Brent Sanford served as Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota from 2016 through January 2023.
Brent Sanford served as Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota from 2016 through January 2023 alongside Governor Doug Burgum. Prior to that, he was elected to the Watford City Council in 2006 and became mayor in 2010 — leading the community through the early days of the Bakken oil boom when Watford City became the fastest-growing community in America from 2010-2020.
Sanford graduated from the University of North Dakota with a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1994. He is a Certified Public Accountant. He worked for Eide Bailly LLP from 1994 through 2002, and then became the chief financial officer of Transwest Trucks in Denver, Colorado. He moved back home to Watford City in 2004, taking over his family-run car dealership.
Over the last 15+ years, Sanford has consistently been a public voice of reason for societal, governmental, business, and community challenges facing North Dakota. He was the public voice for the City of Watford City as City Council President and later as Mayor during a period of unprecedented population and economic growth.
Brent took on a statewide leadership role as a public voice, problem solver, ambassador and communicator for the ND Governor’s office from 2016-2023.
