Odin Langen
Odin Elsford Stanley Langen was an American politician from the state of Minnesota. He served six terms in the United States [House of Representatives] from 1959 to 1971.
Early life and career
Odin Langen was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His family moved to Kennedy, Minnesota around 1914. He attended the public schools and Dunwoody Institute in Minneapolis from 1933 to 1934. He engaged in farming in Kittson County near Kennedy, Minnesota and was associated with Production Marketing Administration in Kittson County, Minnesota from 1935 to 1950.Political career
Langen was a member of the Kennedy School Board and served as its president from 1948 to 1950. Langen also served on the South Red River Town Board from 1947 to 1950. He was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives where he served from 1951 to 1959. He became the Republican leader of the state house in 1957.In 1958, he ran for the United States House of Representatives against the incumbent DFL Party representative Coya Knutson. Although Knutson was initially expected to win the race, her husband released a letter now known as the "Coya, Come Home" letter publicly pleading with her to give up her career in Washington. The letter damaged her campaign and Langen won by 1,390 votes.
Langen voted in favor of the Civil [Rights Act of 1960|Civil Rights Acts of 1960], 1964,and 1968, as well as the Twenty-fourth Amendment to [the United States Constitution|24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution] and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
He won re-election five times serving on the United States [House Committee on Agriculture|Agriculture] and Appropriations. In 1970, Langen faced off against Robert Bergland, whom he defeated in 1968 [United States House of Representatives elections|1968]. Bergland, a farmer and former United [States Department of Agriculture|Agriculture Department] official, benefited from local agricultural concerns and defeated Langen.