Stephanie Herseth Sandlin

Infobox_Congressman
name=Stephanie Herseth Sandlin


state=South Dakota
district=At-large
date of birth=birth date and age|1970|12|03
place of birth=Near Houghton, South Dakota
death_date=
death_place=
term_start=June 3, 2004
preceded=Bill Janklow
succeeded=
date of birth=birth date and age|1970|12|3
place of birth=Aberdeen, South Dakota [cite web |title=Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D - SD AL) |work=Congress.org |publisher=Capitol Advantage LLC |url=http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/?id=130756&lvl=C&chamber=H ]
date of death=
place of death=
spouse=Max Sandlincite news
title=Herseth announces her engagement
date=2006-12-26
author=
work=Rapid City Journal
url=http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/12/16/news/top/news05.txt
accessdate=2007-04-02 ] cite news
title=Representative now known as Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
date=2007-04-01
author=Associated Press
work=Sioux Falls Argus Leader
url=http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SD_HERSETH_WEDDING_SDOL-?SITE=SDSIO&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
accessdate=2007-04-02 ]
profession=attorney
alma_mater= Georgetown University
residence= Brookings, South Dakota
religion=Lutheran
party=Democrat

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 40 points. She received the highest vote total for a Democratic candidate for the House in 2006.cite news |url= http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/2/201341/4232 |title= Stephanie Herseth Sandlin Profile |date= September 2, 2007 |work= Daily Kos |accessdate= 2008-07-14]

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. [cite web |url=http://www.hersethforcongress.org/nr_103004.htm |title=Herseth not typical S.D. politician |author=Waltman, Scott |work=Herseth for Congress |date=2004-10-30 ] 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 same sex 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 Natural 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.cite web |title=Committees |url=http://hersethsandlin.house.gov/committees.html |work=Office of U.S. Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin |publisher=U.S. House of Representatives ]

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, [cite news |title=S.D. Lawmaker Now Called Stephanie Herseth Sandlin |work=Associated Press |publisher=Yankton Press & Dakotan |date=2007-04-02 |url=http://www.yankton.net/stories/040207/news_7023040207.shtml ] 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. On July 23, 2008, Herseth Sandlin announced that she and Max are expecting a baby boy in December 2008. [ [http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/07/23/herseth_sandlin_expecting_first_child_in_december/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news Herseth Sandlin expecting first child in December] ]

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 who potentially may run for the presidency, and characterized Herseth Sandlin as having "an inspirational speaking style that some compare to (Barack) Obama's." [cite web |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/weekinreview/18zernike.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&hp |title=She Might Be President Someday |author=Zernike, Kate |work=NY Times |date=2008-05-18]

Other reports have mentioned Herseth Sandlin as a possible candidate for Governor of South Dakota in 2010, as a potential stand-in should Senator Tim Johnson step aside in 2008, or as a challenger to Senator John Thune in 2010. Herseth Sandlin has refused to rule out a run for governor, or any office, in 2010. [cite news |url= http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080714/COLUMNISTS0102/807140310/1057/COLUMNISTS |title= Talk of Herseth Sandlin for governor |first= David |last= Kranz |date= July 14, 2008 |work= Argus Leader |accessdate= 2008-07-14]

ee also

*"30 Something" Working Group

References

External links

* [http://www.house.gov/herseth/ U.S. Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin] official U.S. House website
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stephanie_Herseth Profile] at SourceWatch Congresspedia
* [http://www.hersethforcongress.org/ Stephanie Herseth for South Dakota] official campaign website

Persondata
NAME=Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=South Dakota politician
DATE OF BIRTH=December 3, 1970
PLACE OF BIRTH=Houghton, South Dakota
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=