James Abdnor (b. February 13, 1923) is a politician from the state of South Dakota.
Abdnor was born in Kennebec, South Dakota and he graduated from the University of Nebraska. He served in the United States Army during World War II. He served in the South Dakota state Senate from 1956 to 1968. He was the Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota from 1969 to 1970. In 1972, he was elected to the House of Representatives as a Republican. In 1980, he ran against George McGovern for the United States Senate. Abdnor claimed McGovern was out of touch with the state and he defeated McGovern by a large margin. After a winning a bruising primary campaign to Bill Janklow, Abdnor lost in 1986 to Tom Daschle. He was the administrator of the Small Business Administration from 1987 to 1989. He served in an advisory capacity for John Thune's successful unseating of Dascle in the 2004 elections.
