Role Politician Children 3 Spouse Mark Liebow | Parents Jerome Liebling Name Tina Liebling Education Boston University | |
![]() | ||
Alma mater University of MinnesotaUniversity of Massachusetts-AmherstBoston University School of Law Uncles Stan Liebling, David Liebling |
Minnesota house district 26a debate tina liebling vs breanna bly
Tina Liebling (born 1953) is a Minnesota attorney and politician who is a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represents District 26A, which consists entirely of the city of Rochester in Olmsted County, which is in the southeastern part of the state. She is a candidate for Governor of Minnesota.
Contents
- Minnesota house district 26a debate tina liebling vs breanna bly
- Informational interview with rep tina liebling dfl 26a
- Early life and education
- Political career
- Candidate for Governor 2018
- Personal life
- References

Informational interview with rep tina liebling dfl 26a
Early life and education

Liebling was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of noted photographer Jerome Liebling. After her family moved away from the area, she returned to attend the University of Minnesota, earning a B.A. in Spanish and graduating magna cum laude. She went on to attend the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, receiving an M.S. in Public Health, then went to Boston University School of Law, graduating cum laude with a J.D..
Political career
Liebling's political career began in 2002, when she first ran for the District 30A seat, finishing second behind former state representative Carla Nelson in a three-way race. She ran again in 2004, defeating Nelson with 50.75% of the vote. She and Andy Welti, a former DFL representative from neighboring District 30B, were part of large DFL gains in the Minnesota House in 2004. The two were the first Democrats to represent the Rochester area, a traditionally Republican stronghold, in many years. She was sworn in on January 4, 2005.
Liebling was re-elected in 2006 with 52.76% of the vote, again defeating Carla Nelson. In the 2008 election, she faced Rochester businessman Jacob Dettinger, defeating him with 61.81% of the vote. In the 2010 election, she defeated Charlie O'Connell, garnering 55.15% of the vote to O'Connell's 44.73%. In 2012, running in a slightly altered district due to redistricting, she defeated Breanna Bly, a Rochester School Board member, 58.8% to 41.0%.
She served as an assistant majority leader during the 2007-08 session, but declined to serve again in that position for the 2009-10 biennium. She became the DFL lead on the Health and Human Services Reform Committee for the 2011-12 biennium and also served on the Health and Human Service Finance and Judiciary Policy and Finance Committees. When the DFL retook the majority after the 2012 election, she became chair of the Health and Human Services Policy Committee for the 2013-14 biennium. She also serves on the Health and Human Services Finance Committee, the Civil Law Committee, and the Taxes Committee.
Liebling supported Senator Bernie Sanders during the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries, breaking with state party leadership.
Candidate for Governor 2018
On April 2nd, 2017 Liebling announced her candidacy for Governor of Minnesota, since Governor Mark Dayton is not seeking re-election.
Personal life
She married her husband, Dr. Mark Liebow, shortly after law school, and moved to the Chicago area, where her three children were born. In 1994, she moved to Rochester, where her husband was hired as a consultant for the Mayo Clinic, and she began a solo law practice focused on criminal law.