William Paul Luther (born June 27, 1945) is an American politician and lawyer from

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. Luther was a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

representing Minnesota's 6th congressional district from January 3, 1995, to January 3, 2003, serving four consecutive terms.

Biography

Luther was born in

Fergus Falls, Minnesota Fergus Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Otter Tail County, Minnesota, Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,119 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and was estimated to be 14,258 in 2024. Hi ...

, and was educated at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, receiving a Bachelor of Science in 1967 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Law School A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

in 1970.

Political career

He served on the Minnesota Governor's Council on Consumer Affairs from 1974 to 1975 and was later a member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

from 1975 to 1976 and the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Minnesota Legislature, Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any State legislature (Unite ...

from 1977 to 1994. During his career as a state legislator and a congressman, Luther gained an image as a moderate Democrat.

Congress

After the 2000 census, Minnesota's congressional map was radically altered, even though the state didn't gain or lose any districts. Luther's 6th District in the northern

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

suburbs was pushed slightly north and made significantly more Republican. After some consideration, Luther opted to run in the newly created 2nd District in the southern suburbs, which contained about 39 percent of his former territory. He faced a rematch against Republican John Kline, his opponent in 1998 and 2000. During the campaign, Luther came under fire when one of his supporters, Sam Garst, filed for the race under the banner of the "No New Taxes Party." This was done in retaliation for an ad the

National Republican Congressional Committee The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is the United States Republican Party, Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives. The NRCC was formed in 1866, when the Repub ...

ran in support of Kline that accused Luther of being soft on crime. Luther subsequently admitted that his campaign knew about Garst's

false flag A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misrep ...

campaign.Scheck, Tom
Luther, Kline get heated in TV debate

Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, KNOW-FM, News & Information, KSJN, YourClassical MPR and KCMP, The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper ...

, 2002-08-22. Luther never really recovered and was soundly defeated, taking 42 percent of the vote. He served in the 104th, 105th, 106th, and 107th congresses. In 2006, Luther entered the DFL Party primary for the office of

Minnesota Attorney General The attorney general of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Thirty individuals have held the office of Attorney General since statehood. The incumbent is Keith Ellison, a Democratic-Farme ...

after endorsed candidate Matt Entenza withdrew from the race. He lost the primary to Lori Swanson.

Ethics appointment

He is an appointed member of the Office of Congressional Ethics, a nonpartisan, independent committee charged with overseeing outside ethics complaints against members of Congress.

Electoral history

*2006 Race for state Attorney General — Democratic Primary ** Lori Swanson (DFL), 42% ** Steve Kelley (DFL), 37% **Bill Luther (DFL), 21% *2002 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 2nd District ** John Kline (R), 53% **Bill Luther (DFL) (inc.), 42% *2000 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 6th District **Bill Luther (DFL) (inc.), 50% ** John Kline (R), 48% *1998 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 6th District **Bill Luther (DFL) (inc.), 50% ** John Kline (R), 46% *1996 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 6th District **Bill Luther (DFL) (inc.), 56% **

Tad Jude Thaddeus Victor Jude (born December 13, 1951) is a Republican politician and lawyer from Minnesota. Jude was a candidate in the 2022 Minnesota Attorney General election, but withdrew and endorsed Jim Schultz on May 13, 2022 after being elimina ...

(R), 44% *1994 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 6th District **Bill Luther (DFL), 50% **

(R), 50%

References

External links

Bill Luther's Congressional Records
are available for research at th
Minnesota Historical Society
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Luther, Bill 1945 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Democratic Party Minnesota state senators University of Minnesota alumni University of Minnesota Law School alumni People from Fergus Falls, Minnesota Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota Members of Congress who became lobbyists 21st-century Minnesota politicians 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature