Stenehjem ran for the Republican nomination for a seat on the North Dakota Public Service Commission in 2008 to succeed the retiring Commissioner, Susan Wefald.
[1] Stenehjem lost the nomination during the North Dakota Republican Party's state convention on March 29, 2008, coming in second place to eventual nominee Brian Kalk, a professor at North Dakota State University, during the North Dakota Republican Party state convention March 29, 2008.
He was a member of Ducks Unlimited and the National Rifle Association of America.
He was the brother of North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem.
[4] On July 18, 2011, Stenehjem was killed in a single vehicle auto accident near Soldotna, Alaska, where his brother, John and son, Rob live.