Mark Sanford (North Dakota)

Mark Sanford

Republican Party

North Dakota House of Representatives District 17

Tenure

2010 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

14

Compensation

Base salary

$592/month

Per diem

$213/day

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Minot State University

Graduate

University of North Dakota

Other

University of North Dakota

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Personal Facebook

Mark Sanford (Republican Party) is a member of the North Dakota House of Representatives, representing District 17. He assumed office on December 1, 2010. His current term ends on December 1, 2026.

Sanford (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the North Dakota House of Representatives to represent District 17. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Biography

Sanford earned his B.S. in math and history from Minot State University, his M.Ed. in school administration and his Ed.D. from the University of North Dakota. His professional experience includes working as a school administrator prior to retirement.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at:editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Sanford was assigned to the following committees:

• Appropriations - Education and Environment Committee

2021-2022

Sanford was assigned to the following committees:

• House Appropriations Committee
• Appropriations - Education and Environment Committee

2019-2020

Sanford was assigned to the following committees:

• House Appropriations Committee

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

North Dakota committee assignments, 2017
• Appropriations

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Sanford served on the following committees:

North Dakota committee assignments, 2015
• Appropriations

2013-2014

In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Sanford served on the following committees:

North Dakota committee assignments, 2013
• Appropriations

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Sanford served on the following committees:

North Dakota committee assignments, 2011
• Education
• Government and Veterans Affairs

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2022

See also: North Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 17 (2 seats)

Incumbent Mark Sanford and Landon Bahl won election in the general election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 17 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Sanford (R)	56.8	3,899
✔		Landon Bahl (R)	41.6	2,853
		Other/Write-in votes	1.6	109

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,861
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 17 (2 seats)

Incumbent Mark Sanford and Landon Bahl advanced from the Republican primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 17 on June 14, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Sanford	58.1	1,245
✔		Landon Bahl	41.5	889
		Other/Write-in votes	0.5	10

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,144
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: North Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 17 (2 seats)

Incumbent Mark Sanford and incumbent Mark Owens defeated Monte Gaukler and Angela Urlacher in the general election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 17 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Sanford (R)	31.6	5,083
✔		Mark Owens (R)	25.5	4,101
	Submit photo	Monte Gaukler (D)	22.2	3,574
		Angela Urlacher (D)	20.7	3,331
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	19

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 16,108
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 17 (2 seats)

Angela Urlacher and Monte Gaukler advanced from the Democratic primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 17 on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Angela Urlacher	50.3	973
✔	Submit photo	Monte Gaukler	49.7	961

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 1,934
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 17 (2 seats)

Incumbent Mark Sanford and incumbent Mark Owens advanced from the Republican primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 17 on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Sanford	58.5	1,436
✔		Mark Owens	41.5	1,017

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 2,453
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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2014

See also: North Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the North Dakota House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 10, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 7, 2014. Incumbent Mark Owens and incumbent Mark Sanford were unopposed in the Republican primary, while Edward Grossbauer was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Owens and Sanford defeated Grossbauer in the general election.

North Dakota House of Representatives, District 17, General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mark Sanford Incumbent	43.7%	4,109
	Republican	Mark Owens Incumbent	34.2%	3,215
	Democratic	Edward Grossbauer	22.1%	2,080
Total Votes				9,404

2010

See also: North Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2010

Sanford won election to the North Dakota House of Representatives in the November 2 general election. Sanford and Mark Owens (R) defeated Bernell Bachmeier (D) and incumbent Louise Potter (D).

North Dakota State House, District 17
Candidates		Votes
Mark Sanford (R)		4,018
Mark Owens (R)		2,950
Louise Potter (D)		2,541
Bernell Bachmeier (D)		1,606

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Mark Sanford did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Mark Sanford campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2022	North Dakota House of Representatives District 17	Won general	$9,800	$0
2018	North Dakota House of Representatives District 17	Won general	$14,565	N/A**
2014	North Dakota House of Representatives, District 17	Won	$10,700	N/A**
2010	North Dakota House of Representatives, District 17	Won	$8,150	N/A**
Grand total			$43,215	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in North Dakota

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of North Dakota scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].
In 2024, the North Dakota State Legislature was not in session.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].
In 2023, the North Dakota State Legislature was in session from January 3 to April 29. North Dakota Family Alliance Legislators are scored on bills related to family issues. Greater North Dakota Chamber Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].
In 2022, the North Dakota State Legislature was not in session.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the North Dakota State Legislature was in session from January 5 to April 29. Club for Growth Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Family Policy Alliance of North Dakota Legislators are scored on bills related to family issues. Greater North Dakota Chamber (via Votesmart) Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].
In 2020, the North Dakota State Legislature was not in session.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].
In 2019, the North Dakota Legislative Assembly was in session from January 3 through April 26. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].
In 2018, the North Dakota Legislative Assembly did not hold a regular session.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].

In 2017, the 65th North Dakota Legislative Assembly was in session from January 3 through April 27. Greater North Dakota Chamber (via Votesmart) Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Family Policy Alliance of North Dakota Legislators are scored on bills related to family issues. North Dakota United Legislators are scored on their votes related to business issues. North Dakota Women’s Network: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to women's issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2016

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show].
In 2016, the North Dakota Legislative Assembly did not hold a regular session.

2015

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show].

In 2015, the 64th North Dakota Legislative Assembly was in session from January 6 through April 29. Greater North Dakota Chamber: 2015 Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to education. North Dakota Family Alliance: 2015 Scorecard Legislators are scored on bills related to family issues. North Dakota Women’s Network: Senate and House 2015 Scorecards Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to women's issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2014

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show].
In 2014, the North Dakota Legislative Assembly did not hold a regular session.

2013

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show].

In 2013, the 63rd North Dakota Legislative Assembly was in session from January 8 to May 4. Greater North Dakota Chamber: 2013 Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. North Dakota Family Alliance: 2013 Scorecard Legislators are scored on bills related to family issues. North Dakota Women’s Network: Senate and House 2013 Scorecards Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to women's issues.

2012

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show].
In 2012, the North Dakota Legislative Assembly did not hold a regular session.

2011

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show].

In 2011, the 62nd North Dakota Legislative Assembly was in regular session from January 4 through April 28. A special session was called by Governor Jack Dalrymple from November 7 through 12 to cover legislative redistricting and disaster relief. National Federation of Independent Business in North Dakota: 2011-2012 Voting Record Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues. North Dakota Family Alliance: 2011 Scorecard Legislators are scored on bills related to family issues. North Dakota Policy Council: 2011 Legislative Review Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. North Dakota Women’s Network: 2011 Legislative Summary Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to women's issues.

NDPC: North Dakota Legislative Review

See also: North Dakota Policy Council Legislative Review (2011)

The North Dakota Policy Council, a North Dakota-based nonprofit research organization which describes itself as "liberty-based", published the North Dakota Legislative Review, a comprehensive report on how state legislators voted during the 2011 legislative session. The scorecard seeks to show how North Dakota legislators voted on the principles the Council seeks to promote. The Council recorded and scored votes on both spending bills and policy bills, and awarded points accordingly. Policy issues voted upon included income tax cuts, pension reform, and government transparency. On spending legislation, the Council accorded a percentage score based on how much spending the legislator voted against. On policy legislation, scores range from the highest score (100%) to the lowest (0%). A higher score indicates that the legislator voted more in favor of the values supported by the Council. Sanford received a score of 37.35% on policy legislation and voted against 2.26% of state spending. Sanford was ranked 64th on policy and 81st on spending, out of 94 House members evaluated for the study.

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External links

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Officeholder

North Dakota House of Representatives District 17

Website

Facebook

Personal

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Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the North Dakota House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Robin Weisz

Majority Leader:Mike Lefor

Minority Leader:Zac Ista

Representatives

District 1

Patrick Hatlestad (R)

David Richter (R)

District 2

Bert Anderson (R)

Donald Longmuir (R)

District 3

Jeff Hoverson (R)

Lori VanWinkle (R)

District 4A

Lisa Finley-DeVille (D)

District 4B

Clayton Fegley (R)

District 5

Jay Fisher (R)

Scott Louser (R)

District 6

Dick Anderson (R)

Dan Vollmer (R)

District 7

Jason Dockter (R)

Matthew Heilman (R)

District 8

Mike Berg (R)

SuAnn Olson (R)

District 9

Collette Brown (D)

Jayme Davis (D)

District 10

Jared Hendrix (R)

Steve Swiontek (R)

District 11

Liz Conmy (D)

Gretchen Dobervich (D)

District 12

Mitch Ostlie (R)

Bernie Satrom (R)

District 13

Jim Jonas (R)

Austen Schauer (R)

District 14

Jon Nelson (R)

Robin Weisz (R)

District 15

Kathy Frelich (R)

Donna Henderson (R)

District 16

Ben Koppelman (R)

Andrew Marschall (R)

District 17

Landon Bahl (R)

Mark Sanford (R)

District 18

Nels Christianson (R)

Steve Vetter (R)

District 19

Karen Anderson (R)

David Monson (R)

District 20

Mike Beltz (R)

Jared Hagert (R)

District 21

LaurieBeth Hager (D)

Mary Schneider (D)

District 22

Brandy Pyle (R)

Jonathan Warrey (R)

District 23

Dennis Nehring (R)

Nico Rios (R)

District 24

Daniel Johnston (R)

Dwight Kiefert (R)

District 25

Alisa Mitskog (D)

Cynthia Schreiber-Beck (R)

District 26

Roger Maki (R)

Jeremy Olson (R)

District 27

Timothy Brown (R)

Greg Stemen (R)

District 28

Michael Brandenburg (R)

Jim Grueneich (R)

District 29

Craig Headland (R)

Don Vigesaa (R)

District 30

Glenn Bosch (R)

Mike Nathe (R)

District 31

Dawson Holle (R)

Karen Rohr (R)

District 32

Patrick Heinert (R)

Lisa Meier (R)

District 33

Anna Novak (R)

Bill Tveit (R)

District 34

Todd Porter (R)

Nathan Toman (R)

District 35

Karen Karls (R)

Bob Martinson (R)

District 36

Ty Dressler (R)

Dori Hauck (R)

District 37

Mike Lefor (R)

Vicky Steiner (R)

District 38

Dan Ruby (R)

Christina Wolff (R)

District 39

Keith Kempenich (R)

Mike Schatz (R)

District 40

Macy Bolinske (R)

Matthew Ruby (R)

District 41

Karen Grindberg (R)

Jorin Johnson (R)

District 42

Emily O'Brien (R)

Doug Osowski (R)

District 43

Zac Ista (D)

Eric Murphy (R)

District 44

Austin Foss (D)

Karla Hanson (D)

District 45

Carrie McLeod (R)

Scott Wagner (R)

District 46

James Kasper (R)

Desiree Morton (R)

District 47

Lawrence Klemin (R)

Mike Motschenbacher (R)

Republican Party (83)

Democratic Party (11)