{{short description|Republican lobbyist in the United States}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Pat Shortridge | image = | office = Chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota | term_start = December 31, 2011 | term_end = April 6, 2013 | predecessor = Tony Sutton | successor = Keith Downey | birth_date = | birth_place = Winona, Minnesota | death_date = | death_place = | party = Republican Party of Minnesota | spouse = | children = | alma_mater = Macalester College | occupation = lobbyist }}
'''Pat Shortridge''' is a Minnesota lobbyist, former Chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota and founder of Conservative Solutions Project.
==Early life and education== Shortridge was born in Winona, Minnesota. He attended Macalester College.<ref name="startribune1">{{cite web|url=http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/136913608.html?refer=y |title=Minnesota's new GOP chair thinks ideas can trump turmoil |publisher=StarTribune.com |date=2012-01-08 |accessdate=2013-03-22}}</ref>
==Political career== After graduating from Macalester College, Shortridge became an intern, then paid staffer, of Texas Representative Dick Armey,<ref name="startribune1"/> eventually working for him for eleven years.<ref name="looktruenorth1">{{cite web |url=http://www.looktruenorth.com/about-us/contributor-bios/880-pat-shortridge.html |title=True North - Pat Shortridge |publisher=Looktruenorth.com |accessdate=2013-03-22 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208042050/http://looktruenorth.com/about-us/contributor-bios/880-pat-shortridge.html |archivedate=2013-02-08 }}</ref> He left Armey's employment in 2001 to become a lobbyist for Enron, a position he held for approximately six months before the company went into bankruptcy as a result of the Enron scandal.<ref name="startribune1"/><ref>{{cite web|author=The Big E |url=http://mnprogressiveproject.com/former-enron-lobbyist-pat-shortridge-perfect-for-mn-gop-party-chair/ |title=Former Enron lobbyist Pat Shortridge perfect for MN GOP Party Chair |publisher=Mnprogressiveproject.com |date=2011-12-21 |accessdate=2013-03-22}}</ref>
After the brief position at Enron, Shortridge returned to Minnesota to work for Representative Mark Kennedy for five years.<ref name="looktruenorth1"/> He ran Kennedy's campaign in the 2006 senate election, which Kennedy lost by over 20 percentage points to DFL candidate Amy Klobuchar.<ref name="publicradio1">{{cite web|url=https://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/12/31/gop-elects-pat-shortridge |title=Pat Shortridge elected Minn. GOP Chair after party's tumultuous year | Minnesota Public Radio News |publisher=Minnesota.publicradio.org |date=2011-12-31 |accessdate=2013-03-22}}</ref>
In 2011, Minnesota Republican chairman Tony Sutton abruptly departed among controversy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2012/01/19/minnesota-republican-party-finances|title=Chairman's spending decisions on insiders helped lead to GOP debt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.startribune.com/gop-activists-are-questioning-state-chairman/121678049/|title=GOP activists are questioning state chairman}}</ref> Shortridge was elected by 350 party delegates at a meeting on December 31 in St. Cloud, Minnesota over two other candidates.<ref name="publicradio1"/> The Republican Party of Minnesota faced a debt of over $2 million at the time of Shortridge's election, which he managed to reduce significantly during his first year as chairman.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicsinminnesota.com/2012/12/mngop-debt-shrinks-but-turmoil-persists/ |title=MNGOP debt shrinks, but turmoil persists |publisher=Politics in Minnesota |date= |accessdate=2013-03-22}}</ref> He insisted that he would only serve out the remainder of Sutton's term expiring April 6, 2013, when party delegates would select a new chair.<ref>{{cite web|last=Brucato |first=Cyndy |url=http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2013/03/farewell-event-gop-chair-pat-shortridge-part-tribute-part-party-critique |title=Farewell event for GOP Chair Pat Shortridge is part tribute, part party critique |publisher=MinnPost |date=2013-03-19 |accessdate=2013-03-22}}</ref> He was succeeded by Keith Downey.<ref name="chair">{{cite web | url=http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/201789721.html | title=Minnesota Republican Party elects a new chair | work=Star Tribune | date=April 6, 2013 | accessdate=April 6, 2013 | author=Stassen-Berger, Rachel E.}}</ref>
==Personal life== Shortridge resides in Lino Lakes, Minnesota.<ref name="startribune1"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shortridge, Pat}} Category:Minnesota Republicans Category:Living people Category:People from Winona, Minnesota Category:Macalester College alumni Category:People from Lino Lakes, Minnesota Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:State political party chairs of Minnesota