Bill Luther

Bill Luther

William Paul "Bill" Luther (born June 27, 1945) is an American politician. Luther was a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) member of the United States House of Representatives from January 3, 1995 to January 3, 2003, serving in the 104th, 105th, 106th, and 107th congresses, representing Minnesota's 6th congressional district.

Luther was born in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and was educated at the University of Minnesota, receiving a Bachelor of Science in 1967 and a Juris Doctor from the Law School in 1970. Before entering politics, he worked first as an attorney and later as a prosecutor for the Court of Appeals. He was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1975 to 1976, and the Minnesota Senate 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 John Kline, 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 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 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.