Will Mortenson - Wikipedia

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Will Mortenson

Majority Leader of the South Dakota House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office January 10, 2023
Preceded by	Kent Peterson
Member of the South Dakota House of Representatives from the 24th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 12, 2021 Serving with Mike Weisgram
Preceded by	Tim Rounds Mary Duvall

Personal details
Born	Pierre, South Dakota, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Education	University of South Dakota (BA) University of Virginia (JD)

Will D. Mortenson is an American attorney and a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives representing the 24th district since January 2021.^[1]

Early life and education

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Mortenson was born in Pierre, South Dakota and graduated from T. F. Riggs High School. He is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.^[2]

Mortenson attended University of South Dakota where he received his B.A. He ran the 2010 reelection campaign of Public Utilities Commissioner Dusty Johnson, then worked in the Office of Governor Dennis Daugaard as a policy analyst, before attending the University of Virginia School of Law graduating with his J.D. in 2016.

Political career

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Mortenson first ran for the South Dakota House of Representatives from District 24 in 2020. He won the primary in June 2020 and the general election on November 3, 2020. In 2021, Mortenson filed articles of impeachment against Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg,^[3] and again in 2022,^[4] leading to Ravnsborg's removal from office.^[5]

In 2022, Mortenson was selected to serve as House Majority Leader by his Republican colleagues in the State House of Representatives.^[6] He is the youngest Republican to serve as House Majority Leader in state history, and the first tribal member to lead a majority caucus.^[7]

Election history

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2020 South Dakota House of Representatives District 24 General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Will Mortenson	8,410	43.63%
	Republican	Mike Weisgram	7,786	40.39%
	Democratic	Amanda Bachmann	3,079	15.97%
Total votes			19,275	100.0%
	Republican hold
	Republican hold

References

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^ "South Dakota Legislature". sdlegislature.gov. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
^ "Mortenson announces candidacy for District 24 House of Representatives". drgnews.com.
^ "District 24 Rep. Will Mortenson files Articles of Impeachment against Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg". drgnews.com.
^ "Mortenson files impeachment resolution". keloland.com. April 11, 2022.
^ "South Dakota Removes Its Attorney General After Fatal Crash". The New York Times.
^ "Will Mortenson elected to serve as House Majority Leader in SD Legislature". argusleader.com.
^ "SD House Republicans pick leadership team". sodakgovs.wordpress.com. November 19, 2022.

External links

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Official page at the South Dakota Legislature

South Dakota House of Representatives
Preceded by Kent Peterson	Majority Leader of the South Dakota House of Representatives 2023–present	Incumbent

v t e Statewide political officials of South Dakota
U.S. senators	John Thune Mike Rounds
U.S. representative	Dusty Johnson, At-large representative
State government	Kristi Noem, Governor Larry Rhoden, Lieutenant Governor Monae Johnson, Secretary of State Marty Jackley, Attorney General Josh Haeder, Treasurer Rich Sattgast, Auditor Brock Greenfield, School and Public Lands Commissioner Kristie Fiegen, Gary W. Hanson, Chris Nelson, Public Utilities Commissioners
Senate	Larry Rhoden, President Lee Schoenbeck, President pro tempore Casey Crabtree, Majority Leader Reynold Nesiba, Minority Leader
House	Hugh Bartels, Speaker Mike Stevens, Speaker pro tempore Will Mortenson, Majority Leader Oren Lesmeister, Minority Leader
Supreme Court (appointed)	Steven R. Jensen, Chief Justice Janine M. Kern Mark Salter Patricia DeVaney Scott P. Myren, Associate Justices

Floor leaders of state houses

v t e Majority leaders
United States House of Representatives: ▌Steve Scalise (R)
AL ▌Scott Stadthagen (R) AK ▌Dan Saddler (R) AZ ▌Leo Biasiucci (R) AR ▌Marcus Richmond (R) CA ▌Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D) CO ▌Monica Duran (D) CT ▌Jason Rojas (D) DE ▌Melissa Minor-Brown (D) FL ▌Tyler Sirois (R) GA ▌Chuck Efstration (R) HI ▌Nadine Nakamura (D) ID ▌Jason Monks (R) IL ▌Robyn Gabel (D) IN ▌Matt Lehman (R) IA ▌Matt Windschitl (R) KS ▌Chris Croft (R) KY ▌Steven Rudy (R) LA ▌Mark Wright (R) ME ▌Maureen Terry (D) MD ▌David Moon (D) MA ▌Mike Moran (D) MI ▌Abraham Aiyash (D) MN ▌Jamie Long (DFL) MS ▌^{[to be determined]} (R) MO ▌Jonathan Patterson (R) MT ▌Sue Vinton (R) NE ▌Ray Aguilar (R)* NV ▌Sandra Jauregui (D) NH ▌Jason Osborne (R) NJ ▌Louis Greenwald (D) NM ▌Gail Chasey (D) NY ▌Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D) NC ▌John R. Bell IV (R) ND ▌Mike Lefor (R) OH ▌Bill Seitz (R) OK ▌Tammy West (R) OR ▌Ben Bowman (D) PA ▌Matthew Bradford (D) RI ▌Christopher Blazejewski (D) SC ▌Davey Hiott (R) SD ▌Will Mortenson (R) TN ▌William Lamberth (R) TX ▌Tom Oliverson (R) UT ▌Jefferson Moss (R) VT ▌Emily Long (D) VA ▌Charniele Herring (D) WA ▌Joe Fitzgibbon (D) WV ▌Eric Householder (R) WI ▌Tyler August (R) WY ▌Chip Neiman (R) Federal districts: DC ▌Phil Mendelson (D)* Territories: AS GU ▌^{[to be determined]} MP ▌Ed Propst (D) PR ▌Angel Matos García (PPD/D) VI ▌Kenneth Gittens (D)*
Political party affiliations ▌Republican: 28 states ▌Democratic: 21 states, 3 territories, 1 district ▌Popular Democratic: 1 territory

v t e Minority leaders
United States House of Representatives: ▌Hakeem Jeffries (D)
AL ▌Anthony Daniels (D) AK ▌Calvin Schrage (I) AZ ▌Lupe Contreras (D) AR ▌Tippi McCullough (D) CA ▌James Gallagher (R) CO ▌Rose Pugliese (R) CT ▌Vincent Candelora (R) DE ▌vacant FL ▌Fentrice Driskell (D) GA ▌James Beverly (D) HI ▌Lauren Matsumoto (R) ID ▌Ilana Rubel (D) IL ▌Tony McCombie (R) IN ▌Phil GiaQuinta (D) IA ▌Jennifer Konfrst (D) KS ▌Vic Miller (D) KY ▌Derrick Graham (D) LA ▌Matthew Willard (D) ME ▌Billy Bob Faulkingham (R) MD ▌Jason C. Buckel (R) MA ▌Bradley Jones Jr. (R) MI ▌Matt Hall (R) MN ▌Lisa Demuth (R) MS ▌Robert Johnson III (D) MO ▌Crystal Quade (D) MT ▌Kim Abbott (D) NE Vacant* NV ▌P. K. O'Neill (R) NH ▌Matthew Wilhelm (D) NJ ▌John DiMaio (R) NM ▌Rod Montoya (R) NY ▌William Barclay (R) NC ▌Robert T. Reives II (D) ND ▌Zac Ista (D-NPL) OH ▌Allison Russo (D) OK ▌Cyndi Munson (D) OR ▌Jeff Helfrich (R) PA ▌Bryan Cutler (R) RI ▌Michael Chippendale (R) SC ▌Todd Rutherford (D) SD ▌Oren Lesmeister (D) TN ▌Karen Camper (D) TX ▌Trey Martinez Fischer (D) UT ▌Angela Romero (D) VT ▌Patricia McCoy (R) VA ▌Todd Gilbert (R) WA ▌Drew Stokesbary (R) WV ▌Sean Hornbuckle (D) WI ▌Greta Neubauer (D) WY ▌Mike Yin (D) Federal districts: DC None* Territories: AS GU ▌Frank F. Blas Jr. (R)* MP ▌Patrick H. San Nicolas (R) PR ▌Carlos Johnny Méndez (PNP/R) VI ▌Dwayne M. DeGraff (I)*
Political party affiliations ▌Democratic: 27 states ▌Republican: 21 states, 2 territories ▌Independent: 1 state ▌ New Progressive: 1 territory

An asterisk (*) indicates a unicameral body.

v t e Members of the South Dakota House of Representatives
South Dakota Legislature (2023–present) Speaker of the House Hugh Bartels (R-5) Speaker pro tempore Mike Stevens (R-18) Majority Leader Will Mortenson (R-24) Minority Leader Oren Lesmeister (D-28)
1. ▌Joe Donnell (R) ⎣ ▌Tamara St. John (R) 2. ▌David Kull (R) ⎣ ▌John Sjaarda (R) 3. ▌Brandei Schaefbauer (R) ⎣ ▌Carl E. Perry (R) 4. ▌Stephanie Sauder (R) ⎣ ▌Fred Deutsch (R) 5. ▌Hugh Bartels (R) ⎣ ▌Byron Callies (R) 6. ▌Aaron Aylward (R) ⎣ ▌Ernie Otten (R) 7. ▌Mellissa Heermann (R) ⎣ ▌Roger DeGroot (R) 8. ▌John Mills (R) ⎣ ▌Tim Reisch (R) 9. ▌Bethany Soye (R) ⎣ ▌Kenneth Teunissen (R) 10. ▌Erin Healy (D) ⎣ ▌Kameron Nelson (D) 11. ▌Brian Mulder (R) ⎣ ▌Chris Karr (R) 12. ▌Amber Arlint (R) ⎣ ▌Greg Jamison (R) 13. ▌Sue Peterson (R) ⎣ ▌Tony Venhuizen (R) 14. ▌Taylor Rehfeldt (R) ⎣ ▌Tyler Tordsen (R) 15. ▌Kadyn Wittman (D) ⎣ ▌Linda Duba (D) 16. ▌Karla Lems (R) ⎣ ▌Kevin D. Jensen (R) 17. ▌William Shorma (R) ⎣ ▌Chris Kassin (R) 18. ▌Mike Stevens (R) ⎣ ▌Julie Auch (R) 19. ▌Drew Peterson (R) ⎣ ▌Jessica Bahmuller (R) 20. ▌Lance Koth (R) ⎣ ▌Ben Krohmer (R) 21. ▌Rocky Blare (R) ⎣ ▌Marty Overweg (R) 22. ▌Roger D. Chase (R) ⎣ ▌Lynn Schneider (R) 23. ▌James D. Wangsness (R) ⎣ ▌Scott Moore (R) 24. ▌Will Mortenson (R) ⎣ ▌Mike Weisgram (R) 25. ▌Randy Gross (R) ⎣ ▌Jon Hansen (R) 26A. ▌Eric Emery (D) 26B. ▌Rebecca Reimer (R) 27. ▌Liz Marty May (R) ⎣ ▌Peri Pourier (D) 28A. ▌Oren Lesmeister (D) 28B. ▌Neil Pinnow (R) 29. ▌Gary Cammack (R) ⎣ ▌Kirk Chaffee (R) 30. ▌Trish Ladner (R) ⎣ ▌Dennis Krull (R) 31. ▌Mary Fitzgerald (R) ⎣ ▌Scott Odenbach (R) 32. ▌Steve Duffy (R) ⎣ ▌Kristin Conzet (R) 33. ▌Curt Massie (R) ⎣ ▌Phil Jensen (R) 34. ▌Mike Derby (R) ⎣ ▌Becky Drury (R) 35. ▌Tina Mulally (R) ⎣ ▌Tony Randolph (R)
▌Republican (63) ▌Democratic (7) South Dakota Legislature South Dakota House of Representatives South Dakota Senate

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