William Paul "Bill" Luther (born June 27, 1945) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician. Luther was a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) member of the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from January 3, 1995 to January 3, 2003, serving in the 104th

104th United States Congress

The One Hundred Fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1995 to January 3, 1997, during the third and...

, 105th

105th United States Congress

The One Hundred Fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1997 to January 3, 1999, during the fifth and...

, 106th

106th United States Congress

The One Hundred Sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1999 to January 3, 2001, during the last two...

, and 107th congresses

107th United States Congress

The One Hundred Seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 2001 to January 3, 2003, during the final...

, representing Minnesota's 6th congressional district

Minnesota's 6th congressional district

Minnesota's 6th congressional district includes most or all of Benton, Sherburne, Stearns, Wright, Anoka, and Washington counties. The district is Republican-leaning with a CPVI of R + 7. It is currently represented by Republican Michele Bachmann....

.

Luther was born in Fergus Falls, Minnesota

Fergus Falls, Minnesota

Fergus Falls is a city in and the county seat of Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,138 at the 2010 census.-Today:...

, and was educated at the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

, receiving a Bachelor of Science in 1967 and a Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 from the Law School

University of Minnesota Law School

The University of Minnesota Law School, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, is a professional school of the University of Minnesota. The school offers a Juris Doctor , Masters of Law for Foreign Lawyers, and joint degrees with J.D./M.B.A., J.D./M.P.A, J.D./M.A., J.D./M.S., J.D./Ph.D.,...

 in 1970. Before entering politics, he worked first as an attorney and later as a prosecutor for the Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals

A court of appeals is an appellate court generally.Court of Appeals may refer to:*Military Court of Appeals *Corte d'Assise d'Appello *Philippine Court of Appeals*High Court of Appeals of Turkey*United States courts of appeals...

. He was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives

Minnesota House of Representatives

The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house in the Minnesota State Legislature. There are 134 members elected to two-year terms, twice the number of members in the Minnesota Senate. Each senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B...

 from 1975 to 1976, and the Minnesota Senate

Minnesota Senate

The Minnesota Senate is the upper house in the Minnesota Legislature. There are 67 members, half as many as are in the Minnesota House of Representatives. In terms of membership, it is the largest upper house of any state legislature. Each Senate district in the state includes an A and B House...

 from 1977 to 1994. During his long career as a state legislator and a congressman, Luther built an image as a moderate Democrat.

After the 2000 census, Minnesota's congressional map was radically altered, even though the state didn't gain or lose any districts. Luther's 6th District, located in the northern Twin Cities suburbs, was pushed slightly to the north and made significantly more Republican than its predecessor. After some consideration, Luther opted to run in the newly created 2nd District in the southern suburbs. The new district contained about 39 percent of his former territory. He faced a rematch against Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 John Kline

John Kline (politician)

John Paul Kline is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. The district includes most of the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities, including Apple Valley, Inver Grove Heights, Burnsville and Eagan. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:Kline was born...

, his opponent in 1998 and 2000.

During the campaign, Luther came under fire when one of his supporters, Sam Garst, filed for the race under the banner of the "No New Taxes Party." This was done in retaliation for an ad the National Republican Congressional Committee

National Republican Congressional Committee

The National Republican Congressional Committee is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives....

 ran in support of Kline that accused Luther of being soft on crime. Luther subsequently admitted that his campaign knew about Garst's false flag

False flag

False flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is flying the flag of a country other than one's own...

 campaign. Luther never really recovered and was soundly defeated, taking 42 percent of the vote.

In 2006, Luther entered the DFL Party primary for the office of Minnesota Attorney General, after endorsed candidate Matt Entenza withdrew from the race. However, he lost the primary to Lori Swanson

Lori Swanson

Lori Swanson is the Attorney General of the US state of Minnesota. She was elected on November 7, 2006, and took office on January 2, 2007, succeeding Mike Hatch, who declined to run for re-election in order to run for governor...

.

Electoral history

• 2006 Race for state Attorney General — Democratic Primary
  • Lori Swanson
    Lori Swanson
    Lori Swanson is the Attorney General of the US state of Minnesota. She was elected on November 7, 2006, and took office on January 2, 2007, succeeding Mike Hatch, who declined to run for re-election in order to run for governor...
    
     (DFL), 42%
  • Steve Kelley (DFL), 37%
  • Bill Luther (DFL), 21%
• 2002 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 2nd District
  • John Kline
    John Kline (politician)
    John Paul Kline is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. The district includes most of the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities, including Apple Valley, Inver Grove Heights, Burnsville and Eagan. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:Kline was born...
    
     (R), 53%
  • Bill Luther (DFL) (inc.), 42%
• 2000 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 6th District
  • Bill Luther (DFL) (inc.), 50%
  • John Kline
    John Kline (politician)
    John Paul Kline is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. The district includes most of the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities, including Apple Valley, Inver Grove Heights, Burnsville and Eagan. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:Kline was born...
    
     (R), 48%
• 1998 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 6th District
  • Bill Luther (DFL) (inc.), 50%
  • John Kline
    John Kline (politician)
    John Paul Kline is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. The district includes most of the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities, including Apple Valley, Inver Grove Heights, Burnsville and Eagan. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:Kline was born...
    
     (R), 46%
• 1996 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 6th District
  • Bill Luther (DFL) (inc.), 56%
  • Tad Jude (R), 44%
• 1994 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 6th District
  • Bill Luther (DFL), 50%
  • Tad Jude (R), 50%

External links

• Bill Luther's Congressional Records are available for research at the Minnesota Historical Society