Samuel Mark Aanestad (July 16, 1946 – May 6, 2018) was an American physician, surgeon, and politician. A Republican, he served in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

from the 3rd District from 1998 to 2002 and a member of the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

from the

4th district Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

from 2002 to 2010. He was an unsuccessful candidate for California's 1st Congressional District, which was being vacated by retiring Congressman

Wally Herger Walter William Herger Jr. (born May 20, 1945) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for California's 2nd congressional district from 1987 to 2013. A member of the Republican Party, his district was the state's largest c ...

Education and early career

Aanestad was born in

Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck (; from 1872 to 1873: Edwinton) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat, seat of Burleigh County, North Dakota, Burleigh County. It is the state's List of cities i ...

. He received both his Bachelor of Arts and

Doctor of Dental Surgery A number of professional degrees in dentistry are offered by dental schools in various countries around the world. Degrees Dental degrees may include: Bachelor's degree * Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) * Bachelor's degree of Dentistry (BDS ...

(DDS) degrees from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. He then did a four-year Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residency at ''Highland Hospital'' in

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

. Aanestad received a Master in Public Administration degree from

Golden Gate University Golden Gate University (GGU or Golden Gate) is a private university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1901, GGU specializes in educating professionals through its schools of law, business, taxation, technology, accounting, ...

in 1991. He was honored by the

UCLA School of Dentistry The UCLA School of Dentistry is the dental school of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in the Center for Health Sciences building in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. The school has seve ...

as their "Alumnus of the Year" in November 1998. Aanestad was a practicing dentist in Grass Valley, and served as the Vice-Chief of Surgery at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital. He served three terms on the California Dental Association Council on Legislation, including three years as chairman, and he served two terms as president of the Butte-Sierra District Dental Society. He was also a member of the California and

American Dental Association The American Dental Association (ADA) is an American professional dental association. Established in 1859 and with over 159,000 current members, ADA is the world's largest and oldest national dental association. The organization lobbies on behal ...

. Aanestad served 11 years on the Grass Valley School District Board of Trustees. He was a member of the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...

of Grass Valley, a youth soccer, football, and baseball coach, and as a member of the KNCO radio broadcast team for

Nevada Union High School Nevada Union High School (NU) is located in the Sierra Nevada foothills northeast of California's capital, Sacramento. Situated between Nevada City and Grass Valley, the school serves those two incorporated cities and a large surrounding commu ...

football.

State legislature

Aanestad was elected to the

in 1998 to represent the 3rd District. In 2002, Aanestad was elected to the

, where he served for two terms. In the State Senate, Aanestad's top priorities included rural health care, protecting North State water, and constituent services.

Lieutenant governor campaign

Aanestad ran in the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of California in 2010. He was defeated by

Abel Maldonado Abel O. Maldonado Jr. (born August 21, 1967) is an American politician who served as the 48th lieutenant governor of California from April 27, 2010 to January 3, 2011. As of 2025, he is the last Republican to serve as California's Lieutenant Gove ...

, coming in second place with 31% of the vote.

Congressional campaign

On February 9, 2012, Aanestad announced that he is officially running for the open 1st Congressional District in California being vacated by retiring Congressman Wally Herger. Aanestad, who has represented most of this 1st Congressional District over the past twelve years, was endorsed by Rep.

Tom McClintock Thomas Miller McClintock II (born July 10, 1956) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2009 (known as the 4th congressional district until 2023). His district stretches from the Sacramento suburbs to the out ...

, a longtime friend and mentor who served with Aanestad in the Assembly and Senate. Aanestad came third in the

open primary Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

losing to fellow Republican State Sen.

Doug LaMalfa Douglas Lee LaMalfa ( ; born July 2, 1960) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for California's 1st congressional district since 2013. A member of the California Republican Party, ...

and Democrat Jim Reed. The top two vote-getters faced off in the general election on Nov. 6, 2012.

Personal life

Aanestad and his wife Susan lived in the 4th Senate District since 1980. The couple had three children. Aanestad died in Nevada County on May 6, 2018, after a long illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aanestad, Sam 1946 births 2018 deaths Republican Party California state senators People from Grass Valley, California Republican Party members of the California State Assembly School board members in California Politicians from Bismarck, North Dakota Golden Gate University alumni UCLA School of Dentistry alumni 20th-century American dentists 21st-century American dentists 21st-century members of the California State Legislature