Michael V. Nelson (born June 2, 1954) is an American politician who served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2003 to 2025. A member of the Minnesota DemocraticâÂÂFarmerâÂÂLabor Party (DFL), he represented District 38A, which includes the cities of Brooklyn Park and Osseo in Hennepin County in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Nelson was born in Minneapolis and attended Park Center High School. He attended Hennepin Technical College in Brooklyn Park for carpentry in 1974. He served for 16 years as a member of the Minneapolis Housing Authority.
Nelson was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2002 and was reelected every two years until 2024. He first ran in a special election after the death of five-term DFL incumbent Darlene Luther, losing to Republican John Jordan. Nelson challenged Jordan again in 2002 and won.
Nelson chaired the Labor and Industry Finance and Policy Committee from 2023 to 2024. He also served on the Property Tax Division and the Transportation Finance and Policy Committee. Nelson chaired the State Government Finance and Elections Committee from 2021 to 2022 and the State Government Finance Division from 2019 to 2020. He chaired the Government Operations Committee from 2013 to 2014 and the Local Government Division from 2009 to 2010, and was an assistant majority leader for the House DFL caucus from 2007 to 2008.
In January 2024, Nelson announced he would not seek reelection after serving ten terms in the Minnesota House, stating "the time has come to pass the torch".
Nelson has supported Attorney General Keith Ellison's requests to increase funding to hire additional criminal prosecutors, but said in 2021 that Senate Republicans opposed the measure. After protesters took down a statue of Christopher Columbus on the state Capitol grounds, Nelson said he would not hold hearings on legislation to restore the statue. During a 2015 debate over increasing salaries for state commissioners, Nelson said, "We could put a bunch of slugs in there and pay them nothing and then we'd scream when the government is not running right". He opposed a bill to create a legislative budget office in 2015.
Nelson, who worked as a union representative, has supported workers and their right to join a union, and said, "There's been a general war on anyone who is working class and has a union by trying to take union rights away". He authored legislation in 2013 to authorize childcare providers to collectively bargain as part of a union, which passed the House as part of a larger labor bill. He supported legislation approving union contracts that included pay increases for state workers. Nelson served as part of a jobs task force to make recommendations on economic development, capital investment, and tax policies.
Nelson has supported legislation to increase funding for election cybersecurity updates and authorize federal funds from the Help America Vote Act to improve election security. He expressed concern over a proposal to move Minnesota's primary from August to June, and cosponsored a bill to ban ranked-choice voting in the state.
Nelson voted in favor of a bill to build a new Minnesota Vikings stadium with a mix of private and state funds. He supported bills to pay off the stadium's debt ahead of schedule. In 2017, he was the only "no" vote on a hearing for a bill to increase legislative control over the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, which oversees the U.S. Bank Stadium oversight panel.
Nelson lives in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota with his spouse, Kathleen, and has three children. He is Lutheran.