Pat Shortridge
Chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota
In office
December 31, 2011 – April 6, 2013
Preceded byTony Sutton
Succeeded byKeith Downey
Personal details
BornWinona, Minnesota
Political partyRepublican Party of Minnesota
Alma materMacalester College
Occupationlobbyist

Pat Shortridge is a Minnesota lobbyist, former Chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota and founder of Conservative Solutions Project.

Early life and education

Shortridge was born in Winona, Minnesota. He attended Macalester College.[1]

Political career

After graduating from Macalester College, Shortridge became an intern, then paid staffer, of Texas Representative Dick Armey,[1] eventually working for him for eleven years.[2] He left Armey's employment in 2001 to become a lobbyist for Enron, a position he held for approximately six months before the company went into bankruptcy as a result of the Enron scandal.[1][3]

After the brief position at Enron, Shortridge returned to Minnesota to work for Representative Mark Kennedy for five years.[2] He ran Kennedy's campaign in the 2006 senate election, which Kennedy lost by over 20 percentage points to DFL candidate Amy Klobuchar.[4]

In 2011, Minnesota Republican chairman Tony Sutton abruptly departed among controversy.[5][6] Shortridge was elected by 350 party delegates at a meeting on December 31 in St. Cloud, Minnesota over two other candidates.[4] The Republican Party of Minnesota faced a debt of over $2 million at the time of Shortridge's election, which he managed to reduce significantly during his first year as chairman.[7] He has insisted that he would only serve out the remainder of Sutton's term which expires on April 6, 2013, when party delegates will select a new chair.[8] He was succeeded by Keith Downey.[9]

Personal life

Shortridge resides in Lino Lakes, Minnesota.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Minnesota's new GOP chair thinks ideas can trump turmoil". StarTribune.com. 2012-01-08. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
  2. 1 2 "True North - Pat Shortridge". Looktruenorth.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-08. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
  3. ↑ The Big E (2011-12-21). "Former Enron lobbyist Pat Shortridge perfect for MN GOP Party Chair". Mnprogressiveproject.com. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
  4. 1 2 "Pat Shortridge elected Minn. GOP Chair after party's tumultuous year | Minnesota Public Radio News". Minnesota.publicradio.org. 2011-12-31. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
  5. ↑ "Chairman's spending decisions on insiders helped lead to GOP debt".
  6. ↑ "GOP activists are questioning state chairman".
  7. ↑ "MNGOP debt shrinks, but turmoil persists". Politics in Minnesota. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
  8. ↑ Brucato, Cyndy (2013-03-19). "Farewell event for GOP Chair Pat Shortridge is part tribute, part party critique". MinnPost. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
  9. ↑ Stassen-Berger, Rachel E. (April 6, 2013). "Minnesota Republican Party elects a new chair". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
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