Abigail Whelan

Abigail Whelan (born January 13, 1988) is an American politician from Minnesota and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, she represented District 35A, which included a portion of Anoka County, Minnesota.[1]

Abigail Whelan
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 35A district
In office
January 6, 2015 – January 7, 2019
Preceded byJim Abeler
Succeeded byJohn Heinrich
Personal details
Born (1988-01-13) January 13, 1988
Anoka, Minnesota
Political partyRepublican Party of Minnesota
Alma materUniversity of Minnesota

Education and career

Whelan graduated from Anoka High School in 2006. She attended the University of Minnesota where she majored in political science and history and minored in economics. During her time there, she studied abroad in England and traveled extensively through Europe. She earned her degree in 2010. After working for a time at the Minnesota Legislature, Whelan returned to the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs on a scholarship and earned her master's degree in public policy in 2013. From September 2012 until May 2013, Whelan worked as a Research/Teaching Assistant. Before the 2014 election, Whelan worked locally with a home health care agency in business development.[2]

Minnesota House of Representatives

Elections

Whelan was elected on November 4, 2014 defeating the (DFL) nominee, Peter Perovich, by 20.09% or 2616 votes.

2014 Minnesota State Representative- House 35A[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic–Farmer–Labor Peter Perovich 5192 39.86
Republican Abigail Whelan 7808 59.95

Tenure

Whelan was sworn in on January 6, 2015. During her time as a state representative, she expressed disapproval of fetal tissue research at the University of Minnesota.[4]

Committee assignments

For the 89th Legislative Session, Backer is a part of:

  • Education Innovation Policy Committee
  • Higher Education Policy & Finance Committee
  • Taxes Subcommittee: Property Tax & Local Government Finance Division
  • Transportation Policy & Finance Committee.[5]

Political positions

Whelan has declined to participate in Vote Smart.

Controversies

In April 2016, Whelan demonstrated support for North Carolina's controversial bathroom bill,[6] and discusses her opposition to gender fluidity, which she called evil and "one of the biggest problems". The interviewer and her cite a debunked[7] study from the American College of Pediatrics, a socially conservative advocacy group formed in 2002 to opposed gay rights. Whelan states, "Because as you also said, we know that confusing children is a form of child abuse."[8]

In May 2017, fellow representative Paul Thissen asked Whelan whether she believes that it is worth raising taxes on constituents in order to protect Minnesota corporations who use tax havens to avoid paying taxes. She avoided the question, instead discussing "the games that we play here" and then inviting peers and constituents to discuss religion with her.[9][10]

Statesmen Academy

In October, 2016 Whelan made a promotional video for Statesmen Academy which is a project of Family Policy Alliance (affiliated with Focus on the Family). "The organization’s mission is to advance biblical citizenship, train statesmen, promote policy and serve an effective alliance, all committed to a common vision."[11]

References
  1. "Minnesota Legislators Past & Present - Legislator Record - Whelan, Abigail". leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  2. "Meet Abigail". Whelan For House. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  3. "Results for State Representative District 35A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  4. Whelan, Abigail. "Fetal tissue research should cease at U". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  5. "Abigail Whelan (R) 35A - Minnesota House of Representatives". house.leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  6. "Group Of MN Lawmakers Show Support For NC Gov's Bathroom Law". Retrieved 2017-06-23.
  7. Tannehill, Brynn (2016-01-01). "The End of the Desistance Myth". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
  8. Birkey, Andy (2016-04-28). "MN Rep. Abigail Whelan: 'Evil' gender fluidity is 'one of the biggest problems' - The Column". The Column. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
  9. "Minnesota Republican dodges question about tax havens by invoking Jesus". ThinkProgress. 2017-05-24. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
  10. "Republican Evades Difficult Questions by Invoking Jesus". A Tippling Philosopher. 2017-05-26. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
  11. "Statesmen Academy". Family Policy Alliance.
Minnesota House of Representatives
Preceded by
Jim Abeler		 Member of the House of Representatives
from District 35A
2015–2019		 Succeeded by
John Heinrich
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