Jim Abeler

James J. Abeler II (born May 18, 1954) is a Minnesota politician and member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represents District 35 in the northern Twin Cities metropolitan area. He formerly represented District 35A in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Early life and education.
Abeler was born in Minneapolis. He graduated from Anoka High School in Anoka, then attended the University of Minnesota and Hamline University in Saint Paul. He earned his D.C. from Northwestern College of Chiropractic in Bloomington in 1979. 
In the late 1990s, he founded PACT Charter School in Anoka.
Minnesota Legislature.
Abeler was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1998 and was re-elected every two years since then until retiring in 2014. Prior to the 2002 legislative redistricting, he represented the old District 49A. He served as chair of the Health Policy and Finance Subcommittee for the Health Care Cost Containment Division during the 2005 to 2006 biennium.
He was elected to the Minnesota Senate in a special election on February 9, 2016 and assumed office on February 22, 2016.
2014 U.S. Senate campaign.
Abeler was a candidate of the 2014 U.S. Senate election in Minnesota. He lost the Republican nomination to Mike McFadden.
Political Stances.
Jim Abeler formed the MN Autism Council in Fall of 2018. He was subsequently criticized for appointing Wayne Rohde, cofounder of the Vaccine Safety Council of Minnesota, to the council in 2019. Rohde is a prominent vaccine skeptic and an executive for Health Choice, which advocates for health conditions in children "caused by side effects of vaccine choices."
Personal life.
Abeler is married to Barb and together they have six children: Jamie, Jesse, Jordan, Josiah (died in 2011), Jude, and Judson. He is a Baptist and a chiropractor.