Merle Boucher (born July 19, 1946) is a

North Dakota Democratic-NPL 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 ...

politician who served in 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 ...

, representing the 9th district from 1991 to 2011. He served as Minority Leader from 1996 to 2011. Boucher sought and lost the Democratic-NPL nomination for governor in 2004 and in 2008, but became the

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 ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

nominee

Tim Mathern Timothy Mathern (born April 19, 1950) is a state senator in North Dakota. He also unsuccessfully ran for Governor of North Dakota in 2008. Early life and education Mathern grew up on a dairy and grain farm near Edgeley, North Dakota with 12 broth ...

, running on the ticket as the nominee for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

. Two years after that ticket lost, Boucher became the Democratic-NPL nominee for

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 ...

, losing in the 2010 election to incumbent

Doug Goehring Doug Goehring is the current North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner. A Republican, he was appointed to the office by Governor John Hoeven John Henry Hoeven III ( ; born March 13, 1957) is an American banker and politician serving as the senior ...

. Boucher is from

Rolette County, North Dakota Rolette County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,187. Its county seat is Rolla. History The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on January 4, 1873, with territory partition ...

and attended high school there. He went on to college, taking classes from the State School of Forestry. He then transferred to

Mayville State University Mayville State University (MSU or MaSU) is a public university in Mayville, North Dakota. It is part of the North Dakota University System. History Founded as a normal school by provision of the North Dakota Constitution in 1889, Mayville State ...

, where he graduated with a teaching degree in 1970. He returned to Rolette and taught at the high school for 20 years. After retiring, he became a rancher. He holds his family's original

Homestead Act The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of th ...

claim among other land. He has coached the Rolette American Legion baseball team in past years.

External links

Representative Merle Boucher, Minority Leader
in the

North Dakota Legislative Assembly The North Dakota Legislative Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of North Dakota. The Legislative Assembly consists of two chambers, the lower North Dakota House of Representatives, with 94 representatives, and the upper North ...

Project Vote Smart - Representative Merle Boucher (ND)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Merle Boucher
2006
http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=14564 2002
1998
campaign contributions 1946 births Living people People from Rolette County, North Dakota Mayville State University alumni Candidates in the 2008 United States elections Candidates in the 2010 United States elections 21st-century American politicians Ranchers from North Dakota Democratic Party members of the North Dakota House of Representatives {{NorthDakota-politician-stub