Stephanie Herseth

Stephanie Herseth (born December 3, 1970) is an American lawyer and Democratic politician. She narrowly won the at-large U.S. House seat from South Dakota in a special election on June 1, 2004, briefly giving the state its first all-Democrat congressional delegation since 1937. In the 2004 general elections, Herseth retained her seat by a 7% margin over Republican Larry Diedrich. Herseth was the first woman in state history to win a full term in Congress.

Related Topics:
December 3 - 1970 - American - Lawyer - Democratic - Politician - U.S. House - South Dakota - Special election - June 1 - 2004 - 1937 - 2004 general elections - Republican - Larry Diedrich

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

Related Topics:
Houghton - Hecla - Columbia

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• Her paternal grandfather, Ralph Herseth, was governor;
• Her paternal grandmother, Lorna Herseth, was Secretary of State; and
• Her father, Lars Herseth, served for twenty years in the state legislature and ran for governor in 1986.

Herseth received her B.A. and law degrees from Georgetown University. She ran for the U.S. House of Representatives seat in the 2002 election and lost to Bill Janklow. In early 2004, Janklow vacated his seat after he was convicted of manslaughter, triggering a special election. Herseth was selected as the Democratic nominee for this special election and she managed to beat GOP candidate Larry Diedrich 51-49 in a close fought election on June 1, 2004. As both candidates had also been selected to represent their parties in the general election in November, campaigning continued after the special election. In the November general election, Herseth was elected to a first full time with 53.4 percent of the vote, an increase of a few percentage points compared with the even closer June special elections (the vote margin in June was about 3.000 votes, by November it had grown to 24.000).

Related Topics:
B.A. - Law - Georgetown University - 2002 - Bill Janklow - 2004 - Manslaughter

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Both elections were hard-fought and close compared to many House races in the rest of the United States.

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Herseth supports abortion rights, but is conservative in most other matters. In the 2004 general election she was endorsed by the NRA. She supports the Federal Marriage Amendment, which is a matter of controversy among some Democrats.

Related Topics:
Abortion - NRA - Federal Marriage Amendment

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