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Former member of Congress · last served 111th Congress

Official portrait of Sen. Byron L. Dorgan

Byron L. Dorgan

DEMOCRAT U.S. Senator · North DakotaSenate 1991–2011 · House 1981–1993 (ND-AL)

Byron Dorgan was a Democratic U.S. senator from North Dakota, first elected to Congress in 1981, who sponsored 5 bills that became law (100th–111th Congress).

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469Bills & resolutions sponsored100th–111th Congress (excludes amendments)
32Passed a chamberof 469 bills & resolutions sponsored
5Became law5 substantive + 0 ceremonial · 100th–111th Congress
—Broke with partyNo roll calls in PORKER’s records (they start in 2011)
—Missed votesNo roll calls in PORKER’s records (they start in 2011)
—Pork: own shareFY2024 earmarks: not in office

How we count: “Broke with party” is a yes/no roll call where the member voted against most of their own party on that vote (party as recorded; even splits not counted). “Pork: own share” splits each earmark shared by several members evenly among them.

Recent votes

No recorded roll-call votes in PORKER’s records. Roll-call records start in 2011.

5 most recent bills

Top bills sponsored

Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.

Elections Sen. Dorgan has won

Sen. Dorgan has won 5 U.S. House elections (1980–1990) and 3 U.S. Senate elections (1992, 1998, 2004). Of the contested races, margins ran from 14.2 to 57.4 points.

010204060Margin of victory, points (axis starts at 0)1980, ND-AL: won by 14.2 points1980ND-AL1982, ND-AL: won by 43.9 points19821984, ND-AL: won by 57.4 points19841986, ND-AL: won by 52.1 points19861990, ND-AL: won by 30.4 points19901992, ND Senate: won by 20.1 points1992ND Senate1998, ND Senate: won by 28.0 points19982004, ND Senate: won by 36.6 points2004
Democratic winRepublican winseat changed partyunopposed
Elections won8 in the data (1976–2024); losses are not listed
Closest win: 14.2 points1980, ND-AL
Won an open seat or took one from the other party2 of 8 elections (open seat or changed party)
Seat history, North Dakota (at-large)Winners, most recent three: Kevin Cramer (R) 2012–2016 → Kelly Armstrong (R) 2018–2022 → Julie Fedorchak (R) 2024. Elections shown, not terms; special elections not included.
Seat history, North Dakota Senate (class 3)Winners in regular elections, most recent three: Kent Conrad (D) 1986 → Byron Dorgan (D) 1992–2004 → John Hoeven (R) 2010–2022. The seat is next on the ballot in 2028.

Full election history for this seat →

Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. House V15 / U.S. Senate V8 (CC0), retrieved 2026-10-18; winners matched to member records by seat and term. Results run through the 2024 elections; nothing from 2026 is shown until it is certified. A margin is a fact about one election, never a score of how well a member represents anyone, and PORKER does not rank members by it.

How has North Dakota done while Sen. Dorgan served?

2005 to 2010 in North Dakota: typical household income was up 6% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was up 1.8 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was about the same.

Typical household income · after inflationU.S. $72.4KNorth Dakota $70.4K
North Dakota: $66.3K in 2005 → $70.4K in 2010
North Dakota up 6%U.S. down 3%
Share of people below the poverty lineU.S. 15.3%North Dakota 13.0%
North Dakota: 11.2% in 2005 → 13.0% in 2010
North Dakota up 1.8 pointsU.S. up 2.0 points
Share of workers looking for a jobU.S. 10.8%North Dakota 3.9%
North Dakota: 3.8% in 2005 → 3.9% in 2010
North Dakota about the sameU.S. up 3.9 points

Each mini chart has its own scale, fitted to its lines (it does not start at zero), so compare the numbers, not the heights. Oxblood = state, grey = U.S.

While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in North Dakota during Dorgan’s time representing it (1991 to 2011). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.

Survey years start at 2005. The yearly estimates for North Dakota begin in 2005, so 1991 to 2004 are not shown. No 2020 yearly estimate exists.

See the full 20-year record →Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates (tables B19013, B17001, B23001) and BLS CPI-U-RS for inflation, retrieved October 18, 2026. “About the same” means the change is inside the 90% margins of error. Who held the seat: Congress.gov member service records, year level.

Official records on bills this member sponsored

111th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 42 bills sponsored.

RecordBillsSource
Bills sponsored42Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them →
With a CBO cost estimate listed7See the 7 →
With a committee report listed9See the 9 →
With a Congress.gov note3See the 3 →
Evidence
How counted
Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 111th Congress, read from the stored Congress.gov bill records
Fields
cboCostEstimates, committeeReports, constitutionalAuthorityStatementText, notes
PORKER copy refreshed
October 26, 2026 (nightly)

Read this first. These are counts of records Congress.gov lists. Many bills never get a CBO estimate or a report, so a zero is not a mark against a member. We never show this as a score.

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Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.