Duane Sand (born May 8, 1965) is a Navy Captain, businessman and a North Dakota politician. He is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, and was a U.S. Navy officer during the Iraq War. Sand ran for the United States Senate in North Dakota on the Republican ticket in 2000 against incumbent Kent Conrad of the Democratic-Nonpartisan League, and was called for duty after the election in 2001. Upon returning, he ran for North Dakota's lone House seat in 2004 and 2008, but failed both times to defeat incumbent Earl Pomeroy. In August 2011, Sand announced his bid to become the 2012 Republican nominee for the same Senate seat he ran for 11 years prior. He lost the Republican nomination to Representative Rick Berg. Sand previously served as the North and South Dakota Director for Americans