Mark Andrews (politician)

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.
Died	October 3, 2020(2020-10-03) (aged 94) Fargo, North Dakota, U.S.
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	North Dakota State University

Mark Andrews (May 19, 1926 – October 3, 2020) was an American politician from the state of North Dakota. He was a member of the Republican Party who served as a U.S. Senator.

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. He was a third-generation farmer on a Red River Valley plot that was started by his grandfather.^[1] 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.^[2] 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 did not run for reelection to the House, but instead ran for the United States Senate seat being vacated by long-serving Republican Senator Milton Young, who was retiring. Andrews won the election with 70% of the vote and served in the Senate for one term, from 1981 to 1987.^[3] 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.

In 1986, Andrews lost reelection to Democratic-NPL Tax Commissioner Kent Conrad by 2,120 votes in what was considered an upset, and subsequently retired from electoral politics. He started a consultancy firm in Washington, D.C. but lived 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.

Andrews married Mary in 1949. They had three children.^[4] He died on October 3, 2020, in Fargo, North Dakota. He was 94.^[1][5]

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[]

External links[]

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