# Shelley Lenz

Shelley Lenz is an American veterinarian, politician, and neuropharmacologist who was the Democratic-NPL nominee for the 2020 North Dakota gubernatorial election.
In the 1990s, Lenz worked in Venezuela on Huntington's disease research. In the 2000s and 2010s, she began two veterinary practices in North Dakota. In 2020, with her running mate Ben Vig, she unsuccessfully ran against incumbent governor, Republican Doug Burgum; Burgum received 69.2% of the vote and Lenz, 26.7%. In 2021, she ran to be the chair of the Democratic-NPL party, and in 2022, for State Senate in Dickinson's district; both were unsuccessful.

## Career

Lenz is originally from Mount Vernon, Ohio. In the 1990s, she received a doctorate in neuropharmacology from the University of Pennsylvania. She worked in Venezuela on the "international project to identify the gene that causes Huntington’s disease". In 2001, she received a veterinary degree from Ohio State University. Afterwards, she worked in California, Kentucky, and South Dakota. In 2007, she moved to North Dakota, and started a veterinary practice in Killdeer. In 2012, she started a second practice in Dickinson. In 2014, she founded Sustainable Vets International, "a non-profit working to create sustainable local economies in underserved regions in such countries as Nicaragua, Uganda, and Pakistan." At some point, she was a member of the Killdeer School Board.

### 2020 North Dakota gubernatorial campaign

In 2020, at age 51, Lenz ran as the Democratic-NPL nominee for the 2020 North Dakota gubernatorial election. Her opponent in the general election, Republican Doug Burgum, was the incumbent governor. She had voted for Burgum in 2016. She announced her candidacy on January 31, 2020, and accepted her party's nomination for governor during a virtual convention held on March 21. (The convention, held from the 19th to the 22nd, was not held in-person due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Her running mate was Ben Vig, a farmer and former state representative.
Lenz' campaign was difficult as a Democrat, because a Republican had been governor for the last five decades. She, along with other Democrats running in North Dakota historically, described herself as different from the major figures in her party. She said she "identifies with certain aspects of the political platforms of Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump". Lenz criticized Burgum's approach to healthcare and the pandemic; she said that, by that point, she would have enacted a mask mandate for every North Dakotan. She also said he did not invest enough in the state's western agricultural and oil industries. She also advocated for Juneteenth to become a federal holiday. On July 21, 2020, Karen Stoker, Burgum's wife from 1991 to 2003, endorsed Lenz for governor. The two candidates, as well as the Libertarian candidate DuWayne Hendrickson, had a televised debate on October 21. On October 26, Joe Biden endorsed Lenz. She was also endorsed by the state's AFL-CIO.
By the election on November 3, Lenz had raised $297,000 in campaign donations, while Burgum had raised $1.3 million. Burgum won the election. He won at 69.2% with 235,479 votes, compared to Lenz' 26.7% with 90,789 votes. He earned 144,690 more votes. DuWayne Hendrickson received 13,853 votes, at 4.1%.

### Since 2020

In February 2021, Lenz announced her campaign to be the chair of the Democratic-NPL party. Her running mate for vice chair, Cesar Alvarez, is a citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation who is an advocate for Native American voting access and unsuccessfully campaigned to be a state representative in 2016. In the party's vote on May 8, 2021, they selected Patrick Hart to be the new chair.
In February 2022, Lenz called for the North Dakota State Investment Board to divest from all Russian bonds in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In March 2022, Lenz announced a campaign for the state senate in Dickinson, which is district 37. She ran as an independent. She did not appear on the ballot for the general election in November 2022.

## Personal life

Lenz lives in both Killdeer and Dickinson. She is an atheist.