Joel D. Dykstra is a 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...

 member of the South Dakota House of Representatives

South Dakota House of Representatives

The South Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Dakota State Legislature. It is made up of 70 members, two from each legislative district...

, representing the 16th District since 2003. His district includes Lincoln

Lincoln County, South Dakota

As of the census of 2000, there were 24,131 people, 8,782 households, and 6,665 families residing in the county. The population density was 42 people per square mile . There were 9,131 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...

 and Union

Union County, South Dakota

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,584 people, 4,927 households, and 3,517 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile . There were 5,345 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile...

 counties.

In 1980 Dykstra graduated from Oral Roberts University

Oral Roberts University

Oral Roberts University , based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the United States, is an interdenominational, Charismatic Christian, comprehensive university with an enrollment of about 3,790 students from 49 U.S. states along with a significant number of international students from 70 countries...

 in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...

 with a degree in Business Management. Dykstra has three daughters and one granddaughter. He and his family lived in Europe for nine years while Dykstra worked for Lasmo Energy

Lasmo

Lasmo plc was a leading British oil and gas exploration and production business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...

.

In 2007, Dykstra announced his candidacy for United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

, vying for the seat then held by incumbent Senator Tim Johnson (D). Dykstra was defeated on November 4, 2008 when Senator Johnson held onto his Senate seat by a margin of approximately 62.5 to 37.5.

External links

• Joel Dykstra for U.S. Senate - Former Campaign website
• South Dakota Legislature - Representative Joel D. Dykstra official SD House website
• Project Vote Smart - Representative Joel D. Dykstra (SD) profile
• Follow the Money - Joel D Dykstra
  • 2006 2004 2002 campaign contributions

• Profile at SourceWatch
  SourceWatch
  SourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...
  
   Congresspedia
  Congresspedia
  Congresspedia was a wiki that ran from April 2006 to March 2009, designed to hold information on the workings of the U.S. Congress. It was fully contained within SourceWatch, a larger wiki meant to document the people, organizations and issues shaping the public agenda. The Congresspedia portion of...