Don Stenberg (born September 30, 1948) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 31st

Attorney General of Nebraska The Nebraska attorney general is the chief law enforcement officer and lawyer for the U.S. state of Nebraska. List of attorneys general ;Parties Notes References AG Office documentcached) External links Nebraska Attorney Generaloffici ...

from 1991 to 2003 and 43rd Treasurer of Nebraska from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was legal counsel to

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Charles Thone Charles Thone (January 4, 1924 – March 7, 2018) was an American Republican Party (United States), Republican politician. He was the List of governors of Nebraska, 34th Governor of Nebraska, serving from 1979 to 1983. He previously served as a ...

from 1979 to 1983. He unsuccessfully ran for

Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska The lieutenant governor of Nebraska is the highest-ranking executive official in the State of Nebraska after the Governor of Nebraska, governor. According to the Constitution of Nebraska, Nebraska State Constitution, in the event a governor dies, ...

in 1978;

in 1986; and the

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

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Early life, education, and law career

Stenberg was born and raised in

Tekamah, Nebraska Tekamah ( IPA: tə-keɪ-mə, pronounced "teh-KAY-muh")Nebraska Pronunciation Guide.
...

. To pay for college, he detasseled corn, hauled bales, mowed lawns, and life guarded at the local swimming pool. After graduating from

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

(1970),

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

(1974), and

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

(1974) he practiced law in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

Early political career (1978–1989)

1978 run for lieutenant governor

In 1978, Stenberg ran for

, coming in fourth in the Republican primary with just 13% of the vote.

Roland A. Luedtke Roland Alfred Luedtke (January 4, 1924 – July 22, 2005) was an American politician who served as the 31st lieutenant governor of Nebraska from 1979 to 1983. Luedtke was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on January 4, 1924, to Alfred C. and Carolina (S ...

won the primary with a plurality of 31%.

Thone administration

In 1979, he was named as legal counsel to Republican

governor of Nebraska The governor of Nebraska is the head of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Constitution of Nebraska. The officeholder is elected to a four-year term, with elections held two years after presidential ...

. Stenberg has also served as director of the Governor's Policy Research Office, assistant to the governor, and director of the Department of Administrative Services.

1986 run for attorney general

He first ran for

Nebraska Attorney General The Nebraska attorney general is the chief law enforcement officer and lawyer for the U.S. state of Nebraska. List of attorneys general ;Parties Notes References AG Office documentcached) External links Nebraska Attorney Generaloffici ...

in 1986, but lost in the Republican primary to incumbent Robert Spire 53%–47%.

State attorney general (1991–2003)

Elections

In 1990, he ran for attorney general again. In the Republican primary, he won with a plurality of 38%. In the general election, he defeated

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Gene Crump 54%–46%. He won re-election in 1994 (67%) and 1998 (68%).

Tenure

Stenberg was the named defendant in the noted Supreme Court abortion case, '' Stenberg v. Carhart'' 530 U.S. 914 (2000).

1996 U.S. Senate election

Stenberg first ran for the

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

to succeed retiring Democratic U.S. Senator J. James Exon. Initially seen as the frontrunner, he was defeated by business executive

Chuck Hagel Charles Timothy Hagel ( ; born October 4, 1946)Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Ben Nelson Earl Benjamin Nelson (born May 17, 1941) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 37th governor of Nebraska from 1991 to 1999 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 2001 to 2013. He is a member of the D ...

2000 U.S. Senate election

After being re-elected Attorney General in 1998, Stenberg again ran for the U.S. Senate in

to succeed retiring Democratic U.S. Senator

Bob Kerrey Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001. Before entering politics, he served in the Vietn ...

. He won the six candidate primary with 50% of the vote. In one of the closest elections in Nebraska history, Nelson defeated Stenberg 51%–49%, even as Republican presidential nominee

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

won the state with 62%.

Post-Attorney General career (2003–present)

Private sector

Stenberg left office as attorney general in 2003 and returned to work in the private sector as

of counsel Of counsel is the title of an attorney in the legal profession of the United States who often has a relationship with a law firm or an organization but is neither an associate nor partner. Some firms use titles such as "counsel", "special couns ...

at Erickson and Sederstrom, the same firm where his former boss,

, is a partner.

2006 U.S. Senate election

, Stenberg launched his third bid for the U.S. Senate. Once again, an early frontrunner, he was defeated by former Ameritrade

chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

Pete Ricketts John Peter Ricketts (born August 19, 1964) is an American businessman and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Nebraska since 2023. A member of the Republican Part ...

48%–38%. Ricketts went on to lose to incumbent U.S. Senator Nelson.

State Treasurer

In 2010, Stenberg ran for

Nebraska State Treasurer The Nebraska Treasurer is the chief financial officer in the U.S. state of Nebraska. List of territorial treasurers List of state treasurers ;Parties Notes References

{{Nebraska statewide elected officials State treasurers of ...

to succeed retiring

Shane Osborn Shane Osborn (born June 21, 1974) is an American politician and naval aviator who served as the 42nd Nebraska State Treasurer from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. He was the U.S. pilot durin ...

. He won the primary over state Senator Tony Fulton 52%–28% and won the general election with 73% of the vote.

2012 U.S. Senate election

In 2011, he announced his intention to run for the U.S. Senate a fourth time. After receiving endorsements from

Club for Growth The Club for Growth is a 501(c)(4) political organization active in the United States, with a fiscally conservative agenda focused on tax cuts and other economic policy issues. Club for Growth's largest funders are billionaires Jeff Yass a ...

and

Freedomworks FreedomWorks was a conservative and libertarian advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. FreedomWorks trained volunteers and assisted in campaigns. It was widely associated with the Tea Party movement. The Koch brothers were once a source of ...

, Stenberg split the Tea Party vote with attorney general Jon Brunning. Stenberg came in third place, taking 18.8% of the vote. The nomination went to

State senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Deb Fischer Debra Lynelle Fischer (; born March 1, 1951) is an American politician and former educator serving as the senior United States senator from Nebraska, a seat she has held since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Fischer is the third woman t ...

2014 election

Following the withdrawal of the two leading candidates for the Republican nomination for Governor, Stenberg said that he would consider "what is the best way to serve the state of Nebraska". He has said that it was "unlikely, but possible" that he would run for governor. He also considered running for the open U.S. Senate seat, but decided instead to run for re-election to a second term as Treasurer.

Personal life

He is married to Sue Hoegemeyer of

Hooper, Nebraska Hooper is a city in Dodge County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 857 at the 2020 census. History Hooper was established in 1871, following construction of the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad through the territory. It ...

. They have been married 39 years and have four children.

Electoral history

References

External links

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stenberg, Don 1948 births 21st-century Nebraska politicians Harvard Business School alumni Harvard Law School alumni Living people Nebraska attorneys general Nebraska lawyers Nebraska Republicans People from Tekamah, Nebraska State treasurers of Nebraska University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni