Heitkamp, Heidi (1955-…), served as a United States senator from 2013 to 2019. Heitkamp, a Democrat, represented North Dakota. Prior to her election as senator, Heitkamp had been the state’s attorney general and served as the director of a synthetic fuels plant.
Mary Kathryn Heitkamp was born on Oct. 30, 1955, in Breckenridge, Minnesota. She grew up in Mantador, North Dakota. Her family called her Heidi. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Dakota in 1977. She received a law degree in 1980 from the Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. Heitkamp married Darwin Lange, a physician. The couple have two children.
After graduating from law school, Heitkamp worked briefly as an attorney for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. From 1981 to 1986, she worked as an attorney for the office of the North Dakota State Tax Commissioner. From 1986 to 1992, she served as the North Dakota tax commissioner. She won election as the state’s attorney general in 1992 and 1996. In 2000, Heitkamp campaigned to become the state’s governor. She lost the election to Republican John Hoeven.
In 2001, Heitkamp became the director of the Dakota Gasification Company, a plant that manufactures synthetic natural gas from coal. In November 2012, she defeated her Republican opponent, U.S. Representative Rick Berg, in a close election for a U.S. Senate seat. As a senator, Heitkamp served on the Senate committees on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Indian Affairs; and Small Business and Entrepreneurship. In 2018, Heitkamp lost a reelection campaign to her Republican opponent, U.S. Representative Kevin Cramer.
