Wayne Stenehjem

Wayne Stenehjem
29th Attorney General of North Dakota
Incumbent
Assumed office December 15, 2000
Governor	John Hoeven Jack Dalrymple Doug Burgum
Preceded by	Heidi Heitkamp
Personal details
Born	(1953-02-05) February 5, 1953 Mohall, North Dakota, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Education	Bismarck State College University of North Dakota (BA, JD)

Wayne Stenehjem (/ˈstɛndʒəm/ STEN-jəm; born February 5, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician from the U.S. state of North Dakota. He is the current Attorney General of the state, serving since January 1, 2001. He sought the Republican nomination for Governor of North Dakota in the 2016 election cycle but lost the Republican primary on June 14 by 20%.

Biography

Wayne Stenehjem was born in Mohall, North Dakota, and he graduated from Bismarck High School in 1971 and Bismarck State College in 1972. He attended the University of North Dakota and the UND School of Law, graduating in 1977. Stenehjem was elected to the North Dakota House of Representatives in 1976, and served two terms there until 1980 when he was elected to the North Dakota Senate. He served in that capacity until 2000 when he became Attorney General of North Dakota. While serving as the Attorney General of North Dakota, Stenehjem proposed legislation to curb methamphetamine use and addiction in the state, by restricting retail sales of certain products used in its manufacture, to provide mandatory treatment for first time drug offenders, and increase criminal penalties for drug offenders. Stenehjem was re-elected in 2004, 2006, 2010, and in 2014, and by wide margins.

He is married to Beth Bakke Stenehjem, and has one son, Andrew. He is also the brother of North Dakota Senate Majority Leader Bob Stenehjem (1952-2011) and former North Dakota House of Representatives member Allan Stenehjem (who is now a lobbyist).

Career

• North Dakota House of Representatives (1976—1979)
• North Dakota Senate (1980—2000)
  • Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee (1995—2000)
• North Dakota Attorney General (2001—present)

Electoral history

North Dakota Attorney General Election, 2000
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Wayne Stenehjem	157,986	55.74
Democratic	Glenn Pomeroy	125,466	44.26

North Dakota Attorney General Election, 2004
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Wayne Stenehjem (inc.)	218,599	72.54
Democratic	Bruce Schoenwald	82,754	27.46

North Dakota Attorney General Election, 2006
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Wayne Stenehjem (inc.)	148,194	68.86
Democratic	Bill Brudvik	67,032	31.14

North Dakota Attorney General Election, 2010
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Wayne Stenehjem (inc.)	175,627	74.55
Democratic	Jeanette Boechler	59,781	25.38
Write-ins	Write-ins	174	0.07

North Dakota Attorney General Election, 2014
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Wayne Stenehjem (inc.)	181,678	74.06
Democratic	Kiara Kraus-Parr	63,255	25.78
Write-ins	Write-ins	395	0.16

North Dakota Governor Republican Primary Election, 2016
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Doug Burgum/Brent Sanford	68,042	59.47
Republican	Wayne Stenehjem/Nicole Poolman	44,158	38.59
Republican	Paul Sorum/Michael Coachman	2,164	1.89
Republican	Write-ins	51	0.04

External links

• Campaign site