11 Facts About James Abdnor

Ellis James Abdnor was an American politician who served as a member of the United States Senate from South Dakota.

From 1946 to 1948, James Abdnor worked as a teacher and coach.

James Abdnor was chief clerk of the South Dakota Legislature in the early-1950s.

James Abdnor was a member of the South Dakota Senate from 1957 to 1969.

James Abdnor's staff considered him to be a friend as well as an honorable mentor and public servant.

James Abdnor was the 30th Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota from 1969 to 1971, and unsuccessfully sought the nomination for the House of Representatives in 1970.

James Abdnor ran in the 1980 election against three-term incumbent and 1972 Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern for the United States Senate.

James Abdnor claimed McGovern was out of touch with the state and unseated him by a large margin.

In 1986, after winning by a wide margin a bruising re-election primary campaign against then Governor Bill Janklow, James Abdnor narrowly lost his Senate seat to then-Representative Tom Daschle.

James Abdnor served as the administrator of the Small Business Administration from 1987 to 1989, and served in an advisory capacity for John Thune's successful campaign against Daschle in 2004.

James Abdnor's accomplishments included authorization of the Grassropes irrigation project and the Walworth, Edmunds, Brown rural water system, reauthorization of the Belle Fourche irrigation project, and the inclusion of oats in the farm program.