chairman

David HANN

Elected to be the Chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party in October 2021. He currently resides in Eden Prairie with his wife.

David attended Gustavus Adolphus College and earned a B.A. in religion and did graduate work in Theology at the University of Chicago. While still in college, he interrupted his studies to join the Army where he served a tour in Vietnam.

He was previously the Director of Forecasting and Logistics for Deli Express, a Minnesota based food manufacturing and distribution company.

David served on the Eden Prairie School Board for three terms and served in the State Senate from 2003 to 2016. During his time in the Senate, he was Chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee, and served as a member of the Education Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Rules and Administration Committee. He was the Senate Minority Leader his last four years in office where he led the Republicans into the Majority in 2016.

Contact: [email protected]

DEPUTY CHAIRWOMAN

DONNA BERGSTROM

Donna M. Bergstrom was appointed Deputy Chair by Chairman Hann in October of 2021 upon his election to the chair position. She was elected to the position in December of 2021 by the State Central Committee. She lives in Duluth with her husband and son.

Donna graduated from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in 1985 with a degree in Political Science. She obtained her Master of Jurisprudence degree from Loyola University Chicago-School of Law (Civitas Center) in Children’s Law and Policy. She also holds a degree in American and Anishinaabe Education from the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College.

Donna is a 20 year Veteran of the United States Marine Corps, achieving the grade of Lieutenant Colonel. She was one of the first two American Indian women in the state of Minnesota to run in the general election for Lieutenant Governor on a major party endorsed ticket. Donna is an enrolled member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians.

Contact: [email protected]

NATIONAL COMMITTEEWOMAN

BARB SUTTER

Barb’s political activism began in Minnesota, where she and her husband, Randy, have lived for over 20 years.

She grew up as part of a military family, and continued the tradition by marrying an Air Force officer. With frequent military relocations, and because she has a German mother, she experienced life both in our amazing country, and in Europe. But she’s always been passionate about the freedoms we have here in America.

She earned an MBA, and her professional background is in tax accounting. She worked here and, prior to that, at their NATO posting in The Netherlands, where her clients were primarily American service members.

Today, like many, she’s a Volunteer for the Republican Party. She’s been a Treasurer for legislators and for her Senate District. She’s been a Senate District Chair. She’s been a Minnesota House candidate. She serves on the Executive Committee of her 3rd Congressional District.

From mid-2016 through August 2020 she served as Minnesota’s GOP Secretary, as well as State Director of Minnesota’s Affiliate Outreach. She’s traveled this state from one corner to the other, working on behalf of our candidates, our Party, and its values.

Barb now continues in this same capacity as Minnesota’s National Committeewoman, building relationships on a national level, and working with us and the RNC to bring more attention, resources, and innovative ideas to Minnesota. In 2021 she was appointed to both the RNC Rules Committee and the Election Integrity Committee.

Contact: [email protected]

NATIONAL COMMITTEMAN

ALEX PLECHASH

A first generation American, Alex Plechash grew up in suburban Chicago, graduating from Oak Park & River Forest High School in 1971 where he was a multi-sport student-athlete.  He received early admission into the U.S. Naval Academy where he earned a B.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering and graduated with distinction near the top of his class, being the number one ranked Marine Officer and Aerospace Engineer.  In his senior year, he was nominated for a Rhodes scholarship and was offered a Guggenheim Fellowship for immediate PhD study at Princeton, Cal Tech and MIT which he turned down in lieu of accepting a Burke Scholarship, later receiving an MBA from the University of Chicago.

After graduating from Annapolis, Alex reported for duty to the Marine Corps Basic School at Quantico where he graduated at the top of his class of 270 Marine Lieutenants winning an award for the best overall score in military skills (physical fitness, rifle & pistol marksmanship, timed obstacle course, and public speaking).  Although deeply drawn toward becoming a Marine infantry officer, he ultimately chose to go to flight school and earned his Naval Aviator wings, serving out his time as a fighter pilot; principally flying the F-4 Phantom II.  An interesting anecdote is that as a young Captain, he appeared in the movie “The Great Santini” starring Robert Duvall when his squadron was used on-location at MCAS Beaufort, SC during the filming of the movie.

After leaving active duty, Alex led a successful business career as a corporate executive working for some notable firms including Exxon and Oracle before he entered the world of finance and investment banking.  He is now an executive recruiter.  In addition to his business career, Alex remains quite active in military/veteran, civic, church, and non-profit organizations.

Alex has been a Naval Academy Blue & Gold Admissions Officer for the past two decades as well as having served two consecutive terms as an elected National Trustee of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association (USNAAA) and still serves on their Governance Committee.  In addition, he presided over the Upper Midwest Chapter of the USNAAA for nearly ten years during which the Chapter rose from being an obscure chapter to being the 7th largest chapter worldwide out of more than 100 and won the inaugural Chapter of the Year award.  When he was President of the Twin Cities Chapter of the Navy League, he was tapped by Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty to serve as the Chairman of the USS Minnesota pre-Commissioning Task Force, a nuclear attack submarine commissioned in 2013 at which his classmate, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jon Greenert presided.

His civic and non-profit Involvement has also been extensive.  He was appointed to serve on the board of the Perpich Center for Arts Education in Minnesota where he served for two terms totaling eight years and was their finance chair.  He also served for twelve years as the President & Chairman of Tee it Up for the Troops, Inc.; a 501(c)3 charitable organization that has raised millions of dollars for the troops and their families.  At his church, Christ Presbyterian Church of Edina, he served as a deacon for a term-limited three years, running their largest program for homeless families.  In addition, Alex has been a volunteer firefighter since 2006.

Politically, Alex has been involved at every level in Minnesota politics without interruption since first becoming active in 2004.  He is, or has served as, Precinct Chairman, Caucus Convener, Senate District Executive/Treasurer, Congressional District Vice-Chair, State Delegate, State Central Committee Delegate and was elected to represent Minnesota at the RNC National Conventions in 2008 and 2016.  He has hosted or co-hosted in-home fundraisers for candidates running for Governor, U.S. Senate, MN Secretary of State, and Congress as well as local candidates.  In 2012 he founded the Minnesota Organization of Republican Veterans (aka MORVets), the first-ever veterans affiliate of the Republican Party of MN.  Last, but not least, he is currently serving his second term on the Wayzata City Council.

Contact: [email protected]

TREASURER

KATHY LATHAM

Kathy started her political career in 2006 as Jeff Johnson’s treasurer for his Attorney General and stayed on through his Governor campaigns. She is currently campaign treasurer for a freshman member of the MN House of Representatives and has been campaign treasurer for many candidates over the past 16 years.

Kathy is from eastern Pennsylvania, having moved to Minnesota in 1995. She was happily able to be a stay-at-home mom for her boys. Kathy has worked as the treasurer of the Minnetonka Youth Hockey Association, and since 2009 has been employed as a Finance Manager for a mental health practice and does bookkeeping for various other companies. Kathy is very excited to be part of the MN GOP team! She and her husband reside in Minnetonka. They have three adult children and six grandchildren.

Contact: [email protected]

SECRETARY

JENNA DICKS

Jenna Dicks was elected Secretary of the Republican Party of Minnesota in December 2022, and currently resides in Woodbury with her husband and two daughters. Jenna holds a Bachelor’s degree in American Sign Language Interpreting, as well as a specialization in wellness, making her one of less than 10,000 National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coaches in the United States.

In addition to her educational achievements, Jenna also owns her own business and homeschools her youngest daughter. Her political involvement has been extensive for someone being involved in politics for just 3 years; ranging from serving at the BPOU level to working on a statewide constitutional office campaign, and State Auditor campaign. Jenna is also the newly elected Vice President of the fastest growing MNFRW club, as well as in the 2023 Minnesota Excellence in Public Service Series. Jenna is ready and willing to assist the MN GOP and make a positive impact on her community.

Contact: [email protected]  

First Congressional District

Chair Aaron Farris

State Executive Committee Representative Wendy Phillips

Contact CD 1 leadership at https://www.mncd1republicans.org/

Second Congressional District

Chair Joe Ditto

Contact CD 2 leadership at https://www.mncd2republicans.org/

Third Congressional District

Chair Randy Sutter

Contact CD 3 leadership at https://www.cd3mngop.com/

Fourth Congressional District

Chair Michelle Manke

State Executive Committee Representative Mark Bishofsky

Contact CD 4 leadership at https://www.cd4-mngop.com/

Fifth Congressional District

Chair Alec Beck

Contact CD 5 leadership at https://mngopcd5.org/

Sixth Congressional District

Chair Bobby Benson

Contact CD 6 leadership at https://www.mncd6gop.com/

 

Seventh Congressional District

Chair Craig Bishop

State Executive Committee Representative Tim Miller

Contact CD 7 leadership at https://www.mncd7republicans.com/

 

Eighth Congressional District

Chair Alicia Leiviska

State Executive Committee Representative Keri Heintzeman

Contact CD 8 leadership at https://mncd8gop.com/

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