Abigail Whelan

American politician from Minnesota

Abigail Whelan

Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 35A district
In office
January 6, 2015 – January 7, 2019
Preceded by| Jim Abeler
Succeeded by| John Heinrich
Personal details
Born|  (1988-01-13) January 13, 1988 (age 37)
Anoka, Minnesota
Political party| Republican
Alma mater| University of Minnesota

Abigail Whelan (born January 13, 1988) is an American politician from Minnesota and a 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]

## Education and career

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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

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### Elections

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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 (DFL) | Peter Perovich  | 5192  | 39.86  |
| Republican | Abigail Whelan | 7808  | 59.95  |

### Tenure

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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

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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]

## References

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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 (16 January 2016). "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.

## External links

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* Abigail Whelan at Minnesota Legislators Past & Present

Minnesota House of Representatives

Preceded by

Jim Abeler

|  Member of the House of Representatives
from District 35A
2015–2019  | Succeeded by

John Heinrich