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, giving the state its first all-Democrat congressional delegation since 1937.

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 second-degree manslaughter triggering the special election.