Stephanie Herseth
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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 raised on her family's farm near Houghton (between Hecla and Columbia) in a family active in South Dakota politics:
- One of her grandfathers, Ralph Herseth, was governor;
- One of her grandmothers, 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 the special election. Diedrich was also her opponent in the special election. The special election was barely over when Diedrich and Herseth began campaigning for the general election. Both elections were hard-fought and close compared to many House races in the rest of the United States.
External links
- Campaign website (http://www.hersethforcongress.org/)
- Statement in South Dakota's 2004 Voter Guide (http://www.sdsos.gov/Elections/VG2004/HersethS.htm)
- House of Representatives website (http://www.house.gov/herseth/)
- 2004 campaign finance data (http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.asp?CID=N00024773&cycle=2004)