0.1
Total votes			21,523	100.00

2018 Minnesota House of Representatives special election, District 23B

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeremy Munson	3,941	59.21
	Democratic (DFL)	Melissa Wagner	2,658	39.93
	Write-in		57	0.86
Total votes			6,656	100.00

2018 Minnesota House of Representatives general election, District 23B

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeremy Munson	10,290	60.05
	Democratic (DFL)	Jim Grabowska	6,827	39.84
	Write-in		19	0.11
Total votes			17,136	100.00

Personal life

Munson married Kallie Eberhart, of Madelia, Minnesota, in 2004. The couple have resided on their farm outside Lake Crystal, Minnesota since 2003. They have two daughters.^[1]

References

1. Van Berkel, Jessie (February 11, 2018). "Cash pours in for two Minnesota special elections". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on February 13, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
2. "Munson, Jeremy - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.lrl.mn.gov. Archived from the original on February 25, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
3. "Minnesota State Rep. Jeremy Munson - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
4. "Rep. Jeremy Munson (23B) - Minnesota House of Representatives". Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
5. "Munson For House". Munson For House. Archived from the original on February 25, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
6. "About Jeremy Munson | Thrivent". connect.thrivent.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
7. Mewes, Trey (January 21, 2018). "Munson looks to bring grassroots values to Capitol". Mankato Free Press. Archived from the original on January 21, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
8. "7 MN Republicans urge states to audit 2020 election results". Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
9. "Biden officially secures enough electors to become president". Associated Press. April 20, 2021. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
10. "Jeremy Munson could be the next Republican congressman from Minnesota's 1st District. Why are so many Republicans trying to stop that from happening?". May 18, 2022. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
11. Mewes, Trey (February 12, 2018). "Munson wins 23B special election". Mankato Free Press. Archived from the original on February 13, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
12. Bakst, Brian. "Renegade House members split from GOP caucus". Capitol View. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
13. "Text of bill as introduced". Archived from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
14. "Minnesota lawmaker proposes bill to allow counties to join South Dakota". WQOW. March 28, 2021. Archived from the original on March 28, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
15. "State Rep. Jeremy Munson files paperwork to run for US Congress". KTTC. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
16. Stolle, Matthew (April 25, 2022). "GOP district convention fails to endorse congressional candidate, but Munson claims win with most delegates". Rochester Post Bulletin. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
17. "Munson loan swells fundraising for open congressional seat". MPR News. Archived from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
18. Orenstein, Walker; Kaul, Greta (April 18, 2022). "What fundraising and endorsements tell us about the special election in Minnesota's 1st Congressional District". MinnPost. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
19. "Farmer and ex-legislator Finstad declared winner of Hagedorn seat". Roll Call. August 10, 2022. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
20. "Minnesota US House Primary Results". Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.

External links

• Jeremy Munson at Minnesota Legislators Past & Present
• Official House of Representatives website
• Official campaign website