Brian Daniels (born October 2, 1958) is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2015. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Daniels represents District 19A south of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, including the city of Faribault and portions of Goodhue, Rice, and Waseca Counties.
Early life, education and career
Daniels studied at Northwest Technical College, getting a degree in small business management.
Minnesota House of Representatives
Daniels was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2014 and has been reelected every two years since. He defeated five-term DFL incumbent Patti Fritz. During the 2016 Republican presidential primary, Daniels joined two dozen state lawmakers in endorsing Senator Marco Rubio. In 2022, Daniels endorsed former state representative Brad Finstad's campaign for Minnesota's 1st congressional district.
Daniels serves as the minority lead on the Children and Families Finance and Policy Committee, and also sits on the Labor and Industry Finance and Policy Committee.
Daniels sits on the Regent Candidate Advisory Council, which oversees the nomination process to the University of Minnesota Board of Regents. He has been critical of lobbying efforts by PACs on behalf of candidates. He signed on to a letter calling on the university to stop participating in research on "aborted human fetal organs".
Daniels authored bipartisan legislation to increase access to transportation and car payment help for low-income Minnesotans. He opposed efforts to raise the gas tax and increase license tab fees to pay for transportation funding.
Electoral history
Personal life
Daniels and his wife, Elizabeth, have four children and reside in Faribault, Minnesota. Daniels is partially paralyzed due to complications after treatment of a brain tumor.
His sister, Marion O'Niell, also serves in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Daniels and O'Niell are the first brother-sister pair to serve together in the state legislature, and the first sibling pair since the early 1980s.