Rep.-elect Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.-07)

Date of birth: Nov. 3, 1965
Residence: Paynesville, Minn.
Occupation: former Minnesota lieutenant governor
Education: B.A., St. Cloud State University; J.D., William Mitchell College of Law
Family: husband, Scott; two children; five grandchildren.

Rep.-elect Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.) earned her House seat representing Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District after defeating longtime Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.)

The 55-year-old, who describes herself as a “trailblazer” and a “proven conservative leader,” served as Minnesota’s lieutenant governor for a year until 2019.  

Fischbach was first elected to the Minnesota state Senate in 1996 and served until 2018. She became the first female president of the Minnesota state Senate in 2011 and served as president again in 2017.

After Democrat Tina Smith stepped down as lieutenant governor to run for the U.S. Senate in 2018, Fischbach was appointed to the role. Initially, Fischbach intended to remain in the state Senate until that decision was challenged in the courts and she resigned.

President Trump endorsed her in March over Twitter, and in a campaign ad, she pledged to work with Trump to “make our economy great again.”

“People are looking for new ideas for how to move western Minnesota forward so it continues to be a place where families can live, work and raise their families,” she told CBS Minnesota.

– Justine Coleman