Stephanie Herseth Sandlin

Stephanie Marie Herseth Sandlin (born December 3, 1970) is an American attorney, university administrator, and politician from the Democratic Party. She represented in the United States House of Representatives from 2004 until 2011. Sandlin was first elected to Congress in a July 2004 special election and won three full terms before losing to Republican Kristi Noem in 2010. She was the youngest female member of the House, and the first woman elected to the House from South Dakota. Before her 2007 marriage to Max Sandlin, she was known as Stephanie Herseth. She is a Democrat and a member of the Herseth family of South Dakota. She and Senator Tim Johnson are also the last Democrats to win a statewide or federal election in South Dakota.

Since 2017, she has served as president of Augustana University.

Early life and education Stephanie Herseth was born on December 3, 1970, the daughter of Joyce (née Styles) and Ralph Lars Herseth, and was raised on her family's farm near Houghton. Her father's family had been active for two generations in South Dakota politics. Her paternal grandfather, Ralph Herseth, was the governor of South Dakota, and her paternal grandmother, Lorna Herseth, was South Dakota's secretary of state. Her father, Lars Herseth, served in the South Dakota State Legislature for two decades and ran for governor in 1986. Her ancestry includes German and Norwegian.

Herseth graduated from Groton High School in Groton, South Dakota. She earned her Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University in 1993 and her Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center in 1997.

Herseth Sandlin opposed her party's leadership on some issues related to gun rights, which won her the support of the NRA Political Victory Fund.

2008

In the November 2008 general election, Herseth Sandlin won a landslide victory over lawyer attorney Chris Lien, winning every county in the state.

2010

Herseth Sandlin was mentioned as a possible, even likely, candidate for governor of South Dakota in 2010, The Rapid City Journal editorial board wrote that Herseth Sandlin should take this concern seriously. Roll Call called Noem's charges an attempt "to stoke anti-Beltway emotions".

Noem defeated Herseth Sandlin in the November 2 general election with 48.14% of the vote to Herseth Sandlin's 45.9%.

Although Herseth Sandlin did not run in 2012, political commentators suggested that she might seek the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Tim Johnson in 2014. Ultimately, she decided not to run, citing her son and her desire to continue in her role as Legal Counsel at Raven Industries in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Herseth Sandlin served briefly as an adjunct professor at the Department of Political Science at South Dakota State University. In February 2017, it was announced that she would become the 24th president of Augustana University, a liberal arts college in Sioux Falls.

Personal life In March 2007, Herseth married Max Sandlin, a four-term Democratic congressman from Texas and registered lobbyist with the lobbying and public relations firm Mercury, who is 18 years her senior. The couple met when Herseth first ran for Congress in 2002.