Randel Christmann is a Republican politician from

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

. He represented the 33rd district in the

North Dakota Senate The North Dakota State Senate is the upper house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, smaller than the North Dakota House of Representatives. Per the state constitution, North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative distri ...

from 1995 to 2013.Senate biography
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Dallas Regional Chamber
/ref> In 2012, he was elected to the

North Dakota Public Service Commission The North Dakota Public Service Commission is a constitutional agency that maintains various degrees of statutory authority over utilities, telecommunications, railroads, grain elevators, pipeline safety, and other functions in North Dakota. Esta ...

, as one of three members elected statewide.

Early life & Education

Randel Christmann was born on June 16, 1960, in

Hazen, North Dakota Hazen is a city in Mercer County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 2,281 at the 2020 census. Hazen was founded in 1913. Hazen has a K–12 school system. It is located about fifteen minutes south of Lake Sakakawea, the largest ...

. He graduated from Hazen High School and attended

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It was ...

where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration in 1982. A rancher, he served in the

North Dakota Army National Guard The North Dakota Army National Guard (ND ARNG) is headquartered at the Fraine Barracks in Bismarck, North Dakota, and consists of the 68th Troop Command, headquartered in Bismarck, and the 141st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, headquartered in Fargo ...

from 1977 to 1983.

Politics

Randy was elected to the North Dakota Senate in 1994 when he upset a long-time incumbent Democratic committee chairman, helping Republicans achieve majority status in the North Dakota Senate. He initially focused mostly on energy, taxation, and natural resources issues. Former Governor

Ed Schafer Edward Thomas Schafer (born August 8, 1946) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 30th governor of North Dakota from 1992 to 2000 and as the 29th United States secretary of agriculture from 2008 to 2009 under President Georg ...

appointed Randy to serve as one of the two legislative appointees on the Lignite Research Council. He has continued to serve in this position under then-Governor

John Hoeven John Henry Hoeven III ( ; born March 13, 1957) is an American banker and politician serving as the senior U.S. senator from North Dakota, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Hoeven served as the 31st governor of N ...

and former Governor

Jack Dalrymple John Stewart Dalrymple III (born October 16, 1948) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 32nd governor of North Dakota from 2010 to 2016. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th lieutenant gover ...

and is currently Vice-Chairman of the Lignite Research Council. In 1999 the members of West River Telecommunications (WRT) elected Randy to serve on its board of directors. During his 13 years on the board, WRT nearly doubled in size, growing into a $100 million company with more than 70 employees. WRT provides telephone and broadband service to part or all of 17 counties in North and South Dakota. West River is also a leader in the development of cellular service in North Dakota as a major partner with Verizon Wireless. Following the statewide general election in 2000, Senate Republicans chose Randy to serve as their Assistant Majority Leader. He had been re-elected to this post every two years thereafter, making him one of North Dakota’s longest serving legislative leaders in recent memory. He also served on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Personal life

He is married to Bethanie Christmann. They live in Bismarck, but continue to spend weekends on the ranch near Hazen. Christmann is a member of the

National Rifle Association of America The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

, the

American Farm Bureau Federation The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), more informally called the American Farm Bureau (AFB) or simply the Farm Bureau, is a United States–based 501(c)(5) tax-exempt agricultural organization and lobbying group. Headquartered in Was ...

, the North Dakota Stockmen's Association. In 2007, he received the Public Service Award from the North Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association. In 2016, the Lignite Energy Council presented him with the Distinguished Service Award for a Regulatory Program.

References

External links

Official biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christmann, Randel 1960 births Living people Republican Party North Dakota state senators Northern State University alumni People from Mercer County, North Dakota 20th-century members of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly 21st-century members of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly