Robert B. Lessard (born May 18, 1931) is an American former politician in the state of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. He was born in International Falls, Minnesota and was a cruise company operator. Lessard is also a veteran of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. He was a Minnesota state senator from District 3 from 1977 to 2002. He has three children. Nicknamed "The Old Trapper", Lessard ran for

Attorney General of Minnesota The attorney general of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. State of Minnesota. Thirty individuals have held the office of Attorney General since statehood. The incumbent is Keith Ellison, a DFLer. Election ...

in the 2018 election as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. It was noted that Lessard was not an attorney, raised hardly any money and had spent decades as a DFLer. Lessard stated that he was running to protect the state's Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, which he said Republicans were determined to repeal. He came third in the primary election with 63,722 votes (21.7%).

References

1931 births Living people Minnesota state senators People from International Falls, Minnesota Military personnel from Minnesota American military personnel of the Korean War 21st-century American politicians Minnesota Democrats Minnesota Independents Independence Party of Minnesota politicians {{Minnesota-politician-stub