Vandel A. Diehl

Vandel "Vinnie" Alexander Diehl was born on August 2nd, 1938 in rural North Dakota. He would eventually become a senator for over thirty years before being selected by then nominee Rashid Baharia to become Vice President. After leaving office, he retired to the Diehl family ranch and continues to actively stump for other Democratic candidates.

Early Life and Education
While Diehl spent two years on the medical track upon entering university, he would quickly switch to a more law-focused one, though he would graduate with a concentration in ecology given his own interest in nature. After graduating and his subsequent years at law school, Diehl went on to work as a clerk for the North Dakota Supreme Court. He then was offered a job as a clerk by a local firm. Within a few months later, he became a public defender and would continue to serve in the position for three years. Diehl also married Rosanne E. Mydland as she was studying in the adjacent School of Medicine, eventually having five children: Frank, Annabelle, Wick, Eva and Margaret.

Early Political Career
Diehl prepared to launch a campaign for Commissioner of Fargo, North Dakota in 1965. His campaign prevailed against a largely complacent and weak opposition in nineteen sixty-six. His victory to the four-year term marked the beginning of his political aspirations. His time in office as a city commissioner was largely focused on supporting local endeavors to help expand the local city’s economy away from agriculture. He remained a proponent of nature, being one of the first councilmembers across America to advocate for parks and recreational spaces albeit only one park would be constructed during his seven-year tenure. It would later be renamed the Vandel A. Diehl Park in his honor. Thus, Diehl would win a second term as commissioner in 1970 once again, this time adding a piece to his platform of helping repair the roads of Fargo. He cited infrastructure as something the local government deserved to have the resources to address and it would become one of the first times he would interact with state and federal officials as he lobbied them on behalf of the city.

With the unfortunate passing of incumbent North Dakota U.S. Senator Quentin Burdick due to a plane crash, the then-Democratic governor of North Dakota, Arthur A. Link, had largely been expected to nominate either a well-known state legislator or perhaps a former Governor. But political infighting eventually led the governor selecting Diehl given his youth and also holding a record of public service. Diehl became the appointed Senator of North Dakota to see out the remainder of the term from 1973 to the special election the following year in 1974. His early time in the Senate was marked by a focus on local infrastructure support especially with regards to North Dakota and other Great Plain states as well as a distinct focus on environmental issues through what he called a “rancher’s perspective”. As for his first re-election, he was projected to face a difficult battle especially as his party allies remained hesitant to back him. Eventually though, this turned around thanks to national endorsements leading to his close yet confident victory over the Republican opponent.

United States Senate
Diehl's tenure since then would be marked by elections that he would often win handily with margins ranging from 10% to 20%. Generally seen as part of the New Deal wing of the Democratic Party, characterized as a ‘farmer’ type Democrat who helped score victories across the Midwest and Great Plains for the party, and despite his initial progressive political beginnings, Diehl remains a characteristic figure of the Democratic party establishment.

In the Senate, Diehl would adopt a number of issues throughout his tenure. His time as a public defender often led to his rallying call for tough-on-crime approaches that while he would later openly regret, it remained a key piece of his political tenure. Similarly, he made environmental issues a priority and often was a major proponent for conservation strategies to be employed to help manage prairies and grasslands. Additionally, while he was a major proponent of civil rights given national attitudes towards minority groups like African-Americans and Latin-Americans, he was often scrutinized then for his relationships to many segregationists and racists in his time in Congress, and even more now. This particularly led to his open stance against desegregation busing calling it unnecessary and a number of other critiques of the proposal. Additionally, Diehl's stances on homosexuality have changed since then given his support for the Defense of Marriage Act and his open reversal under the Baharia Administration.

His relatively safe seat in North Dakota led to his climb through the ranks to eventually chair the Senate Judiciary Committee and after a number of Congressional trips and time on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he too would eventually chair it.

Presidential Campaigns
Diehl's strategic location in the Midwest also made him a target of supporters who wanted a presidential candidate, especially a young and measured one like the North Dakotan. Thus, “Vinnie” as he began to be affectionately called throughout his tenure, mounted not one but two presidential campaigns in 1988 and 2008. Both times he did not win and eventually endorsed the final nominee yet it has decidedly marked his reputation as an ambitious Senator.

Vice Presidency
Diehl and then nominee Rashid Baharia had gotten well-acquainted in the Senate and given Diehl’s home state as well as his moderate positions, he was selected as the 2008 Democratic nominee for Vice President. The Baharia-Diehl ticket won in 2008 and then again in 2012 with decisive victories.

Diehl became the first Catholic Vice President and has consistently remained popular among Democrats thanks to his “bromance” with Baharia. As for his actual time in the position, he has remained a staunch advocate of the administration and helped pass a number of pieces of legislation including the signature Bahariacare aka the Affordable Care Act. Similarly, given his brother’s service, he became a face for the administration’s efforts to help address problems within the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. Similarly, given his Senate experience, he conducted a number of diplomatic tours and hosted a number of foreign ambassadors often as an extension of Baharia’s diplomatic goals. This has been a significant piece of his role in the Baharia White House, often helping guide foreign policy and being an effective policy strategist. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom towards the end of his tenure and continued to be a major campaigner for dozens of Democrats during the 2010 and 2014 midterm elections.

Post Vice Presidency
As the election for President came up in 2016 and his own tenure as Vice President closing, many suspected that Diehl would potentially mount a campaign for President. Diehl had been in the planning stages of the campaign but the unexpected death of his oldest daughter, Annabelle, due to complications with a respiratory illness, led to an almost immediate reversal in plans and his own subsequent decision to not run. He also remained a diligent fundraiser for the DNC though he returned to his family’s ranch. He also has published a book detailing his childhood and early years as a commissioner of Fargo and how that experience formed the foundation of his political career, including where he detailed a number of personal details and anecdotes.

Citing dozens of reasons ranging from 'wanting fresh voices' to 'personal decisions', Diehl declined to announce a formal bid for President in 2020.