Merle Boucher (born July 19, 1946) is a

North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

politician who served in the

North Dakota House of Representatives The North Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly and is larger than the North Dakota Senate. North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts apportioned by population as ...

, representing the 9th district from 1991 to 2011. He served as Minority Leader from 1996 to 2011. Boucher sought and lost the Democratic-NPL nomination for governor in 2004 and in 2008, but became the

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pre ...

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 ...

nominee Tim Mathern, running on the ticket as the nominee for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

. Two years after that ticket lost, Boucher became the Democratic-NPL nominee for

North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner In the U.S. state of North Dakota, the agriculture commissioner, formerly known as the commissioner of agriculture, is an elected official who heads the North Dakota Department of Agriculture. The present commissioner is Doug Goehring, a Republ ...

, losing in the 2010 election to incumbent

Doug Goehring Doug Goehring is the current North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner. A Republican, he was appointed to the office by Governor John Hoeven John Henry Hoeven III ( ; born March 13, 1957) is an American banker and politician serving as the senio ...

. Boucher is from

Rolette County, North Dakota Rolette County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,187, and was estimated to be 11,692 in 2024. Its county seat is Rolla. The County has been known to have approximately several lakes in ...

and attended high school there. He went on to college, taking classes from the State School of Forestry. He then transferred to

Mayville State University Mayville State University (MSU or MaSU) is a public university in Mayville, North Dakota, United States. It is part of the North Dakota University System. History Founded as a normal school by provision of the North Dakota Constitution in 1 ...

, where he graduated with a teaching degree in 1970. He returned to Rolette and taught at the high school for 20 years. After retiring, he became a rancher. He holds his family's original

Homestead Act The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of Federal lands, government land or the American frontier, public domain, typically called a Homestead (buildings), homestead. In all, mo ...

claim among other land. He has coached the Rolette American Legion baseball team in past years.

External links

Representative Merle Boucher, Minority Leader
in the

North Dakota Legislative Assembly The North Dakota Legislative Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of North Dakota. The Legislative Assembly consists of two chambers, the lower North Dakota House of Representatives, with 94 representatives, and the upper No ...

Project Vote Smart - Representative Merle Boucher (ND)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Merle Boucher
2006
http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=14564 2002
1998
campaign contributions 1946 births Living people People from Rolette County, North Dakota Mayville State University alumni Candidates in the 2008 United States elections Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Ranchers from North Dakota Democratic Party members of the North Dakota House of Representatives 20th-century members of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly 21st-century members of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly {{NorthDakota-politician-stub