Keith Langseth (born January 20, 1938) is a

Democratic Farmer Labor Party 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 ...

politician and former member of the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are hel ...

, representing District 9 since 1981 until 2013. Prior to his election to the Senate, he was a member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Pa ...

from District 9B from 1975 to 1979. He served a combined 36 years in the Legislature. His district included portions of

Becker Becker () is one of the German-language surnames, along with Bäcker and Baecker, that derive from the root, which refers to baking. The surname began as a name for a baker (and thus his family). In northern Germany it can also derive from the ...

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

, Otter Tail, Traverse and Wilkin counties in the northwestern part of the state.

Personal life

Langseth grew up in Glyndon, where he still resides. He graduated from Glyndon High School in 1956 and began working as a

dairy farmer Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that ...

. He continued farming throughout his tenure in the legislature. He and his wife, Lorraine, have three children: Dan, Joy and Gayle.

Political career

Langseth first became involved in the DFL as a result of his opposition to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. He was asked by the local DFL Party to run for the House of Representatives in 1974, later choosing to run for the Senate in 1980. He ran against and defeated an incumbent in both elections. Langseth served as Chair of the Capital Investment Committee, a position he held since its creation in 2001. He was also a member of the Taxes, Agriculture and Veterans, Agriculture and Veterans Budget and Policy Division, Transportation, Transportation Budget and Policy Division, and Rules and Administration committees. His stated legislative concerns included bonding, tax policy, transportation, education and agriculture. Langseth announced his retirement from politics and did not run for re-election in 2012.

Electoral history

*Minnesota Senate District 9 Election 2010 **Keith Langseth (D) 14,595 votes, 52.52% **Jeff Backer (R), 13,168 votes, 47.39% **Write In, 25 votes, 0.09% *Minnesota Senate District 9 Election 2006 **Keith Langseth (D) 20,353 votes, 69.8% **Paul Holle (R), 8,771 votes, 30.1% **Write In, 33 votes, 0.1% *Minnesota Senate District 9 Election 2002 **Keith Langseth (D) 18,587 votes, 61.22% **Bradley Monson (R), 10,144 votes, 33.41% **Dan Stewart (IP), 1,278 votes, 4.21% *Minnesota Senate District 9 Election 2000 **Keith Langseth (D) 19,412 votes, 61.05% **Wallace "Wally" Nord (R), 10,946 votes, 34.43% *Minnesota Senate District 9 Election 1996 **Keith Langseth (D) 17,189 votes, 58.67% **Cliff Dyrud (R), 11,235 votes, 38.35% *Minnesota Senate District 9 Election 1992 **Keith Langseth (D) 18,954 votes, 59.68% **Bob Friederichs (IR), 11,587 votes, 36.48% *Minnesota Senate District 9 Election 1990 **Keith Langseth (D) 13,705 votes, 61.80% **Robert Westfall (IR) 7,716 votes, 34.79% *Minnesota Senate District 9 Election 1986 **Keith Langseth (D) 11,166 votes, 57.96% **David Green (IR) 8,099 votes, 42.04% *Minnesota Senate District 9 Election 1982 **Keith Langseth (D) 11,733 votes, 50.62% **Phyllis Thysell (IR) 10,803 votes, 46.61% *Minnesota Senate District 9 Election 1980 **Keith Langseth (D) 13,776 votes, 52.9% **D.H. (Doug) Sillers (Incumbent) (IR) 12,245 votes, 47.1% *Minnesota House District 9B Election 1978 **Keith Langseth (D) 5,743 votes, 49.9% **Merlyn Valan (IR) 5,758 votes, 50.1%1977–1978 Legislative Manual *Minnesota House District 9B Election 1976 ** Keith Langseth (D) 8,498 votes, 62.8% ** Lee Johnson (IR) 4,664 votes, 37.2% *Minnesota House District 9B Election 1974 ** Keith Langseth (D) 5,361 votes, 58.94% ** Arian Strangeland (Incumbent) (IR) 3,735 votes, 41.06%1975–1976 Legislative Manual

References

External links

Minnesota Senate – Senator Keith Langseth Web PageMinnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Senator Keith Langseth Voting RecordProject Vote Smart – Senator Keith Langseth Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Langseth, Keith 1938 births Living people People from Glyndon, Minnesota American Lutherans American people of Norwegian descent Farmers from Minnesota Democratic Party Minnesota state senators Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 21st-century American politicians