Harry Niska

Last updated
Harry Niska
Member of the MinnesotaHouseofRepresentatives
from the 31A district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Website Government website Campaign website

Harry Niska is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2023. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Niska represents District 31A in the north Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Ramsey and Andover in Anoka County, Minnesota. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life, education and career

Birth and education

Niska grew up in Andover, Minnesota, and graduated from Anoka High School. He received his bachelor's degree in political science from Concordia College, Moorhead, and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Minnesota Law School. [1]

Niska worked as a law clerk on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals for Judge Roger Leland Wollman from 2005 to 2006, and for Judge David Stras in 2018. He also served on the Ramsey County Charter Commission. [1] He worked at law firm Ross & Orenstein, and unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Ramsey City Council in 2010. [3]

In 2015, Niska brought a complaint against a Republican activist who he claimed misled voters by making false claims of endorsement in a judicial race for the Minnesota Supreme Court. [4] The claim was upheld and the activist was fined $600. Niska said, "fraud, meaning lies that are actually meant to induce people to do something, are not protected by the First Amendment in the same way [as] even innocent or even white lies". [4]

2016 Trump presidential candidacy

In 2016, Niska opposed Donald Trump in the Republican primary, saying he "did everything I knew to prevent the party from making what I think is a historic mistake". [5] [6] He signed up to volunteer for independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin, saying that he believed that Trump had "abused every lever of power that’s been available to him". [7]

2018 attorney general campaign

Niska ran in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Minnesota in 2018, saying he would focus on consumer protection and criticizing incumbent Lori Swanson for signing onto a lawsuit challenging Trump's travel ban from some Muslim-majority countries. [3] [6] [8] In 2012, Niska urged the Minnesota attorney general to join a lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act. [9] He withdrew from the primary in November 2017, citing family considerations. [10]

Minnesota House of Representatives

Niska was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2022. He first ran after legislative redistricting and after three-term Republican incumbent Cal Bahr announced he would not seek reelection and would run for a seat in the Minnesota Senate. [1]

Niska serves on the Commerce Finance and Policy and the Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committees. [1]

In 2025, the House Republican caucus appointed Niska House Majority Leader, although control of the House and its leadership is in dispute, as its DFL members boycotted the opening session and have argued that the House did not have a quorum to conduct business. [11]

Political positions

Niska has said that many laws the DFL majority passed in 2023 are unconstitutional, resulting in multiple legal challenges. [12] [13] [14] He opposed legislation that prohibited post-secondary institutions participating in PSEO from requiring faith statements, saying it infringed on religious liberties. [15]

In 2023, he introduced legislation to address water contamination issues in the city of Andover [16] and a bill that would prevent nonprofits from paying people's bail. [17] Niska supported legislation that would repeal fees for those seeking copies of civil and criminal court documents. [18]

Abortion

Niska is anti-abortion, and called DFL abortion-rights legislation passed in 2023 "the most extreme abortion policy possible". [19] [20]

Voting rights

Niska opposed legislation restoring voting rights to felons on parole, saying voting was a sacred right that should be taken away if people violate certain laws. [21] He has long supported requiring voters to present a valid government-issued photo ID when voting. [22]

LGTBQ+ legislation

Niska opposed legislation banning the discredited practice of conversion therapy, saying there were "free speech violations" in the bill. [23] He proposed removing sections of the bill that categorize advertising for the procedure's efficacy or "representing homosexuality as a mental disease, disorder, or illness", [24] as consumer fraud. [25]

Niska criticized a bill that both removed language within state law associating sexual orientation with pedophilia and also added gender identity as a protected class in Minnesota's human rights statute. [26] [27] He said some may now "interpret the HRA to deem pedophilia as a protected class in Minnesota"; legal experts dismissed this because pedophilia is already against Minnesota law. [26]

Electoral history

2022 Minnesota State House - District 31A [28]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Harry Niska 11,638 59.51
Democratic (DFL) Betsy O'Berry7,90440.42
Write-in 150.08
Total votes19,557 100.0
Republican hold
2024 Minnesota State House - District 31A [29]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Harry Niska 15,461 61.11
Democratic (DFL) Dara Grimmer9,80238.74
Write-in 390.15
Total votes25,302 100.0
Republican hold


Personal life

Niska lives in Ramsey, Minnesota with his wife, Jen, and has three children. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Niska, Harry - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.lrl.mn.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  2. ↑ "Rep. Harry Niska (31A) - Minnesota House of Representatives". www.house.mn.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  3. 1 2 Lopez, Ricardo (2017-04-17). "Republican attorney Harry Niska joins race for AG". Star Tribune . Archived from the original on 2022-07-07. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  4. 1 2 Eli Shiffer, James (March 9, 2015). "Chanhassen man fined for lying about an election". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  5. ↑ Bakst, Brian (2016-10-17). "Fed up with campaign, some voters seek alternatives". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  6. 1 2 Bakst, Brian (2017-04-17). "Lawyer who bucked Trump seeks Minn. AG post". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  7. ↑ Condon, Patrick (October 16, 2016). "McMullin, other third-party presidential candidates also on Minnesota ballot". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  8. ↑ Coolican, J. Patrick (March 5, 2017). "Minn. Attorney General Lori Swanson takes quiet approach to job, political ambitions". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  9. ↑ Niska, Harry (2012-01-11). "Minnesota attorney general should reconsider and join challenge to Obama health-care law". MinnPost. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  10. ↑ Bakst, Brian (2017-11-06). "Republican lawyer Niska leaves Minn. AG race". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  11. ↑ Karnowski, Steve (January 14, 2025). "Democrats boycott first day of Minnesota House session but GOP votes to appoint speaker anyway". ABC News. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  12. ↑ Faircloth, Ryan. "Lawsuits pile up against actions taken by DFL-controlled Minnesota Legislature". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  13. ↑ Ferguson, Dana (2023-04-13). "Minnesota House advances automatic voter registration, donor disclosure requirements". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  14. ↑ Winter, Deena (2023-04-14). "House passes major elections bill over Republican objections that it's not bipartisan". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  15. ↑ Bierschbach, Briana (May 24, 2023). "Christian colleges and parents sue over provision in education budget". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  16. ↑ Harlow, Tim (January 18, 2023). "Bill would provide Andover with $9M to tackle water contamination issues". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  17. ↑ Ibrahim, Mohamed (2023-03-09). "Lawmakers hope to target inequities in Minnesota cash bail system". MinnPost. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  18. ↑ Winter, Deena (February 16, 2023). "Bill would repeal fees for district court documents in Minnesota". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  19. ↑ Bierschbach, Briana (April 14, 2023). "These Minnesotans help abortion patients get to appointments, find shelter". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  20. ↑ Bakst, Brian (2023-05-23). "As session ends, Democrats 'run the table' at Capitol". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  21. ↑ Olson, Rochelle (February 5, 2023). "Minnesota Legislature moving to restore voting rights for felons upon release from custody". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  22. ↑ Nelson, Peter J.; Niska, Harry (2012-09-06). "Even the perception of fraud makes voter ID measure a good idea". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  23. ↑ Ferguson, Dana (2023-02-20). "Minnesota House votes to ban LGBTQ youth conversion therapy". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  24. ↑ Cooper, Renée (February 6, 2023). "'Conversion therapy' ban again headed for vote in Minnesota House". KSTP.com . Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  25. ↑ Deng, Grace (February 23, 2023). "Minnesota House passes bill to ban 'conversion therapy' for minors". Minnesota Reformer . Retrieved March 16, 2023. Rep. Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, took issue with what he called "free speech violations" in the bill and introduced an amendment to delete the section of the bill that says advertising conversion therapy as successful is consumer fraud. The amendment did not pass.
  26. 1 2 Olson, Rochelle (May 18, 2023). "Legal experts say change to Minnesota Human Rights Act won't protect pedophiles". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  27. ↑ Olson, Rochelle (July 2, 2023). "Leigh Finke led expansion of Minnesota's transgender rights, endured attacks". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  28. ↑ "2022 Results for State Representative District 31A". Minnesota Secretary of State . Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  29. ↑ "2024 Results for State Representative District 31A". Minnesota Secretary of State . Retrieved January 16, 2025.
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