# Bill Luther

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{{Short description|American politician (born 1945)}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Bill Luther
| image = BillLuther-BW.jpg
| state1 = [Minnesota](/source/Minnesota)
| district1 = {{ushr|MN|6|6th}}
| term_start1 = January 3, 1995
| term_end1 = January 3, 2003
| predecessor1 = [Rod Grams](/source/Rod_Grams)
| successor1 = [John Kline](/source/John_Kline_(politician)) (redistricted)
| office2 = Member of the [Minnesota Senate](/source/Minnesota_Senate)
| term_start2 = January 4, 1977
| term_end2 = January 1, 1995
| predecessor2 = Al Kowalczyk
| successor2 = [Don Kramer](/source/Don_Kramer_(politician))
| constituency2 = 45th district (1977–1983)<br>47th district (1983–1995)
| office3 = Member of the [Minnesota House of Representatives](/source/Minnesota_House_of_Representatives)<br>from the 45th district<br>Seat B
| term_start3 = January 7, 1975
| term_end3 = January 3, 1977
| predecessor3 = Ernee McArthur
| successor3 = Robert Ellingson
| birth_name = William Paul Luther
| birth_date= {{birth date and age|1945|6|27}}
| birth_place= [Fergus Falls, Minnesota](/source/Fergus_Falls%2C_Minnesota), U.S.
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| party = [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States))
| spouse = Darlene Luther<br>Janet Robert
| education = [University of Minnesota](/source/University_of_Minnesota) ([BS](/source/Bachelor_of_Science), [JD](/source/Juris_Doctor))
}}
'''William Paul Luther''' (born June 27, 1945) is an American politician and lawyer from [Minnesota](/source/Minnesota). Luther was a [Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL)](/source/Democratic-Farmer-Labor_Party) member of the [United States House of Representatives](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives) representing [Minnesota's 6th congressional district](/source/Minnesota's_6th_congressional_district) from January 3, 1995, to January 3, 2003, serving four consecutive terms.

== Biography ==
Luther was born in [Fergus Falls, Minnesota](/source/Fergus_Falls%2C_Minnesota), and was educated at the [University of Minnesota](/source/University_of_Minnesota), receiving a Bachelor of Science in 1967 and a [Juris Doctor](/source/Juris_Doctor) from the [Law School](/source/University_of_Minnesota_Law_School) in 1970.

=== Political career ===
He served on the Minnesota Governor's Council on Consumer Affairs from 1974 to 1975 and was later a member of the [Minnesota House of Representatives](/source/Minnesota_House_of_Representatives) from 1975 to 1976 and the [Minnesota Senate](/source/Minnesota_Senate) from 1977 to 1994. During his career as a state legislator and a congressman, Luther gained an image as a moderate Democrat.

==== Congress ====
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 in the northern [Twin Cities](/source/Minneapolis-St._Paul) suburbs was pushed slightly north and made significantly more Republican. After some consideration, Luther opted to run in the newly created 2nd District in the southern suburbs, which contained about 39 percent of his former territory. He faced a rematch against [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) [John Kline](/source/John_Kline_(politician)), 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](/source/National_Republican_Congressional_Committee) 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](/source/false_flag) campaign.<ref>Scheck, Tom. [http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200208/22_scheckt_facetoface/ Luther, Kline get heated in TV debate]. [Minnesota Public Radio](/source/Minnesota_Public_Radio), 2002-08-22.</ref> Luther never really recovered and was soundly defeated, taking 42 percent of the vote.

He served in the [104th](/source/104th_United_States_Congress), [105th](/source/105th_United_States_Congress), [106th](/source/106th_United_States_Congress), and [107th congresses](/source/107th_United_States_Congress).

In 2006, Luther entered the DFL Party primary for the office of [Minnesota Attorney General](/source/Minnesota_Attorney_General) after endorsed candidate [Matt Entenza](/source/Matt_Entenza) withdrew from the race. He lost the primary to [Lori Swanson](/source/Lori_Swanson).

=== Ethics appointment ===
In 2021, he was appointed a member of the [Office of Congressional Ethics](/source/Office_of_Congressional_Ethics), a nonpartisan, independent committee charged with overseeing outside ethics complaints against members of Congress. As of 2025, he is serving as co-chair of the office's board.

==Electoral history==
*'''2006 Race for state Attorney General — Democratic Primary'''
**[Lori Swanson](/source/Lori_Swanson) (DFL), 42%
**[Steve Kelley](/source/Steve_Kelley_(politician)) (DFL), 37%
**Bill Luther (DFL), 21%
*'''2002 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 2nd District'''
**[John Kline](/source/John_Kline_(politician)) (R), 53%
**Bill Luther (DFL) (inc.), 42%
*'''2000 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 6th District'''
**Bill Luther (DFL) (inc.), 50%
**[John Kline](/source/John_Kline_(politician)) (R), 48%
*'''1998 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 6th District'''
**Bill Luther (DFL) (inc.), 50%
**[John Kline](/source/John_Kline_(politician)) (R), 46%
*'''1996 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 6th District'''
**Bill Luther (DFL) (inc.), 56%
**[Tad Jude](/source/Tad_Jude) (R), 44%
*'''1994 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 6th District'''
**Bill Luther (DFL), 50%
**[Tad Jude](/source/Tad_Jude) (R), 50%

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{bioguide}}

==External links==
{{MN-legdb|10390}}
{{Congbio|L000521}}
* [http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00740.xml Bill Luther's Congressional Records] are available for research at the [http://www.mnhs.org/ Minnesota Historical Society]
* {{C-SPAN|37074}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{s-bef|before=[Rod Grams](/source/Rod_Grams)}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [U.S. House of Representatives](/source/List_of_United_States_representatives_from_Minnesota)<br>from [Minnesota's 6th congressional district](/source/Minnesota's_6th_congressional_district)|years=1995–2003}}
{{s-aft|after=[Mark Kennedy](/source/Mark_Kennedy_(politician))}}
|-
{{s-prec|usa}}
{{s-bef|before=[David Minge](/source/David_Minge)|as=Former U.S. Representative}}
{{s-ttl|title=[Order of precedence of the United States](/source/United_States_order_of_precedence)<br>''{{small|as Former U.S. Representative}}''|years=}}
{{s-aft|after=[Michele Bachmann](/source/Michele_Bachmann)|as=Former U.S. Representative}}
{{s-end}}

{{MNRepresentatives}}
{{USCongRep-start |congresses=104th–107th [United States Congress](/source/United_States_Congress)es |state=[Minnesota](/source/Minnesota's_congressional_delegations)}}
{{USCongRep/MN/104}}
{{USCongRep/MN/105}}
{{USCongRep/MN/106}}
{{USCongRep/MN/107}}
{{USCongRep-end}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luther, Bill}}
Category:1945 births
Category:20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature
Category:21st-century United States representatives
Category:21st-century Minnesota politicians
Category:Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives
Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Minnesota
Category:Democratic Party Minnesota state senators
Category:Living people
Category:Members of the United States Congress who became lobbyists
Category:People from Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Category:University of Minnesota Law School alumni

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bill Luther](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Luther) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Luther?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.