James Marvin Ramstad (May 6, 1946 – November 5, 2020) was an American lawyer and politician who represented
Minnesota's 3rd congressional district in 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 ...
from 1991 to 2009. A member of the
Republican Party, Ramstad served in 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 1981 to 1991.
Ramstad was first elected to the Minnesota Senate in 1981 and was reelected until
1990
Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
, when he was elected to represent Minnesota’s 3rd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ramstad won reelection in the suburban congressional district eight times, all by landslide margins. He had a reputation as a
moderate Republican. Ramstad chose to retire and not seek reelection in
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
. He was succeeded by Republican State Representative
Erik Paulsen. Throughout his legislative career and later life, Ramstad, empowered by his prior struggles with alcoholism, was a notable advocate for addiction recovery.
In 2020, Ramstad died from
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
at the age of 74.
Early life and education
Ramstad was born in
Jamestown, North Dakota
Jamestown is a city in and the county seat of Stutsman County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 15,849 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, ninth most populous city in North ...
on May 6, 1946.
He 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 ...
and the
George Washington University Law School
The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...
. He was an officer in the United States Army Reserve from 1968 to 1974.
He also worked as a private practice attorney and as a legislative aide to 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 ...
.
Career
He served on the Wayzata-Plymouth Chemical Health Commission, Plymouth Human Rights Commission, and the Minnesota State Human Rights Advisory Committee from 1979 to 1980.
Ramstad was a
Republican member of the
Minnesota State Senate from 1981 to 1990 before entering the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...
. He served in the
102nd,
103rd,
104th,
105th,
106th,
107th,
108th,
109th, and
110th congresses, beginning on January 3, 1991. He first defeated former
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
city councilman Lou DeMars in the 1990 election.
Tenure
Ramstad was a 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 ...
from 1991 until 2009, representing
Minnesota's 3rd congressional district, one of eight
congressional districts in Minnesota. On September 17, 2007 Ramstad announced he would not seek reelection in 2008.
He reiterated his statement on December 19, 2007.
Ramstad considered ending discrimination against those suffering from mental health and addiction problems a major part of his legacy. He worked under both Republican and Democratic majorities to pass a Mental Health Parity Bill. Mental Health Parity was eventually passed and signed into law in December, 2008.
Ramstad was mentioned as a possible candidate for
Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the administration of President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
. However, the position eventually went to former
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
police chief Gil Kerlikowske.
Ramstad considered running for
Governor of Minnesota
The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory ...
in the
2010 election, but decided not to.
At the time of his death, Ramstad was a resident fellow at the
Harvard Institute of Politics
The Institute of Politics (IOP) is an institute of Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University that was created to serve as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy and to inspire Harvard undergraduates to consider careers in politics and ...
where he was leading a study group titled The Policy and Politics of Addiction.
Political positions
Ramstad was a member of The
Republican Main Street Partnership. He was
pro-choice
Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their ...
and supported embryonic
stem cell research
In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can change into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell ...
. He was opposed to
gay marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...
. He voted in favor of an amendment to a whistleblower protection bill that would have allowed the government to influence stem-cell research.
He was considered to be the most moderate Republican member of the Minnesota delegation in the
109th Congress, scoring 68 percent conservative by a conservative group and 21%
progressive by a liberal group.
Personal life
Ramstad was a recovering alcoholic. For a time, he was Rep.
Patrick J. Kennedy's
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global, peer-led Mutual aid, mutual-aid fellowship focused on an abstinence-based recovery model from alcoholism through its spiritually inclined twelve-step program. AA's Twelve Traditions, besides emphasizing anon ...
sponsor. He was a long-time advocate for addiction treatment and recovery services, and at the time of his death he had been
sober for 39 years.
Ramstad's sister, Sheryl Ramstad, is a Tax Court judge in Minnesota. Ramstad was a member of the
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran t ...
.
On February 25, 2008, it was announced that Ramstad had been elected to the board of directors of the
National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.
In 2010, Ramstad joined
alliantgroup as a senior advisor on their Strategic Advisory Board.
He died of
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
on November 5, 2020, aged 74, at his home in
Wayzata, Minnesota
Wayzata ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,434 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A suburb of the Twin Cities, Wayzata is located about west of Minneapolis al ...
.
Committee assignments
* Ways and Means Committee
** Subcommittee on Oversight (Ranking Member)
** Subcommittee on Health
* Co-chair of the Addiction Treatment and Recovery Caucus
* Co-chair of the Disabilities Caucus
* Co-chair of the Law Enforcement Caucus
* Co-chair of the Medical Technology Caucus
Electoral history
Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1996, write-ins received 417 votes. In 1998, write-ins received 250 votes. In 2002, write-ins received 309 votes. In 2004, write-ins received 356 votes. In 2006, write-ins received 323 votes.
References
External links
*
*
MPR – Campaign 2006: Jim Ramstadprofile from ''Minnesota Public Radio''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramstad, Jim
1946 births
2020 deaths
Republican Party Minnesota state senators
George Washington University Law School alumni
University of Minnesota alumni
People from Jamestown, North Dakota
Military personnel from North Dakota
United Church of Christ members
People from Minnetonka, Minnesota
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota
Deaths from Parkinson's disease in Minnesota
Harvard Fellows
21st-century Minnesota politicians
Phi Delta Theta members
21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives
20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature