The Honorable Stephanie Herseth Sandlin is South Dakota’s at-large Member of Congress. She is the Co-Chair for Administration of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate Democrats committed to fiscal discipline and strong national security. She also serves on three committees vital to South Dakota’s interests: Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs and Natural Resources. She is the Chairwoman of the Veterans' Affairs subcommittee on Economic Opportunity. Additionally, Representative Herseth Sandlin was chosen to serve on the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming in order to represent the views and strengths of rural America in our national energy policy.

Representative Herseth Sandlin grew up on her family's farm and ranch near Houghton (HOW-ton) in the northeast part of South Dakota. She graduated from Groton High School and attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. where she graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Government. Representative Herseth Sandlin received her law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a senior editor of the law review, and later served on faculty.

Representative Herseth Sandlin is a member of the South Dakota Bar and has taught classes on government and politics at Augustana College in Sioux Falls and South Dakota State University in Brookings. In 2003, she served as the executive director of the South Dakota Farmers Union Foundation, working to further economic prosperity and cultural vitality in rural South Dakota. Representative Herseth Sandlin currently lives in Brookings and is married to former U.S. Representative Max Sandlin who served the First District of Texas from 1997-2005. In December of 2008, Stephanie and Max announced the birth of their first child, Zachary Lars Sandlin.

Former Governor Ralph Herseth was Representative Herseth Sandlin’s grandfather and former South Dakota Secretary of State Lorna B. Herseth, was her grandmother. Her father, Lars, served in the state legislature for 20 years and was the Democratic nominee for Governor in 1986.

In 2008, Rep. Herseth Sandlin was re-elected to her third full term in the U.S. House of Representatives. She received more than 250,000 votes, more than 67% of votes cast.