Drew Christensen is a candidate for Scott County Commissioner in District 5, which is the City of Savage. A Savage native and former Minnesota state representative, he placed first in the August 11, 2026 primary and faces Bob Coughlen in the November 3 general election for the open seat.
Official House portrait from his Minnesota House service, 2017 to 2018 term, Minnesota House of Representatives
“I was raised in Savage. I’ve served this community. We’re raising our kids here. Now I’m running for Scott County Commissioner to keep our community a great place to live, work, and raise a family.” That is Drew Christensen, in his campaign’s own words.
Drew Christensen was born in Savage on May 21, 1993, and raised there. He attended Glendale Elementary, earned the Boy Scouts’ highest rank of Eagle Scout, and graduated from Prior Lake High School, where he delivered a commencement address. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in political science; the University itself states that he holds a BA in political science from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
Savage voters first sent him to St. Paul in 2014, when he was elected at age 21 to the Minnesota House of Representatives for District 56A with 7,498 votes (55.81%). He won a second term in 2016 with 12,069 votes (55.96%) and served from January 2015 to January 2019. In his second term he served as Vice Chair of the Higher Education Committee and as Deputy Majority Whip, and he sat on the Taxes Committee.
Since leaving the legislature he has stayed in Savage civic life. He has served on the Savage Planning Commission since February 22, 2019. He works as Senior Director of Public Engagement at Apex Clean Energy, where the University of Minnesota notes he leads a 19-member team across the country. His campaign adds that he has been a member of the Savage Rotary Club since 2018, serves on the board of Benedictine Living Community in Shakopee, and volunteers as a youth sports coach.
Drew lives in Savage with his wife, Kayla, and their three young sons, a few miles from the house he grew up in. In the August 11, 2026 primary for the open District 5 seat, he placed first in a field of four with 2,428 votes.
Sources: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, Christensen record · Campaign About page, drewforsavage.com · University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts profile
That sentence is the whole platform his campaign publishes for this race. Drew’s site carries no separate issues page, so this profile builds nothing for him: what follows is his House record as his own campaign’s About page tells it, in his voice and labeled as his account, plus the bills the House record itself documents.
His campaign points to his time in the legislature and says he “secured the largest tax relief package for Minnesota families in history.” That is his campaign’s characterization of his House service, presented here in his own words, and it is the first item his About page lists.
His campaign says he “secured strong funding for our schools, and worked to ensure every Minnesota student has an excellent teacher.” In the House he authored education provisions on student discipline study and on letting students take the SAT as well as the ACT, and he carried school safety funding proposals described in the Record section below.
After his 2016 win, his campaign says, he “secured funding for a new 35W bridge over the Minnesota River as well as funding for a partnership with Scott County and the City of Savage to bring a critically needed mental health treatment center to Savage.” The House record documents his 2018 bill to bond up to $1.4 million, matched by Scott County, for a regional crisis center in Savage.
On the House record: he authored the proposal to fund school security audits through the Department of Public Safety, with a companion security grant approach, and his House File 1802 created a state supplemental security grant program for nonprofit organizations at risk of terror threats, modeled on the federal FEMA program and included in the House Public Safety bill. His April 2018 statement put it plainly: “Every student in Minnesota deserves to have access to a world-class education and to be safe at school.”
Christensen has never held county office, and this page does not pretend otherwise. His record is his 2015 to 2019 Minnesota House service, his Savage commission service before and since, and a first place finish in the 2026 primary.
Appointed by the Savage City Council in February 2012, he served on the city’s Advisory Communications Commission to November 2014, as its Vice Chair from February 2013.
Won District 56A with 7,498 votes (55.81%) and took office on January 6, 2015, at age 21.
Won a second term with 12,069 votes (55.96%). In that term he served as Vice Chair of the Higher Education Committee and as Deputy Majority Whip.
Education Innovation Policy; Higher Education and Career Readiness Policy and Finance; and Taxes, per the Legislative Reference Library record.
Joined the Savage Planning Commission, where he serves today, reviewing the land use and growth questions of his hometown.
Placed first in the four candidate primary with 2,428 votes, ahead of Bob Coughlen’s 1,138, and advanced to the November 3 general election.
Assignments per the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library record.
Before and after the House: Savage Advisory Communications Commission, 2012 to 2014, and Savage Planning Commission, February 22, 2019 to present.
Bills and provisions documented in his official House releases.
Sources: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, Christensen record · Prior Lake News Compass, primary results report · Campaign About page
District 5 is the City of Savage. Scott County’s official 2026 Notice of Filing lists the office exactly that way: “County Commissioner District 5, (Four Year Term): City of Savage.” The commissioner elected on November 3, 2026 serves a four year term.
This is an open seat. Jon Ulrich, the District 5 commissioner since 2001, is not running again. Four candidates filed, and the August 11, 2026 primary narrowed the field to the top two: Drew Christensen, who placed first with 2,428 votes, and Bob Coughlen, a Savage City Council member, who placed second with 1,138. County commissioner is a nonpartisan office, and no party label appears for any candidate in this race. Early voting for the general election began September 18, 2026, and polls on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, run 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sources: Scott County, 2026 Notice of Filing for county offices · Scott County Board of Commissioners page · Prior Lake News Compass
Every endorsement on an American Assembly profile appears only when the endorsing person or organization has confirmed it in their own published announcement.
As of October 17, 2026, no endorsement of Drew Christensen for the 2026 Scott County Commissioner District 5 race could be verified from an endorser’s own publication, so none is claimed here. When an endorser confirms an endorsement in their own words, it will be added to this section with its source.
The announcements that mark the District 5 race, from Scott County reporting and the campaign.
The Prior Lake News Compass reports that Drew Christensen received the most votes in the four candidate primary with 2,428, and will face Bob Coughlen, second with 1,138, in November. The District 5 race was the only Scott County board race on a primary ballot this year.
Read the report
At the filing deadline, four candidates had filed for District 5, the seat held since 2001 by Jon Ulrich, who will not seek another term: Drew Christensen, Bob Coughlen, Christine Kelly, and Gabriela Kroetch.
Read the filing report
The University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts hosted Christensen for its Politics in Practice event, presenting him as a political science alumnus, a former member of the Minnesota House, and Apex Clean Energy’s Senior Director of Public Engagement.
Read the profileThe first episode of this profile’s podcast, “Meet Drew Christensen,” is in production now and will be posted here the moment it is ready.
“Meet Drew Christensen,” episode one of this profile’s podcast, is in production now. Its script is written from the same verified record as this page: the Savage native elected to the Minnesota House at 21, the Planning Commission member since 2019, and the first place finisher in the 2026 District 5 primary. No date or running time is promised yet; when the episode is finished, it will play right here.
Episode 1 is being produced for this profile. There is no player yet because there is no finished episode yet; nothing about it is promised before then.
Every fact on this page comes from verified research. From that research, American Assembly produced a narrated video overview.
A narrated video overview of Drew Christensen’s page and story, produced by American Assembly from the verified research behind this page and read by Clara.
Watch the Video OverviewNarrated by Clara · American Assembly
Plain spoken explainers and record pieces from this profile, written for the families of Savage.
Civics · The 2026 Race
For the first time since 2001, Savage voters are choosing a new county commissioner. Here is the shape of the race: the seat, the primary, and the dates that matter. Everything else on this page hangs off this story.
The seat. Scott County Commissioner District 5 is the City of Savage, and the office carries a four year term. Jon Ulrich has held the seat since 2001 and is not running again, so the November winner starts fresh. The full district profile is in the District section of this page.
The primary. Four candidates filed, so an August 11, 2026 primary narrowed the field to two. Drew Christensen placed first with 2,428 votes and Bob Coughlen second with 1,138, as reported by the Prior Lake News Compass. Christine Kelly finished third and Gabriela Kroetch fourth; their totals were not published in the report this page relies on, so none are printed here.
The dates. Early voting for the general election began September 18, 2026. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026, polls run 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and same day registration is available. Watch the countdown at the top of this page.
Biography · The House Years
In 2014, Savage elected a 21 year old to the Minnesota House. Two terms of committee work and floor bills followed. A biography spoke off the main race story above.
The 2014 win came with 7,498 votes (55.81%) in District 56A, and the 2016 second term win with 12,069 (55.96%). Between those elections he served on education and higher education committees, and in his second term he was Vice Chair of the Higher Education Committee and Deputy Majority Whip, with a seat on Taxes.
The bills tell the story of the tenure: school security audit funding, a Savage regional mental health crisis center matched by Scott County, security grants for nonprofits at risk, and a small brewery growler provision that raised the cap from 20,000 to 40,000 barrels. The full list is in the Record section of this page.
His House service ended in January 2019. What he did next is the third story on this page: he stayed in Savage.
Community · Stayed in Savage
His campaign structures his story in three lines: raised in Savage, served Savage, stayed in Savage. The stayed part is a Planning Commission seat, a Rotary membership, and three kids learning to ride bikes in the same parking lot he did. A community spoke off the main race story above.
The details are small and specific, which is the point. He learned to ride a bike in the Glendale Elementary parking lot, the same lot where his three kids have learned. Home today is a few miles from the house he grew up in, with his wife, Kayla, and their sons in second grade, kindergarten, and preschool.
Since February 22, 2019 he has served on the Savage Planning Commission, the appointed body that reviews how Savage grows. His campaign adds a Savage Rotary Club membership since 2018, a board seat at Benedictine Living Community in Shakopee, volunteer youth sports coaching, and activity in his church.
For the full biography, see Meet Drew at the top of this page. For the race itself, see the District section.
Blog articles written October 17, 2026, from the record documented on this page. Photos: Minnesota neighborhood aerial via a NorthStar MLS listing photo; House floor and family photographs from drewforsavage.com.
Limited edition, individually numbered, and coming soon. Ordering is not open yet, so every coin below carries a pre-order interest button. Register your interest today and the campaign will reach out the moment ordering opens. No payment is taken now.
2026 First Edition
2026 First Edition
2026 First Edition
2026 First Edition
2026 First Edition
2026 First Edition
2026 First Edition
Proceeds with a purpose: when the coin store opens, you choose where the proceeds from your coin go. Send them to a local charity of Drew’s choosing, to be announced by Drew, or pick a charity of your own from a vetted list at checkout.
One more is coming: Drew will also be choosing a personal coin design of his own for Savage. Watch this page for the reveal.
The District 5 seat is open for the first time in a quarter century, and it will be filled the way local races always are: neighbors contributing, volunteering, and voting on November 3.
Contributions are collected on the campaign’s own Donate page at drewforsavage.com. His campaign publishes the limit for this race on that page: the maximum contribution is $600 per person, $1,200 per couple.
DonateReach the campaign directly by email at drew@drewforsavage.com or by phone at (612) 405-4207, the contact details published in the footer of the campaign’s own site. Its Contact page carries a form for questions and volunteering.
Contact the campaignEarly voting began September 18, 2026. Make a plan for Tuesday, November 3, 2026, when polls run 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and close at 8:00 PM. Every ballot in Savage decides this open seat.
drewforsavage.comDrew’s official campaign site carries his story, his endorsements page, and his donation page, straight from the campaign itself. Follow him on Facebook and X.