John Hoeven is North Dakota's senior senator, elected in 2010 after serving a decade as the state's governor — a tenure during which North Dakota consistently ranked among the best-managed states fiscally. Before his time as governor, he worked in banking and led BankND, the state-owned bank. Hoeven grew up in Bismarck and has spent his career in North Dakota public service and finance.
Hoeven serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, where he has been a leading advocate for crop insurance, agricultural research, and farm program funding critical to North Dakota's economy. He has been a strong proponent of energy development including oil, natural gas, and renewable energy in the state, and has worked to advance pipeline and infrastructure projects serving the Bakken formation. His pragmatic, institutionalist style has made him an effective appropriator for a small but resource-rich state.