Tom Emmer
Tom Emmer, a Republican who has represented Minnesota's 6th congressional district since 2015 and served as House majority whip since 2023, faces Democratic-Farmer-Labor nominee Doug Chapin, a college professor, in 2026.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Tom Emmer.
- Born
- March 3, 1961
- Birthplace
- South Bend, Indiana
- Education
- St. Thomas Academy
Boston College
University of Alaska Fairbanks (Bachelor of Arts in political science, 1984)
William Mitchell College of Law (Juris Doctor, 1988)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Tom Emmer was born on March 3, 1961, in South Bend, Indiana, and his family later moved to Edina, Minnesota.
He attended St. Thomas Academy, a Catholic military college-preparatory high school in Mendota Heights, and then studied at Boston College and the University of Alaska Fairbanks, playing hockey at both schools.
He graduated from Alaska Fairbanks in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and received a Juris Doctor from William Mitchell College of Law in Saint Paul in 1988.
Career
Emmer began his legal career representing cities and counties through the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust and the League of Minnesota Counties Insurance Trust, and he served on the city councils of Independence and Delano.
He was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2004 and served three terms, from 2005 to 2011. In 2010 he was the Republican nominee for governor of Minnesota and lost to Mark Dayton by less than half a percentage point, conceding on December 8, 2010, after a recount.
Following the retirement of Michele Bachmann, Emmer won the 6th district seat in 2014 and has been reelected five times. He chaired the National Republican Congressional Committee from 2019 to 2023, and after the 2022 elections he won a contested vote for majority whip, 115 to 106.
In October 2023 the House Republican Conference nominated him for Speaker, and he withdrew the same day after opposition from hardliners and Donald Trump. In the 119th Congress he sits on the Committee on Financial Services and its Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion.
2026 race
Minnesota's 6th congressional district covers the northern suburbs and exurbs of Minneapolis, and Tom Emmer is its Republican incumbent, re-elected with 62.0% of the vote in 2024.
In the Republican primary, Emmer won 80.9% of the vote against chemical engineer Mike Foley and Chris Corey, a candidate for the seat in 2024.
His opponent in the general election on November 3, 2026, is Democratic-Farmer-Labor nominee Doug Chapin, a college professor who was the only candidate in his party's primary.