Patrick "Pat" Garofalo (born September 23, 1971) is an American politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represented District 58B, which includes portions of Dakota and Goodhue counties in the southeastern Twin Cities metropolitan area, from 2005 to 2024.
Education Born in 1971 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Garofalo graduated from Rosemount High School in Rosemount in 1989, then went on to Minnesota State University, Mankato in Mankato, earning his B.S. in law enforcement in 1994.
Minnesota House of Representatives Garofalo was first elected in 2004 and was reelected every two years thereafter. In February 2008, he was named assistant minority whip for the Republican caucus. Garofalo served one term as chair of the Education Finance Committee in 2011–12, and chaired the Job Growth & Energy Affordability Committee from 2015 to 2018. He served as the minority lead of the Ways and Means Committee.
In March 2015, Garofalo posted on Twitter that if a majority of National Basketball Association teams were to fold, "nobody would notice a difference [with the] possible exception of increase in streetcrime." He said he was making an observation about crime among professional athletes, not a racist comment. He later apologized.
In 2015, after U.S. Representative John Kline announced he was not running for reelection, attention turned to Garofalo as a possible contender for the seat. After a recruiting visit to Washington, D.C., with House leadership, Garofalo told local media, "I would rather stick a fork in my eye than run for Congress".
In 2021, Garofalo called the U.S. Capitol attack by Donald Trump supporters "ridiculous" and "banana republic shit".
In January 2024, Garofalo announced that he would not seek reelection after his term finished. In a letter to Governor Tim Walz dated July 9, 2024, he gave notice of his intent to resign. Garofalo stepped down effective July 14 at 11:59 PM.
Personal life Pat Garofalo is married to Julie (Rohloff) Garofalo, has two children, and lives in Farmington, Minnesota. He is a network engineer who works on computer infrastructure and IP telephony systems, and was the technology coordinator for Tim Pawlenty's 2002 gubernatorial campaign.
Electoral history +Minnesota House of Representatives, House District 58B election, 2018 PartyCandidateVotes%RepublicanPatrick Garofalo11,54958.84DFLMarla Vagts8,06041.06Write-in200.10Total votes19,629100Republican hold
+Minnesota House of Representatives, House District 58B election, 2016 PartyCandidateVotes%RepublicanPatrick Garofalo13,92664.78DFLMarla Vagts7,54235.08Write-in290.13Total votes21,497100Republican hold
+Minnesota House of Representatives, House District 58B election, 2014PartyCandidateVotes%RepublicanPatrick Garofalo8,87863.85DFLMarla Vagts5,00836.02Write-in180.13Total votes13,904100Republican hold
+Minnesota House of Representatives, House District 58B election, 2012PartyCandidateVotes%RepublicanPatrick Garofalo12,52059.47DFLJim Arlt8,51240.04Write-in190.09Total votes21,051100Republican hold
+Minnesota House of Representatives, House District 36B election, 2010PartyCandidateVotes%RepublicanPatrick Garofalo12,31765.81DFLSigrid Iversen6,38134.10Write-in170.09Total votes18,715100Republican hold
+Minnesota House of Representatives, House District 36B election, 2008PartyCandidateVotes%RepublicanPatrick Garofalo14,23556.01DFLBev Topp11,14443.85Write-in360.14Total votes25,415100Republican hold
+Minnesota House of Representatives, House District 36B election, 2006PartyCandidateVotes%RepublicanPatrick Garofalo10,30455.85DFLPaul Hardt8,12344.03Write-in230.12Total votes18,450100Republican hold
+Minnesota's House of Representatives, House District 36B election, 2004PartyCandidateVotes%RepublicanPatrick Garofalo14,51162.39DFLBenjamin Coler8,71837.48Write-in310.13Total votes23,260100Republican hold
References
External links
Rep. Pat Garofalo – official Minnesota House of Representatives website Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Rep. Pat Garofalo Project Votesmart – Rep. Pat Garofalo Profile Rep. Pat Garofalo official campaign website