Gaylord Kent Conrad (born March 12, 1948) is a former United States Senator from North Dakota. He is a member of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, the North Dakota affiliate of the Democratic Party. First elected to the Senate in 1986, he served as chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee for twelve years.On January 18, 2011, Conrad announced that he would not run for re-election in 2012, but will instead retire.