Minnesota state Sen. Bruce Anderson died at age 75 on Monday, the Senate Republican Caucus confirmed.
Anderson, a Republican from Buffalo representing District 29, served four terms in the Senate and nine terms in the House, a total of three decades and 11,159 days in the state Legislature, according to legislative records.
Undated courtesy photo from the 2025-26 legislative session of Sen. Bruce Anderson, R-Buffalo. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Senate)
Senate Republicans confirmed his passing Monday afternoon and said his family is asking for privacy at this time.
“I’m saddened to learn Senator Bruce Anderson passed unexpectedly today,” Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said in a statement Monday. “Bruce was a dedicated public servant, loving family man, and dear friend to many at the Capitol and in Buffalo. We offer our condolences and prayers for comfort for the entire Anderson family.”
Anderson chaired the veterans committees in the House from 2011 to 2012 and again in the Senate from 2017 to 2020. He focused on issues including agriculture, energy, rural economic development, broadband access and public safety, Senate Republicans said in the release.
“I served with Bruce in both the House and Senate, and will fondly remember him for the way he approached this work and treated his colleagues,” Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, said in a statement Monday. “He was a decent, kind colleague, and a dedicated family man, and I feel fortunate to have known and worked with him.”
Before entering politics, Anderson served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War and in the Minnesota Air National Guard and U.S. Air Force Reserves. He was raised on a dairy farm in Minnesota and was the eldest of eight children, according to the legislative reference library.
“I’m deeply saddened by the passing of my friend and colleague, Senator Bruce Anderson,” Sen. Aric Putnam, DFL-St. Cloud, said in a statement Monday. “As a U.S. Navy veteran and a longtime member of the Minnesota Legislature, Bruce was a steady, principled voice in our work as elected officials. I had the honor of working with him on agriculture and veterans issues, where his dedication and humility stood out. His kindness and deep commitment to service will be missed by all of us in the Senate and by the people of Minnesota.”
Anderson’s death will prompt a special election to fill his seat in the Minnesota Senate, which will comprise 33 Democrats and 32 Republicans, pending the official resignation of Sen. Nicole Mitchell.
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