While attending Hamline, Engen started a chapter of the right-wing student organization Turning Point USA.[3][4] He was encouraged to run for office by Iowa state representative Joe Mitchell while the two were "discussing policy in a hot tub" at a Turning Point USA Student Action Summit. Engen has said he no longer supports the organization.[3]
Engen worked for a wildlife conservation group focused on invasive species prevention, but left the job before joining the legislature.[3][5]
Minnesota House of Representatives
Engen was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2022. He first ran in 2020, unsuccessfully challenging one-term DFL incumbent Ami Wazlawik. He ran again and won in 2022 in an open seat created by legislative redistricting and Wazlawik's retirement.[1] He is the first Generation Z Republican elected to the Minnesota Legislature.[3]
Engen serves as an assistant minority leader for the House Republican caucus and sits on the Human Services Policy, Public Safety Finance and Policy, and Rules and Legislative Administration Committees.[1]
Political positions
Engen's 2022 campaign platform focused on "public safety, education, and pocketbook concerns".[5] He is anti-abortion and has claimed it "won't be an issue that Republicans address" due to a prior state supreme court decision.[5] Engen has voted against legislation that codified the right to an abortion into state law, and a law to restore voting rights for felons serving parole.[3] He opposed a move to raise legislators' per diem payments, calling it "self-centered" and "egregious".[6]
In 2023, Engen authored the "Safe Haven In Every Local District (SHIELD) Act", which would require school security system improvements.[3]
