Gordon K. Howie (born July 23, 1949) is an American politician from the state of

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

. As a member of the Republican Party, he served in the

South Dakota House of Representatives The South Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 70 members, two from each legislative district. Two of the state's 35 legislative districts, Districts 26 and 28, are each subdivided int ...

and the

South Dakota Senate The Senate is the upper house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 35 members, one representing each legislative district; it meets at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. Composition :''92nd Legislature (2019)'' Officers Li ...

. Howie ran for the Republican nomination for

Governor of South Dakota The governor of South Dakota is the head of government of South Dakota. The governor is elected to a four-year term in even years when there is no presidential election. The current governor is Kristi Noem, a member of the Republican Party who t ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. He also ran for the U.S. Senate as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

in the

2014 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2014. * 2014 United Nations Security Council election 16 October 2014 Africa * 2014 Algerian presidential election 17 April 2014 * 2014 Botswana general election 24 October 2014 * 2014 Comorian presi ...

Political Career

Howie was elected to the

in the 2004 elections, serving in that body from 2005 to 2009. He was then elected to the

in the 2008 elections, serving in that body from 2009 to 2011. In the spring of 2009, he founded and became president of Citizens for Liberty, a conservative group affiliated with the

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defic ...

. Howie ran for

in the 2010 elections, with former State Senator Kermit Staggers as his

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint Ticket (election), ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate ...

. Howie finished fourth out of five candidates in the Republican primary, with 10,430 votes (12.4%). Howie ran unsuccessfully for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

in the

, losing to former governor

Mike Rounds Marion Michael Rounds (born October 24, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from South Dakota since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 31st governor of South Dakota ...

. Howie had indicated that he wanted to ensure there was a "true conservative choice" since the Republican nominee, Governor Rounds, was too moderate. His top priorities included repealing

Obamacare The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

and reducing the size of the government. He stated at the time that if elected he would caucus with the Republican Party in the Senate.

Personal

Howie and his wife, Connie, are lifelong residents of South Dakota. They have six children. In March 2014, Howie pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor big-game hunting violation, for killing a

mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...

found caught in a trap, resulting in a one-year suspension of his hunting and trapping privileges and $284 in fines and court costs.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howie, Gordon Living people 1949 births Politicians from Rapid City, South Dakota South Dakota Republicans Members of the South Dakota House of Representatives South Dakota state senators South Dakota Independents