Matt Norris

From Ballotpedia
Matt Norris
Minnesota House of Representatives District 32B
Tenure
2023 - Present
Term ends
2027
Years in position
3
Predecessor:Anne Neu Brindley (R)
Compensation
Base salary
$51,750/year
Per diem
$86/day
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 5, 2024
Education
Bachelor's
University Minnesota, Twin Cities
Bachelor's
University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management, 2011
Law
University Minnesota, Twin Cities
Law
University of Minnesota Law School, 2014
Personal
Profession
Attorney
Contact

Matt Norris (Democratic Party) is a member of theMinnesota House of Representatives, representingDistrict 32B. He assumed office on January 3, 2023. His current term ends on January 12, 2027.

Norris (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to theMinnesota House of Representatives to representDistrict 32B. He won in the general election onNovember 5, 2024.

Norris completed Ballotpedia'sCandidate Connection survey in 2024.Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Matt Norris earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management in 2011 and a law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2014. His career experience includes working as an attorney and policy director.[1][2]

Norris has been affiliated with the following organizations:[2]

  • Blaine Festival Committee
  • Children’s Law Center Volunteer Attorney
  • Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission
  • Church of St. Timothy’s Social Justice Committee

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according toBillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Committee assignments

2025-2026

Norris was assigned to the following committees:

2023-2024

Norris was assigned to the following committees:


Elections

2024

See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 32B

IncumbentMatt Norris defeatedAlex Moe in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 32B on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Matt Norris
Matt Norris (D) Candidate Connection
 
50.8
 
12,030
Image of Alex Moe
Alex Moe (R) Candidate Connection
 
49.0
 
11,620
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
44

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 23,694
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. IncumbentMatt Norris advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 32B.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled.Alex Moe advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 32B.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Norris received the following endorsements.

2022

See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 32B

Matt Norris defeated incumbentDonald Raleigh in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 32B on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Matt Norris
Matt Norris (D) Candidate Connection
 
51.1
 
9,098
Image of Donald Raleigh
Donald Raleigh (R)
 
48.8
 
8,685
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
16

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 17,799
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled.Matt Norris advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 32B.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. IncumbentDonald Raleigh advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 32B.

Endorsements

To view Norris' endorsements in the 2022 election, pleaseclick here.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Matt Norris completedBallotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Norris' responses.

Expand all |Collapse all

I was born and raised here in the North Metro and am a proud Blaine resident. Almost two decades ago, I launched my career by spearheading an effort that reduced violent crime in my hometown by 40%. After earning my business degree and law degree from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, I spent most of my career working in the nonprofit sector. I worked for the Step Up internship program where I created hundreds of paid, professional internships for low-income high school students every summer. And just before getting elected to the Minnesota House, I served as the Policy Director at a statewide nonprofit for youth where I worked productively with Democrats and Republicans to pass several bills in bipartisan fashion. I’m proud of the results I was able to deliver in my first term, including securing $102.75 million to fully fund the Highway 65 redesign, authoring $300 million in public safety aid for cities and counties, passing two property tax cuts, and boosting the funding for our public schools. I’m also proud that I was able to be a productive legislator while being in the Top 3 in the Minnesota House for bipartisan bills introduced.
  • 1. Making Life More AffordableLet’s grow the middle class. One major way is by making child care, health care, and senior care more affordable and accessible. We must also make sure these workers can earn a living wage.
  • 2. Making Our Neighborhoods SaferLet’s support police with the tools they need and fund strategies that have proven to prevent crime, especially for youth.
  • 3. Making Our Schools More SuccessfulLet’s promote student success by setting high standards and developing strong school leaders.
Much of my career has been focused on helping young people get off to a strong and healthy start while reducing youth crime in the process. Nearly two decades ago, I helped launch a youth engagement initiative in my hometown in response to concerns about rising youth crime. We added more after school programs and jobs for youth and used new policing strategies based on best practices. Violent crime dropped 40% over a five year period!

That commitment has continued in my first term at the Capitol. I authored the bill that increased funding for our schools. I was also proud to team with a dad and daughter from Blaine to require schools to provide space for students who need to do Zoom appointments with their therapists.
Two critical characteristics for elected officials are honesty and responsiveness to the voters. I’m proud of being available to have open and honest conversations with the residents of my district and really listen to their concerns. I love knocking doors. As many of you know, I do it relentlessly. I even knock doors in years I’m not up for election because I think it’s important to be available to voters. I also respond to emails and voicemails from voters regardless of party. Some of my most meaningful conversations with voters are when they say to me, “I disagree with you on almost everything, but I respect that you’re the only elected official to ever call me back.”

I’m also committed to living up to my campaign theme of “Building Bridges and Getting Results.” I believe voters want leaders who can bring together people from different backgrounds to get things done. Based on input from district residents, I authored 84 bills in my first term and got 34 passed into law! But I'm even more proud that I was in the Top 3 for bipartisan bills introduced. I’m committed to listening to you, the voters of Blaine and Lexington, to respond to the issues most important to you.
Keeping Minnesotans safe is the most important responsibility of a Minnesota House member. That’s why I made public safety a focus of my first term. I authored and passed $300 million in public safety aid for cities in counties. I led the bipartisan effort to renew the Anoka County Joint Law Enforcement Council. I also worked with police and community groups on a bill to reduce the number of young people committing repeated offenses in the metro area.

Keeping Minnesotans safe also meant fixing the most dangerous stretch of highway in the Twin Cities: Highway 65. That’s why I made it my mission to secure the $102.75 million we needed to fully fund the project and take out four stoplights to make the road much safer and more convenient.

This role is also about protecting our high quality of life in Minnesota. That’s why I increased funding for our schools. Now I’m working to make sure every school has strong and effective building leadership. I’m also focused on guaranteeing Minnesotans affordable access to child care, health care, and senior care. And I’m committed to preserving our state’s beautiful natural resources and protecting them from pollution.
My first job was a classic one: I had a weekly paper route. Every week, I’d get a stack of papers, have to assemble all the sections together, and deliver them to a neighborhood. I started the job in middle school and continued it through high school.
Our state’s greatest challenge over the next decade will be our declining population growth combined with our aging population. These trends will limit the number of available workers. That, in turn, risks limiting our state’s economic growth. As a result, we should focus on factors that will draw young workers and families to our state: good schools and colleges, affordable childcare, quality health care, paid family and medical leave. We must also make sure all current Minnesotans are prepared to successfully get a job.

We will also need to adapt our communities to meet the needs of the growing senior population. Priorities should include making our cities and infrastructure more accessible, reducing costs and improving access to health care and senior care, and making sure seniors have affordable housing.
Yes, I believe this is absolutely critical. It's consistent with my campaign theme of "Building Bridges and Getting Results." I'm proud that approximately two-thirds of my bills had support from both parties. The only way you achieve a bipartisan track record like that is by forming relationships with other legislators. I even sit on the "other side of the aisle" on the House floor. This gives me a unique opportunity to build connections and friendships with both Democrats and Republicans.

These relationships are also how you get big bills passed for your district. Many doubted that I could secure the $103 million needed to fully fund Highway 65. But by building and relying on relationships with other legislators, I was able to knit together the funding to get it done.
I will never forget the story of Amara Strande. As a teenager, she was diagnosed with a rare cancer because the water in her neighborhood was contaminated with PFAS "forever chemicals." Even as she fought her courageous battle with cancer, she insisted on coming to the Capitol for press conferences and committee hearings. I was honored to partner with Amara and her family on my bill to eliminate PFAS from firefighting foam and study how to remove it from the gear firefighters wear.

Amara died just days short of her 21st birthday just as the Legislature was preparing to pass the PFAS bills she worked so hard on with us. When we finally did pass the strictest PFAS law in the country, we named it "Amara's Law."
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar

U.S. Senator Tina Smith
AFL-CIO
AFSCME
Boundary Waters Action Fund
Care for Minnesota
Clean Water Action
Climate Cabinet
Conservation Minnesota
DFL Senior Caucus
Education Minnesota
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
International Union of Operating Engineers – Local 49
MAPE
MEDPAC
Minneapolis Building and Construction Trades Council
Minnesota Farmers Union
Minnesota Nurses Association
Minnesota Pipe Trades Association
Minnesota Professional Fire Fighters
Minnesota Retailers Impact
National Association of Social Workers – Minnesota
North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters
OutFront Minnesota
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Sierra Club

Teamsters Joint Council 32 DRIVE
I’m interested in serving on the Taxes Committee, the Housing Committee (especially to be a champion for our many neighbors in manufactured housing in Blaine and Lexington), the Health Committee, and the Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.
I strongly support financial transparency and government accountability. We are stewards of taxpayer dollars. Residents of Minnesota should always be able to understand how their tax dollars are being spent. If we are going to maintain support for investments in public goods like schools, infrastructure, and public safety, Minnesotans need to be confident that tax dollars are being spent in an accountable fashion. There can be no tolerance for waste or fraud.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia
Released September 21, 2022

Candidate Connection

Matt Norris completedBallotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Norris' responses.

Expand all |Collapse all

I'm a proud Blaine resident who was born and raised in the the northern suburbs. My campaign is about "building bridges and getting results" because I think voters are looking for someone who can bring together people from different backgrounds to get things done. That's what I've done throughout my entire career. Early on, I led an effort that reduced violent crime by 40% over a five year period in one community right here in the north metro. I helped launch an initiative that has provided over $10 million in capital for startups and small businesses. I founded a nonprofit program that has helped low-income students access afterschool activities and computers in over 200 Minnesota cities. And I've been able to get three bills passed through the Legislature as a private citizen, and each time I did it with the support of both Democrats and Republicans.
  • I'm proud of leading the effort to get three bills passed into law, and each time I secured support from Republicans and Democrats. That's how we make progress for our district and our state!
  • A lot of politicians like to talk about public safety--I've actually done something about it. I started an initiative in my hometown of Brooklyn Park that reduced violent crime by 40% over five years.
  • I plan to deliver for our district. The first bill I introduce will be legislation to secure the funding we need to fix Highway 65. The second bill will be for a water treatment facility for Lexington.
I'm passionate about the following priorities for Blaine, Lexington, and all of Minnesota:

1.Relief from rising prices. I will do this at the state level by cutting taxes. For example, eliminate the tax on social security benefits and expand the Working Family Tax Credit. I will also take action to reduce the cost of health care and child care. Both are major budget items for many families. This will put more money in families’ pockets for things like gas, groceries, and utilities.

2. Maintain quiet neighborhoods. I led an effort that reduced violent crime in one north metro community by 40%. Let’s expand policing, add mental health experts who can help respond to calls, build stronger connections between police and the community, and increase afterschool programs and jobs.

3. Invest in our infrastructure. I will bring our tax dollars home to Lexington and Blaine for local projects like a water treatment facility and fixing Highway 65.
I had a weekly newspaper route starting around the age of 14. I kept it through most of high school. It was a great way to learn the importance of hard work and dependability at an early age.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.


Campaign finance summary

Ballotpedia LogoNote: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.

Matt Norris campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024Minnesota House of Representatives District 32BWon general$122,742 $114,001
2022Minnesota House of Representatives District 32BWon general$87,593 $83,958
Grand total$210,335 $197,959
Sources:OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Scorecards

See also:State legislative scorecards andState legislative scorecards in Minnesota

Ascorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Minnesota scorecards, email suggestions toeditor@ballotpedia.org.


2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].   

In 2024, theMinnesota State Legislature was in session from February 12 to May 20.

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues.
Legislators are scored on their support for the organization's principles, which it defines as "provid[ing] a basis for a constitutionally limited government established to sustain life, liberty, justice, property rights and free enterprise."
Legislators are scored on their votes on labor issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.


2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].   

In 2023, theMinnesota State Legislature was in session from January 3 to May 22.

Legislators are scored on their support for the organization's principles, which it defines as "provid[ing] a basis for a constitutionally limited government established to sustain life, liberty, justice, property rights and free enterprise."
Legislators are scored on their votes on labor issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.











See also


External links

Candidate

Minnesota House of Representatives District 32B

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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 10, 2022
    2. ↑2.02.1Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 1, 2024

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    Anne Neu Brindley (R)    		Minnesota House of Representatives District 32B
    2023-Present    		Succeeded by
    -


    Leadership
    Speaker of the House:Lisa Demuth
    Majority Leader:Harry Niska
    Minority Leader:Jamie Long
    Representatives
    District 1A
    District 1B
    District 2A
    District 2B
    District 3A
    District 3B
    District 4A
    District 4B
    District 5A
    District 5B
    District 6A
    District 6B
    District 7A
    District 7B
    District 8A
    District 8B
    District 9A
    District 9B
    District 10A
    District 10B
    District 11A
    District 11B
    District 12A
    District 12B
    District 13A
    District 13B
    District 14A
    District 14B
    District 15A
    District 15B
    District 16A
    District 16B
    District 17A
    District 17B
    District 18A
    District 18B
    District 19A
    District 19B
    District 20A
    District 20B
    District 21A
    District 21B
    District 22A
    District 22B
    District 23A
    District 23B
    District 24A
    District 24B
    District 25A
    District 25B
    District 26A
    District 26B
    District 27A
    District 27B
    District 28A
    District 28B
    District 29A
    District 29B
    District 30A
    District 30B
    District 31A
    District 31B
    District 32A
    District 32B
    District 33A
    District 33B
    District 34A
    District 34B
    Xp Lee (D)
    District 35A
    District 35B
    District 36A
    District 36B
    District 37A
    District 37B
    District 38A
    District 38B
    District 39A
    District 39B
    District 40A
    District 40B
    District 41A
    District 41B
    District 42A
    District 42B
    District 43A
    District 43B
    District 44A
    District 44B
    District 45A
    District 45B
    District 46A
    District 46B
    District 47A
    District 47B
    District 48A
    District 48B
    District 49A
    District 49B
    District 50A
    District 50B
    District 51A
    District 51B
    District 52A
    District 52B
    District 53A
    District 53B
    District 54A
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    District 55A
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    District 56A
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    District 57A
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    District 58A
    District 58B
    District 59A
    District 59B
    District 60A
    District 60B
    District 61A
    District 61B
    District 62A
    District 62B
    District 63A
    District 63B
    District 64A
    District 64B
    District 65A
    District 65B
    District 66A
    District 66B
    District 67A
    District 67B
    Republican Party (67)
    Democratic Party (67)


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