BRYNHILD HAUGLAND (1905-1998)
Served in the North Dakota House for 52 Years

A person from North Dakota served in the state house longer than any other person in the United States. When you consider that the legislator was a woman, it is even more remarkable. Brynhild Haugland, from Minot, was elected to represent her district a record 26 times, serving from 1939 to 1990. Haugland lost only one election in her political career, which was in 1936 when a broken leg kept her from campaigning. She lost by only 100 votes. Haugland chose to run again in 1938 and never failed to gain a majority of her constituents’ votes from that year on. She retired after the 1990 session.