Former member of Congress · last served 115th Congress
Erik Paulsen
Erik Paulsen was a Republican U.S. representative from Minnesota, first elected to Congress in 2009, who voted with most Republicans on 94% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes and sponsored 2 bills that became law (113th–115th Congress).
How we count: “Broke with party” is a yes/no roll call where the member voted against most of their own party on that vote (party as recorded; even splits not counted). “Pork: own share” splits each earmark shared by several members evenly among them.
5 most recent votes
- NayOn Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendments — American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Agreeing to the Resolution — Providing for consideration of the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 8) to extend certain tax relief provisions enacted in 2001 and…Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendment — Drywall Safety Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendment — To provide for the conveyance of certain property from the United States to the Maniilaq Association located in Kotzebue, Alaska.Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass — Congressional Pay Freeze and Fiscal Responsibility ActJan 1, 2013 · Passed
5 most recent bills
- H.Res. 1184 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the 15th anniversary of the creation of Health Savings Accounts should be remembered as a turning…Dec 21, 2018 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- H.R. 7177 Shared Accountability for Improved Patient Outcomes Act of 2018Nov 30, 2018 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- H.R. 7157 Chiropractic Patients' Freedom of Choice Act of 2018Nov 28, 2018 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- H.R. 7122 Shared Accountability for Improved Patient Outcomes Act of 2018Nov 15, 2018 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Human Resources.
- H.R. 6377 Save Community Newspaper Act of 2018Nov 6, 2018 · Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 115-1011, Part I.
Top bills sponsored
- H.R. 3209 (114th) Recovering Missing Children ActBecame law
- H.R. 606 (114th) Don't Tax Our Fallen Public Safety Heroes ActBecame law
- H.R. 160 (114th) Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015Passed a chamber
- H.R. 436 (112th) Health Care Cost Reduction Act of 2012Passed a chamber
- H.R. 3610 (113th) Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act of 2014Passed a chamber
- H.R. 159 (114th) Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act of 2015Passed a chamber
- H.R. 5775 (115th) PROPER Act of 2018Passed a chamber
- H.R. 5719 (114th) Empowering Employees through Stock Ownership ActPassed a chamber
Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.
Elections Rep. Paulsen has won
Rep. Paulsen has won 5 U.S. House elections (2008–2016). Of the contested races, margins ran from 7.6 to 24.4 points.
Full election history for this seat →
Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. House V15 / U.S. Senate V8 (CC0), retrieved 2026-10-18; winners matched to member records by seat and term. Results run through the 2024 elections; nothing from 2026 is shown until it is certified. A margin is a fact about one election, never a score of how well a member represents anyone, and PORKER does not rank members by it.
How has Minnesota’s 3rd district done while Rep. Paulsen served?
2012 to 2018 in MN-3: typical household income was up 8% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was down 1.9 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was down 2.0 points.
Each mini chart has its own scale, fitted to its lines (it does not start at zero), so compare the numbers, not the heights. Teal = district, oxblood = state, grey = U.S.
While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in Minnesota’s 3rd district during Paulsen’s time representing it (2009 to 2019). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.
Only one set of district lines is shown. MN-3 was redrawn in 2012 and again in 2022, and a redrawn district is a different place. So this card shows only the longest stretch on the same lines during the term, 2012 to 2018 (no 2020 yearly estimate), not the full 2009 to 2019.
Official records on bills this member sponsored
115th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 51 bills sponsored.
| Record | Bills | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bills sponsored | 51 | Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them → |
| With a sponsor’s constitutional-authority statement | 43 | See the 43 → |
| With a CBO cost estimate listed | 8 | See the 8 → |
| With a committee report listed | 7 | See the 7 → |
Evidence
- How counted
- Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 115th Congress, read from the stored Congress.gov bill records
- Fields
- cboCostEstimates, committeeReports, constitutionalAuthorityStatementText, notes
- PORKER copy refreshed
- October 26, 2026 (nightly)
Read this first. These are counts of records Congress.gov lists. Many bills never get a CBO estimate or a report, so a zero is not a mark against a member. We never show this as a score.
Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · latest recorded House vote Sep 16, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.