Ole O. Sageng (December 1, 1871 – March 30, 1963) was an American farmer, educator, and politician. Sageng was born in Østerdalen, Norway and emigrated to the United States, with his family, in 1878 and settled near Dalton,

Otter Tail County Otter Tail County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, its population was 60,081. Its county seat is Fergus Falls. Otter Tail County comprises the Fergus Falls micropolitan statistical area. With 1,048 lakes in it ...

, Minnesota. He went to the local public schools and graduated from the Fergus Falls High School in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Sageng also went to Augsburg College. He lived in Dalton, Minnesota with his wife and family, was a farmer and taught school in Otter Tail County and in Grand Forks County, North Dakota. Sageng served in the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1901 and 1902 and in the Minnesota Senate from 1907 to 1914, from 1915 to 1922, and from 1951 to 1954. Sageng was a member of the Populist Party and was a supporter of women's suffrage and of

Prohibition in the United States In the United States from 1920 to 1933, a Constitution of the United States, nationwide constitutional law prohibition, prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtai ...

. He was also involved with the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

. In the

1938 United States House of Representatives elections The 1938 United States House of Representatives elections was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1938 which occurred in the middle of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's second term. Roosevelt's Democratic Party lost a ...

, Sageng was the Republican nominee for

Minnesota's 9th congressional district Minnesota's 9th congressional district is a now-obsolete district for representation in the United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. Ho ...

. He finished second behind incumbent

Rich T. Buckler Richard Thompson Buckler (October 27, 1865 – January 23, 1950) was a Representative from Minnesota. He was born on a farm near Oakland, Coles County, Illinois. He attended the public schools and engaged in agricultural pursuits in Coles Cou ...

( Farmer-Labor) and ahead of Martin O. Brandon (Democratic). He ran to be the Republican nominee for the 9th district again in 1940, but lost to

Colvin G. Butler Colvin Garfield Butler (July 17, 1880 – April 15, 1961) was an American farmer, Presbyterian clergyman, and politician. Butler was born in Perham, Otter Tail County, Minnesota. He went to the Perham elementary schools and graduated from the ...

who in turn lost the general to Buckler. In 1950, Sageng defeated Colvin G. Butler in a nonpartisan election for a seat in the Minnesota Senate. Sageng won by a margin of 8,188 votes to Butler's 6,284 votes. Over the course of his life, fellow legislator

Julius E. Haycraft Julius Everett Haycraft (August 26, 1871 – November 5, 1951) was an American lawyer and politician. Biography Haycraft was born on a farm in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, near the city of Madelia, on August 26, 1871. He went to the Minneso ...

would note that Sageng became far more conservative. He represented the 50th district. In the 1954 general election,

Henry Nycklemoe Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portuga ...

, a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, defeated Sageng.

References

1871 births 1963 deaths Norwegian emigrants to the United States People from Østerdalen People from Otter Tail County, Minnesota Augsburg University alumni Educators from Minnesota Farmers from Minnesota Suffragists from Minnesota American temperance activists Minnesota Populists Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Republican Party Minnesota state senators {{Minnesota-politician-stub