KILLDEER – Former Representative Kylie Oversen, D-Dis. 42, was in the legislature from 2013 to 2016, and became the youngest chair for the North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party in 2015. Her father, Gary Oversen, described what he felt when she decided to run for office.
“Of course, I will always be behind my kids no matter what they do,” said Oversen. “My first question was, ‘Are you running as a Democrat?’”
Oversen said he considers himself a conservative independent, and he would consider his daughter a conservative liberal. He also said she was still in law school when she ran for House.
“We sat with her on the floor one time,” said Oversen. “She called me one time, there was a dinner party she was going to, and she didn’t have a date, so she asked me if I wanted to be her date. So I drove down to Bismarck and went to dinner with her.”
Oversen described what he thought of his daughter’s work in the legislature, including her sponsoring a bill to help wounded veterans.
“I love what she’s accomplished,” Oversen expressed. “I know she’ll hold her fellow legislators responsible to follow the rules.”
Oversen explained how his daughter was able to handle being in the legislature as well as graduate school, saying she was in between undergrad and grad school when she was sworn into office.
“If I could keep track of her schedule, I would last about a week,” said Oversen.
Oversen, who has five children, told a story relating to his political conversations with his family.
“We were sitting down, eating lunch,” Oversen described. “Kylie and I started discussing politics, and my son-in-law said, ‘If you guys are going to start this I’m going to get up and leave.’ So, we tabled the discussion for the time being. Kylie opened my eyes to a lot of things.”
