Jim Ramstad

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American lawyer and politician (1946–2020)

title: "Jim Ramstad" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1946-births", "2020-deaths", "republican-party-minnesota-state-senators", "george-washington-university-law-school-alumni", "university-of-minnesota-alumni", "people-from-jamestown,-north-dakota", "military-personnel-from-north-dakota", "united-church-of-christ-members", "people-from-minnetonka,-minnesota", "republican-party-united-states-representatives-from-minnesota", "deaths-from-parkinson's-disease-in-minnesota", "harvard-fellows", "21st-century-minnesota-politicians", "phi-delta-theta-members", "21st-century-united-states-representatives", "20th-century-members-of-the-minnesota-legislature"] description: "American lawyer and politician (1946–2020)" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Ramstad" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American lawyer and politician (1946–2020) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Jim Ramstad
image name	Jim Ramstad Portrait.jpg
state	Minnesota
district	3rd
birth_name	James Marvin Ramstad
birth_date
birth_place	Jamestown, North Dakota, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Wayzata, Minnesota, U.S.
party	Republican
term_start	January 3, 1991
term_end	January 3, 2009
preceded	Bill Frenzel
succeeded	Erik Paulsen
office1	Member of the Minnesota Senate
constituency1	43rd district (1981–1983)
45th district (1983–1991)
term_start1	January 6, 1981
term_end1	January 3, 1991
predecessor1	Emily Anne Staples
successor1	Judy Traub
spouse
occupation	attorney, political assistant
education	University of Minnesota (BA)
George Washington University (JD)
branch	United States Army Reserve
serviceyears	1968–1975
rank	First Lieutenant
children	1
::

James Marvin Ramstad (May 6, 1946 – November 5, 2020) was an American lawyer and politician who represented Minnesota's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Ramstad served in the Minnesota Senate from 1981 to 1991.

Ramstad was first elected to the Minnesota Senate in 1981 and was reelected until 1990, when he was elected to represent Minnesota’s 3rd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ramstad won reelection in the suburban congressional district eight times, all by landslide margins. He had a reputation as a moderate Republican. Ramstad chose to retire and not seek reelection in 2008. He was succeeded by Republican State Representative Erik Paulsen. Throughout his legislative career and later life, Ramstad, empowered by his prior struggles with alcoholism, was a notable advocate for addiction recovery.

In 2020, Ramstad died from Parkinson's disease at the age of 74.

Early life and education

Ramstad was born in Jamestown, North Dakota on May 6, 1946. He was educated at the University of Minnesota and the George Washington University Law School. He was an officer in the United States Army Reserve from 1968 to 1974. He also worked as a private practice attorney and as a legislative aide to the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Career

He served on the Wayzata-Plymouth Chemical Health Commission, Plymouth Human Rights Commission, and the Minnesota State Human Rights Advisory Committee from 1979 to 1980.

Ramstad was a Republican member of the Minnesota State Senate from 1981 to 1990 before entering the U.S. Congress. He served in the 102nd, 103rd, 104th, 105th, 106th, 107th, 108th, 109th, and 110th congresses, beginning on January 3, 1991. He first defeated former Minneapolis city councilman Lou DeMars in the 1990 election.

Tenure

Ramstad was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 until 2009, representing Minnesota's 3rd congressional district, one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota. On September 17, 2007 Ramstad announced he would not seek reelection in 2008. He reiterated his statement on December 19, 2007.

Ramstad considered ending discrimination against those suffering from mental health and addiction problems a major part of his legacy. He worked under both Republican and Democratic majorities to pass a Mental Health Parity Bill. Mental Health Parity was eventually passed and signed into law in December, 2008.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Jim_Ramstad.jpg" caption="Congressman Jim Ramstad on the steps of the U.S. Capitol w/ Speaker Pelosi, Congressman Kennedy, Majority Leader Hoyer and David Wellstone, son of the late U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone." alt="Congressman Jim Ramstad on the steps of the U.S. Capitol"] ::

Ramstad was mentioned as a possible candidate for Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the administration of President Barack Obama. However, the position eventually went to former Seattle police chief Gil Kerlikowske.

Ramstad considered running for Governor of Minnesota in the 2010 election, but decided not to.

At the time of his death, Ramstad was a resident fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics where he was leading a study group titled The Policy and Politics of Addiction.

Political positions

Ramstad was a member of The Republican Main Street Partnership. He was pro-choice and supported embryonic stem cell research. He was opposed to gay marriage. He voted in favor of an amendment to a whistleblower protection bill that would have allowed the government to influence stem-cell research.

He was considered to be the most moderate Republican member of the Minnesota delegation in the 109th Congress, scoring 68 percent conservative by a conservative group and 21% progressive by a liberal group.

Personal life

Ramstad was a recovering alcoholic. For a time, he was Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy's Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor. He was a long-time advocate for addiction treatment and recovery services, and at the time of his death he had been sober for 39 years.

He married Kathryn Mitchell Ramstad in 2005 and they had one daughter, Christen.

Ramstad's sister, Sheryl Ramstad, is a Tax Court judge in Minnesota. Ramstad was a member of the United Church of Christ.

On February 25, 2008, it was announced that Ramstad had been elected to the board of directors of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

In 2010, Ramstad joined alliantgroup as a senior advisor on their Strategic Advisory Board.

He died of Parkinson's disease on November 5, 2020, aged 74, at his home in Wayzata, Minnesota.

In 2022, to honor Jim's legacy and further his ideals with the next generation of leaders, his widow Kathryn Ramstad established the Jim Ramstad Institute for Civility and Youth Leadership in the YMCA Center for Youth Voice. The Ramstad Institute exists to perpetuate the ideals Jim embraced in his political leadership: Bipartisanship and Bridge-Building; Ethics and Integrity; Constituent-Centered Leadership; Compassion and Resilience in Leadership; and Legislative Process and Civic Literacy. Each year, the Institute will help train more than 200 young people to be effective servant leaders - leaders like Jim, who encourage others to work together, to trust each other, to listen to each other and to see a vision of what they could achieve together. The Institute will also help fund professional development workshops for secondary teachers and students focusing on the Y’s Respectful Conversations in Schools model.

Committee assignments

Ways and Means Committee
- Subcommittee on Oversight (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Health
Co-chair of the Addiction Treatment and Recovery Caucus
Co-chair of the Disabilities Caucus
Co-chair of the Law Enforcement Caucus
Co-chair of the Medical Technology Caucus

Electoral history

::data[format=table title="{{ushr|Minnesota|3|}}: Results 1990–2006{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/index.html |title=Election Statistics |access-date=2008-01-10 |publisher=Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070725184700/http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/index.html |archive-date=July 25, 2007 }}"] | |Year | |DFL | |Votes | |Pct | |Republican | |Votes | |Pct | |3rd Party | |Party | |Votes | |Pct | |3rd Party | |Party | |Votes | |Pct | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1990 | | |Lou Demars | 96,395 | |33% | | |Jim Ramstad | 195,833 | |67% | | |Write-ins | | | 624 | | | | 1992 | | |Paul Mandell | 104,606 | |33% | | |Jim Ramstad | 200,240 | |64% | | |Dwight Fellman | |Grass Roots | 9,164 | 3% | | | 1994 | | |Bob Olson | 62,211 | |26% | | |Jim Ramstad | 173,223 | |73% | | |Write-ins | | | 1,097 | | | | 1996 | | |Stan J. Leino | 87,350 | |30% | | |Jim Ramstad | 205,816 | |70% | | | | | | | | 1998 | | |Stan J. Leino | 66,505 | |23% | | |Jim Ramstad | 203,731 | |72% | | |Derek W. Schramm | |Minnesota Taxpayers | 12,823 | 5% | | | 2000 | | |Sue Shuff | 98,219 | |30% | | |Jim Ramstad | 222,571 | |68% | | |Bob Odden | |Libertarian | 5,302 | 2% | | | 2002 | | |Darryl Stanton | 82,575 | |28% | | |Jim Ramstad | 213,334 | |72% | | | | | | | | 2004 | | |Deborah Watts | 126,665 | |35% | | |Jim Ramstad | 231,871 | |65% | | | | | | | | 2006 | | |Wendy Wilde | 99,588 | |35% | | |Jim Ramstad | 184,333 | |65% | | | | | | | ::

Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1996, write-ins received 417 votes. In 1998, write-ins received 250 votes. In 2002, write-ins received 309 votes. In 2004, write-ins received 356 votes. In 2006, write-ins received 323 votes.

References

(2021-04-28). "Former US Rep. Jim Ramstad, champion of recovery, dies at 74".
(2020-11-06). "With Jim Ramstad's death, Minnesota has lost a committed recovery advocate".
(November 6, 2020). "Former Rep. Jim Ramstad has died at 74".
"Candidate Biography: Jim Marvin Ramstad". Fox News.
"Veterans in the US House of Representatives 109th Congress". Navy League.
Fred Frommer, Fred. (2007-09-17). "Ramstad announces his retirement from Congress". Minnesota Public Radio.
(2007-12-19). "Ramstad Says He Has No 'Plans' To Seek Re-Election". WCCO.
(2009-04-29). "Interview with IOP Fellow Jim Ramstad". Harvard Citizen.
"Ramstad Obituary".
(2008-12-03). "Drug Czar Ramstad?". Minnesota Independent.
Doug Grow. (June 30, 2009). "For good or bad, GOP's Jim Ramstad could be the ultimate man in the middle of 2010 governor's race". MinnPost.
Doug Grow. (July 14, 2009). "GOP's Jim Ramstad decides not to enter governor's race". MinnPost.
"The Harvard Crimson :: News :: IOP Names Spring Fellows".
[http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Jim_Ramstad.htm Jim Ramstad on the Issues] Retrieved October 24, 2006
Clerk of the House: [http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll150.xml Final Vote Results for Roll Call 150]
(2006). "ACU Ratings of Congress, 2006". American Conservative Union.
"Leading with the Left". Progressive Punch.
(May 6, 2011). "Challenging the Second 'A' in A.A.". New York Times.
"Ramstad Obituary".
"U.S. Congressman Jim Ramstad Elected to CASA Board of Directors". CASA Columbia.
"Alliantgroup Bolsters Top Tax Talent with Congressman Jim Ramstad | Minnesota Business Magazine | Minnesota Business Blogs | Minnesota Business".
(2020-11-05). "Longtime Rep. Jim Ramstad, a champion for addiction help, has died". Mprnews.org.
"Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

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