Mark Andrews (politician)

Mark Andrews (born May 19, 1926) is an American politician from the state of North Dakota. He is a member of the Republican Party who served as a U.S. Senator.

Mark Andrews
United States senator from North Dakota
In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1987
Preceded by	Milton Young
Succeeded by	Kent Conrad
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Dakota's At-large district
In office January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1981
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Byron Dorgan
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Dakota's 1st district
In office October 22, 1963 – January 3, 1973
Preceded by	Hjalmar Nygaard
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	(1926-05-19) May 19, 1926 Cass County, North Dakota, U.S.
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	North Dakota State University

Life and career

Andrews was born in Cass County, North Dakota, where he attended public school. In 1944 at the age of 18, Andrews was admitted to the United States Military Academy. He quit in 1946 after receiving a disability discharge. He then attended North Dakota State University at Fargo, North Dakota, where he became a member of the Gamma Tau Chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity, and graduated in 1949.

Andrews then became a farmer. During the 1950s he began to enter politics, serving on farmers' organizations and Republican committees. In 1962, Andrews ran for governor of North Dakota, losing to incumbent William L. Guy by 2,000 votes out of over 228,500 cast.[1] The next year, he became the Republican candidate for a seat in the United States House of Representatives from North Dakota when a special election was required after the death of Congressman Hjalmar Nygaard. Andrews won the election. He was reelected to a full term in 1964 and served in the House until 1981, being reelected every two years.

In 1980 Andrews decided not to run for reelection to the House. Instead, he ran for the North Dakota U. S. Senate seat being vacated by the long-serving Republican Milton Young, who announced that he would not run for reelection and retire after the election. Andrews won the election with 70% of the vote and served in the Senate for one term, from 1981 to 1987. He was chairman of the select committee on Indian affairs from 1983 to 1987. He had a moderate-to-liberal voting record for most of his Congressional career.

Andrews was defeated for reelection in 1986 by Democratic-NPL Tax Commissioner Kent Conrad by 2,120 votes in what was considered an upset. Andrews retired from elective politics. He started a consultancy firm in Washington, D.C. but lives in Mapleton, North Dakota. Grand Forks International Airport in Grand Forks, North Dakota has sometimes been called Mark Andrews International Airport, but usage of the name has declined.

Despite North Dakota's Republican bent at the presidential level, Andrews was the last Republican to represent the state in Congress until 2010, when Rick Berg was elected to the House and John Hoeven to the Senate.

See also

• 1980 United States Senate election in North Dakota
• 1986 United States Senate election in North Dakota

Further reading

• Richard F. Fenno, Jr.: When Incumbency fails : the Senate Career of Mark Andrews, Congressional Quarterly Press, 1992.

References

1. Our Campaigns - ND Governor - Nov 06, 1962

External links

• United States Congress. "Mark Andrews (id: A000208)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Appearances on C-SPAN

Party political offices
Preceded by Clarence P. Dahl	Republican nominee for Governor of North Dakota 1962	Succeeded by Donald Halcrow
Preceded by Milton Young	Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from North Dakota (Class 3) 1980, 1986	Succeeded by Steve Sydness
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Hjalmar Carl Nygaard	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Dakota's 1st congressional district 1963–1973	Elected statewide at-large
New district	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Dakota's at-large congressional district 1973–1981	Succeeded by Byron Dorgan
U.S. Senate
Preceded by Milton R. Young	U.S. senator (Class 3) from North Dakota 1981 – 1987 Served alongside: Quentin Burdick	Succeeded by Kent Conrad
Political offices
Preceded by William Cohen	Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee 1983 – 1987	Succeeded by Daniel Inouye