Jason Elliott Frerichs (born November 24, 1984) is a former state senator and state representative from

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

Early life and education

Frerichs graduated from

South Dakota State University South Dakota State University is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually-operating university in South Dakota. T ...

in 2007, earning a B.S. in Agriculture Education. He is the president of the Roberts County Farmers Union. He lives in

Wilmot, South Dakota Wilmot is a city in Roberts County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 432 at the 2020 census. History Wilmot, as well as Brookings, were named for Wilmot Brookings, who was provisional governor of the Dakota Territory. Descript ...

. Frerichs owns and works on a farm with his father and brothers, and also manages 150 cows. Frerichs teaches agriculture at Lake Area Technical Institute, and is an

FFA FFA may refer to: Aviation and military * First Flight Airport, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, United States * Free-fire area in U.S. military parlance * Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein, a Swiss aircraft and railway vehicle manufacturer * ...

adviser. Frerichs' father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all served in the

South Dakota House of Representatives The South Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 70 members, two from each legislative district. Two of the state's 35 legislative districts, Districts 26 and 28, are each subdivided in ...

. Frerichs served as a page in both the South Dakota Legislature and the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

, working for Senator

Tom Daschle Thomas Andrew Daschle ( ; born December 9, 1947) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States senator from South Dakota from 1987 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he became U.S. Senate Minority Leader in 1995 an ...

Political career

Frerichs served in the South Dakota State House of Representatives from 2008 to 2010, where he was the minority whip. In 2010, he was elected to the state senate, becoming minority leader. Frerichs was a member of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, the Legislative Procedure Committee, and the State Affairs. In 2010, he defeated fellow state senator Eldon Nygaard in the race for senate minority leader; Nygaard switched to the Republican Party shortly after. Frerichs advocates the development of renewable energy in South Dakota. He is considered to be a member of the moderate wing of the South Dakota Democrats and an ally of former Representative

Stephanie Herseth Sandlin Stephanie Marie Herseth Sandlin (born December 3, 1970) is an American attorney, university administrator, and politician from the Democratic Party. She served in the United States House of Representatives for from 2004 until 2011. Sandlin was ...

References

External links

JasonFrerichs.comFrerichs's Twitter account
Living people Members of the South Dakota House of Representatives South Dakota state senators South Dakota State University alumni 1984 births 21st-century American politicians {{SouthDakota-politician-stub