# Eric Pratt *Minnesota state senator and 2026 Republican nominee for Minnesota's 2nd congressional district* Eric R. Pratt, born January 23, 1964, holds the District 54 seat in the [[Minnesota Senate]]. The district lies in the southwestern part of the Twin Cities metropolitan area.[^1] He belongs to the [[Republican Party of Minnesota]].[^1] He first won the seat in 2012 and was returned to it in 2016, 2020 and 2022.[^2] In 2026 Pratt is the nominee of the [[Republican Party (United States)]] for Minnesota's 2nd congressional district.[^3] Social media posts attributed to his campaign field director, Austin Brown, were publicized during that race. Pratt then announced that he had accepted Brown's resignation.[^3] Every statement in this article rests on one source: the Wikipedia article on Pratt, revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26. No primary, legislative or court records were available for this entry. Where that article summarizes news coverage, the account is attributed to it.[^1] ## Early life, education, and career Pratt was raised in [[Prior Lake]], Minnesota, and finished school at Prior Lake High School.[^4] He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1987. He earned a master of business administration from the University of St. Thomas in 1993.[^5] At Colorado he was an outside linebacker on the Buffaloes football team coached by Bill McCartney. He also joined the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.[^6] From 2000 to 2012 he sat on the Prior Lake-Savage School Board, which he chaired.[^7] ## Minnesota Senate In his first Senate race, in 2012, Pratt defeated Kathy Busch with 55% of the vote.[^8] The source dates his first reelection to November 6, 2016, when he took 69% against Ali C. Ali.[^9] His 2020 opponent was DFL nominee Sahra Odowa, and Pratt won with 62%.[^10] He won again in 2022 against Alicia Donahue. The source gives no vote share for that race.[^10] Pratt served as an assistant majority leader in the 90th and 91st sessions of the [[Minnesota Legislature]]. He also served as a majority whip in the 91st.[^11] ## U.S. House campaign Pratt holds the Republican nomination for Minnesota's 2nd congressional district in the 2026 election.[^3] Wikipedia's summary of news coverage reports that hundreds of social media posts and comments attributed to Austin Brown were made public. Brown was the campaign's field director.[^12] As that summary describes the posts, Brown called himself a "White Christian Nationalist" and a Groyper and voiced support for commentator Nick Fuentes. The summary characterizes the posts as racist, antisemitic, anti-Muslim, anti-LGBTQ and violent.[^12] It reports a March 2026 post in which Brown wrote that he hated President Donald Trump for not being more like Adolf Hitler. It also reports that Brown was on the campaign's payroll about two months afterward.[^13] The same account states that Brown kept posting into 2026, including while he was field director and while Pratt followed him on X. It also states that Brown's X account stayed publicly accessible and listed his work for the Pratt campaign until the posts drew public notice.[^14] Per that account, FOX 9 reported that Brown was one of two paid staffers on the campaign.[^15] Once the posts were public, Pratt announced that he had accepted Brown's resignation.[^16] As Wikipedia summarizes the coverage, the campaign did not answer MPR News when asked why Brown's publicly accessible posts had not prevented his hiring. FOX 9 reported that the campaign did not say when it first learned of the posts or whether it ran background checks on paid staff.[^16] In the same period, the campaign offered branded apparel with Pratt's name on the front and the slogan "Results Over Rhetoric" on the back.[^17] The record available here does not establish why the campaign hired Brown. Nor does it establish what the campaign knew of the posts before they were publicized.[^16] ## Personal life Pratt lives in Prior Lake with his wife, and they have two children.[^18] He worked as a risk manager in financial services.[^18] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Eric Pratt* (revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26) — lead section: born January 23, 1964; member of the Minnesota Senate; Republican Party of Minnesota; District 54, southwestern Twin Cities metropolitan area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pratt [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *Eric Pratt* (revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26) — Minnesota Senate section: elected 2012; reelected 2016, 2020 and 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pratt [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *Eric Pratt* (revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26) — U.S. House campaign section: Republican nominee for Minnesota's 2nd congressional district in 2026; field director's posts publicized; resignation accepted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pratt [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *Eric Pratt* (revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26) — early life: grew up in Prior Lake, Minnesota; graduated from Prior Lake High School. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pratt [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *Eric Pratt* (revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26) — education: University of Colorado Boulder, B.A. in economics, 1987; University of St. Thomas, M.B.A., 1993. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pratt [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *Eric Pratt* (revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26) — outside linebacker for the Colorado Buffaloes under Bill McCartney; member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pratt [^7]: Wikipedia contributors, *Eric Pratt* (revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26) — Prior Lake-Savage School Board member, 2000–2012, and its chair. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pratt [^8]: Wikipedia contributors, *Eric Pratt* (revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26) — 2012 Senate election: 55% over Kathy Busch. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pratt [^9]: Wikipedia contributors, *Eric Pratt* (revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26) — reelected November 6, 2016, over Ali C. Ali with 69%. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pratt [^10]: Wikipedia contributors, *Eric Pratt* (revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26) — 2020: 62% over DFL nominee Sahra Odowa; 2022: reelected over Alicia Donahue. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pratt [^11]: Wikipedia contributors, *Eric Pratt* (revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26) — assistant majority leader, 90th and 91st Minnesota Legislatures; majority whip, 91st. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pratt [^12]: Wikipedia contributors, *Eric Pratt* (revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26) — U.S. House campaign section: Austin Brown's publicized posts and self-descriptions, as summarized from news coverage not in the pack. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pratt [^13]: Wikipedia contributors, *Eric Pratt* (revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26) — March 2026 post; Brown on campaign payroll about two months later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pratt [^14]: Wikipedia contributors, *Eric Pratt* (revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26) — Brown's continued posting into 2026; Pratt followed Brown on X; X account publicly accessible and identifying campaign work. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pratt [^15]: Wikipedia contributors, *Eric Pratt* (revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26) — per FOX 9, Brown one of two paid staffers; the underlying report is not in the pack. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pratt [^16]: Wikipedia contributors, *Eric Pratt* (revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26) — resignation accepted; unanswered questions from MPR News and FOX 9, as summarized there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pratt [^17]: Wikipedia contributors, *Eric Pratt* (revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26) — campaign apparel with the slogan "Results Over Rhetoric." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pratt [^18]: Wikipedia contributors, *Eric Pratt* (revision 1377795737, retrieved 2026-10-26) — personal life: wife, two children, residence in Prior Lake; financial services risk manager. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pratt