Erin Oban is an American politician from the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

. She is a member of the

North Dakota 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 appo ...

for the 35th district and the

North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

Early life

Oban earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

in mathematics education from the

University of Mary The University of Mary (UMary or simply Mary) is a private, Benedictine university near Bismarck, North Dakota. It was established in 1959 as Mary College. The university is the largest degree-granting institution in western North Dakota. It ...

. She previously taught math at a junior high school.

Political career

Earlier in her career, Oban worked for

U.S. Representative 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Earl Pomeroy Earl Ralph Pomeroy III (born September 2, 1952) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1993 to 2011. He is a member of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party. He currently serves as Senior Counsel fo ...

, 2012 gubernatorial candidate Ryan Taylor, and Tobacco Free North Dakota. Oban defeated incumbent Republican State Senator Margaret Sitte in the 2014 elections by 58% to 41%, becoming the first Democrat to represent Bismarck since 2010. She was inspired to run by Sitte's support of a

Human Life Amendment The Human Life Amendment is the name of multiple proposals to amend the United States Constitution that would have the effect of overturning the Supreme Court 1973 decision ''Roe v. Wade'', which ruled that prohibitions against abortion were uncon ...

to the

North Dakota Constitution The Constitution of North Dakota is the most basic legal document in the U.S. state of North Dakota. It consists of a preamble and fourteen articles. Amendments to the North Dakota Constitution have always required the approval of a majority of vo ...

. Oban was re-elected in 2018. In November 2021, Oban announced she would not run for re-election, citing a toxic environment in state politics. On March 17, 2022, the White House announced her appointment as

USDA Rural Development USDA Rural Development (RD) is a mission area within the United States Department of Agriculture which runs programs intended to improve the economy and quality of life in rural parts of the United States. Rural Development has a loan portfolio o ...

state director for North Dakota. She will resign her role as state senator on March 27 and start the new role March 28. Former Senator Tracy Potter, who had announced his candidacy for the 35th district after Oban's retirement announcement, was appointed to the vacancy.

Electoral record

References

External links

Living people Schoolteachers from North Dakota American women educators Democratic Party North Dakota state senators 21st-century American politicians 1982 births Women state legislators in North Dakota Politicians from Bismarck, North Dakota People from Williams County, North Dakota 21st-century American women politicians {{NorthDakota-politician-stub