Swenson (born c. 1957) opposed the filing of legal challenges to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law in 2010 by U.S. President Barack Obama.

His father was a World War II veteran, a municipal employee in Cheyenne, and also worked for several construction companies in Wyoming and Colorado.

[1] A conservative legislator, Osterman served on the House Health and Human Services, (2) Veterans, Military, and Homeland Security, and Judiciary committees.

[10] Early in the 2011 session, Osterman introduced a bill to repeal the state law which grants residency for tuition purposes to aliens.

[11] Strongly pro-life,[12] Osterman introduced legislation to amend laws relating to late-term and partial-birth abortion in Kansas.

[13] Osterman obtained approval of a bill to require photographic identification by voters at the precinct, a measure also adopted in Texas in 2011 and signed into law by Governor Perry.

[14] Osterman advocated for the Kansas Health Care Freedom Act, which would have exempted the state from the federal health-care law.

[15] Osterman's proposal to phase out over five years the state income tax on corporations in Kansas was referred to the House Committee on Taxation on February 7, 2011.

However, Osterman said the costs of administrative overhead is far too great, a situation that he has observed in the Wichita school district office.

[6][17] He sponsored legislation to bring Covenant marriage to Kansas, a commitment that makes it more difficult for a couple to procure a divorce.

[18] In the Republican primary held on August 7, 2012, Osterman narrowly led Jeff A. Blubaugh (born 1972), a real estate broker and investor, 51 to 49 percent.