State Rep. Joe Atkins finalized his decision to seek re-election to the Minnesota House at his daughter’s high school basketball game on Wednesday night. There had been wide speculation until now that Atkins would run for Congress in Minnesota’s newly-drawn 2nd Congressional District.
“I may or may not get more chances to run for higher office, but I only get one chance at being a good dad,” said Atkins. “Being in Washington, D.C. at this point would not allow me to be involved in my family and in our community as much as I would like.” Atkins and his wife, Julia, have three children, ages 18, 17 and 15.
Just prior to his daughter’s game on Wednesday, Atkins passed bipartisan legislation to the House floor to protect Minnesotans from sophisticated internet and telephone scams. The scams, which are tied to organized crime and have victimized over 100,000 Minnesotans so far, often target senior citizens and vulnerable adults. Atkins’s legislation is AARP’s top priority at the Capitol this session.
“My ability to pass important, bipartisan legislation, even as a member of the minority, was definitely a key factor in my decision to seek re-election to the Minnesota House,” Atkins said. With strong relationships on both sides of the aisle, Representative Atkins has passed more bipartisan legislation over the last four years than any other state representative, according to data compiled by non-partisan staff.
Rep. Atkins has passed bipartisan laws to improve fire safety, protect retirement accounts, decrease meth labs, and make college more affordable for middle-class families. For his efforts, he has earned a variety of awards, including being named “Legislator of the Year” by Minnesota’s firefighters.
Atkins said he is kicking off his re-election campaign this weekend by going to door-to-door in Mendota Heights and Eagan, which were recently added to his legislative district, and will start door-knocking in Inver Grove Heights next weekend.
“That probably means we’ll finally get a foot of snow and it will be 20 below zero,” Atkins joked.
On Saturday night, though, Atkins will put politics aside. He’ll be sitting in the stands watching his daughter and the Simley girls basketball team in the section semifinals.
