Matt Bliss

Matt Bliss is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2021, who also served from 2017 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Bliss represents District 2B in northern Minnesota, which includes parts of Becker, Beltrami, Cass, Clearwater, Hubbard, Itasca, and Mahnomen Counties.^[1]

Matt Bliss
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office January 5, 2021
Preceded by	John Persell
Constituency	District 2B (2023–present) District 5A (2021–2023)
In office January 3, 2017 – January 7, 2019
Preceded by	John Persell
Succeeded by	John Persell
Constituency	District 5A (2017–2019)
Personal details
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Christine (died of cancer) Emily
Children	4
Residence(s)	Pennington, Minnesota, U.S.
Education	United States Navy
Occupation	Small business owner
Website	Government website Campaign website
Military service
Allegiance	United States Navy
Unit	Communications and electronics

Early life, education, and career

Bliss was raised on a farm and is one of ten siblings. He joined the Navy after high school and was trained in communications and electronics.^[2]

Bliss owns Bliss Point Resort along Cass Lake and worked as an IT director for the Red Lake Nation.^[3] He was the president of the Pennington Resort Association.^[4]

Bliss ran unsuccessfully for the Beltrami County Board of Commissioners in 2014.^[5]

Minnesota House of Representatives

Bliss was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016. He defeated four-term DFL incumbent John Persell. In 2018, Bliss lost to Persell by 11 votes.^[3][6] A state-mandated recount confirmed Persell's victory.^[7] In 2020, Bliss once again defeated Persell, and was reelected in 2022.^[1] Bliss criticized Persell for his co-authorship of a red-flag gun control proposal and Democrats for defunding the police, though Persell stated he advocated for more public safety funding.^[8]

Bliss serves as the minority lead on the Veteran and Military Affairs Committee and also sits on the Children and Families Finance and Policy and the Elections Finance and Policy Committees.^[1]

Electoral history

2016 Minnesota State House - District 5A^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Matt Bliss	10,318	53.88
	Democratic (DFL)	John Persell	8,808	45.99
	Write-in		25	0.13
Total votes			19,151	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic (DFL)

2018 Minnesota State House - District 5A^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	John Persell	8,454	50.01
	Republican	Matt Bliss	8,443	49.95
	Write-in		7	0.04
Total votes			16,904	100.0
	Democratic (DFL) gain from Republican

2020 Minnesota State House - District 5A^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Matt Bliss	11,482	53.37
	Democratic (DFL)	John Persell	9,996	46.46
	Write-in		36	0.17
Total votes			21,514	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic (DFL)

2022 Minnesota State House - District 2B^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Matt Bliss	11,310	63.46
	Democratic (DFL)	Erika Bailey-Johnson	6,505	36.50
	Write-in		8	0.04
Total votes			17,823	100.0
	Republican hold

2024 Minnesota State House - District 5A^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Matt Bliss	14,372	63.73
	Democratic (DFL)	Michael Reyes	8,168	36.22
	Write-in		10	0.04
Total votes			22,550	100
	Republican hold

Personal life

Bliss lives in Pennington, Minnesota with his wife Emily, and has four children.^[1] He was previously married to Christine until she died of cancer. He is a member of the Minnesota Deer Hunters’ Association, Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, and the Ruffed Grouse Society.^[2]