Chris Swedzinski is an American politician who has been serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party of Minnesota and represents District 15A in southwest Minnesota, which includes the city of Marshall, the counties of Lac qui Parle, Lyon and Yellow Medicine, and parts of Chippewa County.
Born on May 10, 1978, Swedzinski graduated from Minneota High School in Minneota. He then went on to Ridgewater College in Willmar and Minnesota State University in Mankato, earning his B.S. in history and political science.
Before his political career, Swedzinski served as a district representative for former U.S. Representative Mark Kennedy for five years. He also worked as a Rural Development Specialist for the United States Department of Agriculture, designing and facilitating outreach plans and strategies for rural businesses and renewable energy efforts.
Swedzinski was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2010, succeeding Marty Seifert, who did not seek reelection. He ran on a platform of cutting taxes, reducing the size of government, and empowering the individual.
During his tenure, Swedzinski has held various leadership roles. He was an assistant majority leader during the 2015-16 legislative session, and chaired the Subcommittee on Mining, Forestry, & Tourism, a subcommittee of the Environment & Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee, in 2017-18. He is currently the minority lead on the Climate and Energy Finance and Policy Committee and sits on the Taxes Committee.
Swedzinski lives and farms near Ghent with his spouse Jessica and their five children.
