Representative Richard M. Nolan

Richard M. Nolan served as a Representative from Minnesota in the United States Congress from 1975 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Richard M. Nolan contributed to the legislative process during 6 terms in office.

Richard M. Nolan’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the House of Representatives, Richard M. Nolan participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

Richard Michael Nolan (December 17, 1943 – October 18, 2024) was an American politician and businessman who served as the U.S. representative from Minnesota’s 8th congressional district from 2013 to 2019. He previously served as the U.S. representative from Minnesota’s 6th congressional district between 1975 and 1981 and was also a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1969 until 1973. After re-entering politics in 2011, he was nominated to challenge first-term incumbent Republican Chip Cravaack in the 8th district, defeating him on November 6, 2012. Nolan was re-elected in 2014 and 2016. Nolan’s 32-year gap between terms in Congress is the second-longest such break in service (after Philip Francis Thomas’s 34-year gap from 1841 to 1875) in American political history. On February 9, 2018, Nolan announced he would retire from Congress at the end of his current term. Nolan ran for Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota as the running mate of Attorney General of Minnesota Lori Swanson in the 2018 gubernatorial election. They were defeated in the August primary by Tim Walz and Peggy Flanagan.