Sebastian Fabian "Buckshot" Hoffner (January 20, 1924 – December 17, 2015) was an American politician who was a member of the

North Dakota House of Representatives The North Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly and is larger than the North Dakota Senate. North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts apportioned by population as d ...

and

North Dakota State Senate The North Dakota Senate is the upper house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, smaller than the North Dakota House of Representatives. Per the state constitution, North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts appor ...

for 18 years in total. He was raised in Esmond,

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

and was a veteran of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was a founder of Buckstop Junction, a pioneer town museum near

Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck () is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the state's second-most populous city, after Fargo. The city's population was 73,622 in the 2020 census, while its metropolitan popula ...

. Hoffner served as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

in three separate stints in the House of Representatives: from 1962 to 1966, 1968 to 1972 and 1983 to 1984 in addition to serving as the House's minority leader in the 1971 session. During his eight years in the Senate from 1972 to 1980, he was its minority leader from 1975 to 1980. He was an unsuccessful candidate to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in 1966 losing to incumbent 1st district Representative Mark Andrews. He also unsuccessfully sought the office of

North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner In the U.S. state of North Dakota, the Agriculture Commissioner, formerly known as the Commissioner, is an elected official who heads the North Dakota Department of Agriculture. The present commissioner is Doug Goehring, a Republican. The office ...

in 1980 and lost the Democratic nomination for

Governor of North Dakota The governor of North Dakota is the head of government of North Dakota and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The Constitution of North Dakota specifies that "the executive power is vested in the governor" in Secti ...

in 1984 to eventual winner George A. Sinner. He was the last elected state Chairman of the

Nonpartisan League The Nonpartisan League (NPL) was a left-wing political party founded in 1915 in North Dakota by Arthur C. Townley, a former organizer for the Socialist Party of America. On behalf of small farmers and merchants, the Nonpartisan League advocate ...

which successfully merged with the North Dakota Democratic Party to become the modern Democratic NPL. He died on December 17, 2015, in

References

1924 births 2015 deaths People from Benson County, North Dakota Democratic Party North Dakota state senators United States Army personnel of World War II Candidates in the 1980 United States elections Candidates in the 1984 United States elections 20th-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the North Dakota House of Representatives {{NorthDakota-politician-stub