# Rob Ecklund

Robert Ecklund (born May 23, 1958) is a Minnesota politician and a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he formerly represented District 3A in northeastern Minnesota.

## Early life and career

Ecklund was born on May 23, 1958. He is a former United States Marine Corps serviceman, serving from 1976 to 1979. He attended Rainy River Community College and Bemidji State University from 1980 to 1983.
He has worked at the Boise Paper mill in International Falls, Minnesota as a paper machine tender since 1989, previously served as president of the United Steelworkers Local 159 for nine years, and served on the Koochiching County Board of Commissioners, first elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2014.

## Minnesota House of Representatives

Ecklund was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in a special election on December 8, 2015. He was elected following the death of prior representative David Dill, also a member of the DFL party. He represents district 3A, serving Cook, Koochiching, Lake, and St. Louis counties. During the 2017-2018 session, Ecklund served as an assistant minority leader for the DFL party.
2021-2022 Committee Assignments
* Labor, Industry, Veterans and Military Affairs Finance and Policy (Chair)
* Agriculture Finance and Policy
* Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy
* Ways and Means
2019-2020 Committee Assignments
* Veterans and Military Affairs Finance & Policy Division (Chair)
* Agriculture and Food Finance and Policy
* Environment and Natural Resources Finance Division
* Jobs and Economic Development Finance Division
* Labor
* Ways & Means
2017-2018 Committee Assignments
* Agriculture Finance
* Capital Investment
* Environment & Natural Resources Policy and Finance
* Environment & Natural Resources Policy and Finance: Subcommittee on Mining, Forestry & Tourism
2015-2016 Committee Assignments
(Ecklund only served in 2016)
* Agriculture Finance
* Environment & Natural Resources Policy & Finance
* Greater Minnesota Economic & Workforce Development Policy
* Mining & Outdoor Recreation Policy

## Electoral history

2015 Special Election for Minnesota State Representative District 3A :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Democratic (DFL) | Rob Ecklund | 4,591 | 63.39% | N/A |
| Republican | Roger Skraba | 1,399 | 19.32% | N/A |
| Independent | Kelsey Johnson | 1,144 | 15.79% | N/A |
2016 Election for Minnesota State Representative District 3A :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Rob Ecklund | 13,874 | 63.25% | −0.14% |
| | Republican | Tom Long | 8,017 | 36.55% | +17.23% |
2018 Election for Minnesota State Representative District 3A :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Rob Ecklund | 11,783 | 59.42% | −3.83% |
| | Republican | Randy Goutermont | 8,022 | 40.45% | +3.90% |
2020 Election for Minnesota State Representative District 3A :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic (DFL) | Rob Ecklund | 12,581 | 52.42% | −7.00% |
| | Republican | Thomas Manninen | 11,400 | 47.50% | +7.05% |

## Personal life

Ecklund and his wife, Joan, have three children—Nick, Jared, and Cory. They reside in International Falls, Minnesota.