Republican · Minnesota's 6th District · 2026
Tom Emmer
Hockey has followed Tom Emmer through college, coaching and family life.
Biography
Tom Emmer coached hockey while he and his wife, Jacquie, raised seven children; they live in Delano.1 His own playing career included Boston College, the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the United States Hockey League.2 He also served with a local volunteer fire department.2
Emmer earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1984 and a law degree at William Mitchell College of Law in 1988.2 After practicing law for several years, he opened his own firm.1 His local service included Independence's council from 1995 to 2002 and Delano's from 2003 to 2004.2 He was elected to the Minnesota House in 2004 and served three terms.1
He entered Congress in January 2015 and now serves as majority whip, the third ranking position in House Republican leadership.1 He previously chaired the National Republican Congressional Committee, the party's House campaign organization.1 On the Financial Services Committee, he is vice chairman of the subcommittee covering digital assets, financial technology and artificial intelligence.1
Emmer supports prohibiting the Federal Reserve from issuing a consumer digital currency directly or through intermediaries, arguing that it could enable government financial surveillance.3 His proposed legislation also calls for explicit congressional authorization of any government created digital dollar.3 In 2025, he backed permanent extensions of the 2017 tax cuts and additional funding for border agents and immigration enforcement.4
Record and controversies
Driving cases and legislation
Reporting during his 2010 governor campaign identified a 1981 DWI ticket and a 1991 DWI charge that led to a guilty plea to the lesser offense of careless driving.5 His 2009 legislation proposed ending automatic license revocations before conviction; a separate House amendment to seal future DWI convictions after ten years was dropped in conference and would not have covered his own record.5 Emmer denied that his history motivated the legislation.5 Defending his record in 2010, he accepted responsibility and called drinking and driving inexcusable.6