Republican, North Dakota State Senate, District 26
Chair, Legislative Advisory Board
Dale Patten is a Republican member of the North Dakota State Senate representing District 26. He first took office in 2019 after winning election in District 39, and moved to District 26 following the state’s 2022 redistricting, winning re-election there in 2024. He chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Legislature’s interim Advanced Nuclear Energy Committee, and also sits on the Senate Finance and Taxation Committee. His statutory assignments include the Clean Sustainable Energy Authority, the High-Level Radioactive Waste Advisory Council, and the Cash Management Board.
Before the legislature, Patten spent his career in banking and served on the McKenzie County Commission from 2000 to 2012. He holds a bachelor’s degree in animal science from North Dakota State University. His district covers McKenzie County, the core of North Dakota’s Bakken oil production, and his committee work centers on oil, gas, lignite, and advanced nuclear energy. The North Dakota Petroleum Council recognized his work on energy policy in 2023. That record of legislating on domestic energy production is the basis for his role as Chair of the Council for a Secure America Legislative Advisory Board.
