Ruth Buffalo
Ruth Buffalo | |
|---|---|
| Member of the North Dakota House of Representatives from the 27th district | |
| Assumed office December 1, 2018 Serving with Thomas Beadle | |
| Preceded by | Randy Boehning |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Watford City, ND |
| Political party | Democratic-NPL |
| Children | 4 |
| Residence | Fargo, North Dakota |
Ruth Anna Buffalo is an American politician who is a member of the North Dakota House of Representatives from the 27th District, serving from December 1, 2018. She is the first Native American Democratic woman elected to the North Dakota Legislature.[1]
Early life and education
Buffalo is an enrolled citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation.[1][2] Buffalo has a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice and three master's degrees: one in management, another in business administration, and one in public health.[1]
Early political career
Her involvement in politics began when she ran for insurance commissioner of the state in 2016, but lost to Jon Godfread. In April 2017, she became party secretary of the North Dakota Democratic–Nonpartisan League and in July 2017, her major appointed her to the Fargo Native American Commission.[1]
North Dakota House of Representatives
She replaced Randy Boehning, who was the primary sponsor of the Voter ID law that voting rights advocates warned would disenfranchise Native American voters.[1][3][4] Other important issues in this 2018 race included access to health care, education (both K-12 and higher education), property taxes, and community safety.[1][2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Astor, Maggie. "Meet the Native American Woman Who Beat the Sponsor of North Dakota's ID Law". New York Times. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
- ^ a b Lim, Clarissa-Jan. "Why Ruth Buffalo Was Surprised To Hear She Beat The Man Behind *That* Voter ID Law". Bustle. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
- ^ Reilly, Katie (7 November 2018). "A New North Dakota Law Threatened Native American Votes. They Responded By Turning Out in Historic Numbers". Time. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ Stern, Mark Joseph. "North Dakota's Voter ID Law Will Disenfranchise Thousands of Native Americans, Imperiling Heitkamp". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
External links
- Ruth Buffalo Biography in the North Dakota Legislative Assembly
- Ruth Buffalo's Candidate Page
- Members of the North Dakota House of Representatives
- North Dakota Democrats
- Native American state legislators
- 21st-century American politicians
- Living people
- 21st-century American women politicians
- Women state legislators in North Dakota
- People from McKenzie County, North Dakota
- Candidates in the 2016 United States elections