Stephanie Herseth Sandlin

Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Dakota's At-large district
Incumbent
Assumed office June 3, 2004
Preceded by	Bill Janklow
Personal details
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Max Sandlin

Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (born December 3 1970) is an American lawyer and Democratic politician, currently serving as the sole member of the House of Representatives from South Dakota. She is the youngest woman member of the House, and the first woman elected to the House of Representatives from South Dakota. She won the at-large seat in a special election on June 1 2004. Prior to her 2007 marriage, she was known as Stephanie Herseth.

Early life

Herseth Sandlin was raised on her family's farm near Houghton (between Hecla and Columbia) in a family active in South Dakota politics:

• Her paternal grandfather, Ralph Herseth, was Governor;
• Her paternal grandmother, Lorna Herseth, was Secretary of State; and
• Her father, Lars Herseth, served in the state legislature for two decades and ran for Governor in 1986.
• Her husband, Max Sandlin, represented Texas in the United States House of Representatives for 8 years until he was defeated for re-election in 2004, though that was prior to their marriage.

Herseth Sandlin received her undergraduate, graduate and law degrees from Georgetown University, the latter in 1997. Prior to her election to the House, Herseth Sandlin was Executive Director of the South Dakota Farmer's Union Foundation, was in private practice as an attorney, taught at the Georgetown University Law Center, and clerked in the federal court system.

Public service

She ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives seat in the 2002 election, losing in a close race to popular Republican Governor Bill Janklow.

Janklow later resigned his seat, effective January 20 2004, after he was convicted of manslaughter, triggering a special election. Herseth Sandlin was selected as the Democratic nominee, and on June 1, 2004 beat Republican candidate Larry Diedrich with 51 percent. The victory gave South Dakota its first all-Democratic congressional delegation (Senators Tom Daschle and Tim Johnson were both Democrats) since 1937.

In the regularly scheduled election in November 2004, Herseth again beat Diedrich with 53.4 percent of the vote. The vote margin in June was about 3,000 votes, but by the November election — which included a hard-fought contest for the Senate seat held by Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle — it had grown to more than 29,000.

Both the 2004 special and general elections were close compared to many other House races in the rest of the United States, and the special election was watched by a national audience.

In November 2006, Herseth Sandlin was re-elected in a landslide, defeating challenger Bruce Whalen by a margin of more than a 40 points. She received the highest vote total for a Democratic candidate for the House in 2006.

Herseth Sandlin has campaigned as an "independent voice" and is generally considered to be a moderate Democrat. She supports abortion rights, has been vocal against cuts to veterans programs, has advocated the use of renewable fuels such as ethanol, and supports farm programs. As a representative of nine sovereign Native American tribes, she is active on issues important to Indian Country. She is a member of the New Democrat Coalition. As a fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrat, however, she opposes her party's leadership on some issues on which there is disagreement between conservative South Dakota and the more liberal Democratic national leadership. For example, she supports gun rights, which won her support from gun owners in her state and the National Rifle Association. On social issues, Herseth Sandlin is pro-choice and expressed opposition to Referred Law 6, which sought to ban all abortions in her home state. And while she supported the Employment Nondiscrimination Act in 2007, she has voiced opposition to gay marriage. On February 26, 2008 she endorsed Barack Obama for President of the United States. She had previously supported John Edwards.

Committees

Herseth Sandlin serves on four committees in the 110th Congress -- the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, the House Committee on Agriculture, the House Committee on Natrual Resources, and the Select Committee on Global Warming and Energy Independence. She is Chairwoman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee. She also serves on the Conservation, Credit, Energy and Research; and General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittees on the Agriculture Committee, as well as the Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee of the Natural Resources Committee.

These committees each involve a sizable constituency in her home state of South Dakota. The Agriculture Committee affects the state's largest industry and the Natural Resources Committee has jurisdiction over national forests in the [Black Hills] as well as policies affecting the state's nine Native American tribes. Herseth Sandlin was selected to serve on the Select Committee on Global Warming and Energy Independence based upon her work on issues related to biofuels and renewable energy in Rural America.

Personal and family

Herseth Sandlin was married on March 31, 2007 to Max Sandlin, a former congressman from Texas. The couple met in 2002, when Sandlin advised Herseth on her first congressional campaign. Upon her marriage, Herseth officially became Stephanie Herseth Sandlin.

Future Possibilities and Ambitions

Herseth Sandlin was mentioned in a May 18, 2008 New York Times article titled 'She Just Might Be President Someday'. The article explores women whom potentially may run for the presidency. The article characterized Herseth Sandlin as having, "an inspirational speaking style that some compare to (Barack) Obama's," and cite her as being singled out for a future run. ]].

See also

• "30 Something" Working Group

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

External links

• U.S. Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin official U.S. House website

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
• Stephanie Herseth for South Dakota official campaign website