Nolan West

West was raised in Blaine, Minnesota.^[3] He attended Meadow Creek Christian School in Andover (the year after he graduated, the school’s name was changed to Legacy Christian Academy).^[4] He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts in history and a minor in political science.^[1] He was a legislative assistant for the Republican caucus in the Minnesota House of Representatives for almost two years until he resigned in September 2016 after reports of several racist posts he had made on Facebook.^[5][6][7][8]

West was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016, after incumbent Tim Sanders retired, and has been reelected every two years since. He serves as an assistant minority leader and sits on the Capital Investment, Education Finance, and Transportation Finance and Policy Committees.^[9]

West's first session was the 90th legislative session (2017–18), in which he was chief author of 30 bills,^[10] most notably HF0187,^[11] HF0297,^[12] and HF1496,^[13] all of which addressed one of the main infrastructure issues of his district, Highway 65. No bill that West chief authored made it through committee; all were dead/failed.^[10]

Unlike most other members of the Republican caucus, West has been a strong supporter of legalizing recreational cannabis in Minnesota.^[14][15][16] During the 92nd Minnesota Legislature, he voted for HF600, a bill that would have legalized cannabis in the state, though it was not taken up by the Republican-controlled Senate.^[17] During the 93rd Legislature, West was one of five House Republicans who voted for HF100, which similarly legalized cannabis in the state; the bill was also passed by the DFL-controlled Senate and signed into law by Governor Tim Walz. West gave a 15-minute speech in support of the bill, comparing cannabis to other legal recreational drugs, such as nicotine and alcohol.^[18]

West resides in Blaine, Minnesota.^[1]