Tom Sexton running for re-election

State Representative Thomas “Tom” Sexton of Waseca announced Feb. 1 he will run for re-election in 2026. As he is preparing for the start of the 2026 Legislative Session, Sexton is asking Steele and Waseca County voters to send him back to our Capital in St. Paul on November 3rd, 2026. 

 

Tom is a Republican serving House District 19B who was first elected in 2024. Prior to his election, he served in the US Air Force for twenty-six plus years as a special operations and combat rescue helicopter pilot, staff officer, strategic planner, and as a US Army War College military professor prior to retiring in 2012. Next, he transitioned into the pipeline and facilities construction industry where he served for nine plus years prior to retiring again in 2021 as the Vice-President of Construction Management for UniversalPegasus Intl., a key pipeline engineering, procurement, and construction firm in Houston, TX. In 2024, he came out of retirement to serve all of us in Steele and Waseca counties.  According to Tom, serving the constituents of HD-19 in one of the most rewarding and engaging endeavors of my life. I sincerely enjoy getting out and meeting all the members of our communities, working to make their lives better and more rewarding, as well as ensuring a better future for our next generations. 

 

Tom is currently assigned to the Energy Policy and Finance committee, State Government Policy and Finance committee, and the Capital Investment (Bonding) committee.  According to Sexton, each committee member brings their unique backgrounds and expertise to each meeting. Thus, extensive preparation and advance negotiation with members on both sides of the aisle is necessary to advance a bill through the committee and onto the house floor. Fortunately, his background in federal government service as a senior leader in the US Air Force, as well as his background in heavy industrial construction prepared him to jump right in and engage testifiers by asking the necessary tough questions on behalf of District 19B constituents and every Minnesotan. 

 

As the 2026 session begins on February 17th, Sexton reminds us of the current 67-67 tie in the House. If we intend to make progress in this session, we must compromise, we must find common ground. Three intertwined themes concern most Minnesotans; Affordability, Fraud, and Taxes. For starters, all of us feel the affordability squeeze every time we shop for groceries, pay our utility and insurance bills, and try to figure out how to make ends meet with the leftover portion of our paycheck. If we are going to make Minnesota more affordable, we must stop creating statewide mandates that only make life more expensive. Our cities and countries cannot afford it. Our school districts cannot afford it. Our businesses cannot afford it.