Aaron Repinski (born c. 1972) is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2025. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represents District 26A, in Winona County.[2][3]
Repinski grew up in Winona, Minnesota, where he attended Cotter High School. He received an associate's degree from Winona State University. Earlier in life, he was a firefighter in Winona and in Fountain City, Wisconsin.[2]
In 2020, he was elected to represent the at-large district of the Winona City Council, defeating incumbent Paul Schollmeier by over 11 percentage points.[4]
In 2024, after 38 years in office, Gene Pelowski of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, representative for Legislative District 26A in the Minnesota House of Representatives, retired and did not seek reelection.[5] District 26A was quickly identified as a potential flip for the Republican Party: although Pelowski had won by over 10 points in 2022, the Winona area been trending conservative in recent years.[6][7]
Repinski ran for the seat in the 2024 election, defeating S. James Doerr in the Republican primary.[8] He then won the general election by five points[9] over the DFL nominee, Fair Vote Minnesota leader Sarah Kruger.[10] This was a 16-point swing in favor of the Republican Party, one of the largest swings in the House that year.[11]
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Repinski | 6,559 | 55.70 | |
| Paul Schollmeier | 5,171 | 43.92 | |
| Write-in | 45 | 0.38 | |
| Total votes | 11,775 | 100.0 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Aaron Repinski | 2,247 | 86.69% | |
| Republican | S. James Doerr | 345 | 13.31% | |
| Total votes | 2,592 | 100% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Aaron Repinski | 12,240 | 52.74 | |||
| Democratic (DFL) | Sarah Kruger | 10,916 | 47.04 | |||
| Write-in | 52 | 0.22 | ||||
| Total votes | 23,208 | 100.00 | ||||
| Republican gain from Democratic (DFL) | ||||||
Repinski lives in Winona with his wife, Michelle. He is a member of the Basilica of Saint Stanislaus Kostka,[2] a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church.[13] He owns Winona Tour Boat, a company offering Mississippi River cruises.[1] He also officiates weddings and has a hypnosis act.[14]
