Amy Klobuchar
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| Amy Klobuchar | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2007– Serving with Norm Coleman |
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| Preceded by | Mark Dayton |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Born | May 25, 1960 (age 46) Plymouth, Minnesota |
| Political party | Democratic-Farmer-Labor |
| Spouse | John Bessler |
| Religion | Congregationalist |
Amy Jean Klobuchar (pronounced "KLOH-buh-shar") (born May 25, 1960) is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, an affiliate of the Democratic Party. She is the first woman elected to the Senate by Minnesota and is one of two female senators in the 110th United States Congress freshman class. Formerly county attorney of Hennepin County, she was the chief prosecutor for the most populous county in Minnesota. Klobuchar was legal advisor for former U.S. vice president Walter Mondale and partner in two prominent law firms.[1]
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[edit] Family and education
Born in Plymouth, Minnesota, Klobuchar is the daughter of Jim Klobuchar, an author and retired sportswriter and columnist for the Star Tribune, and Rose, who retired at age 70 from teaching second grade. Jim Klobuchar's grandparents were Slovenian immigrants to the U.S. and his father was a miner on the Iron Range. Klobuchar married the attorney John Bessler in 1993. They have one daughter, Abigail, and live in Minneapolis.[1]
Klobuchar attended public schools in Plymouth and was valedictorian at Wayzata High School. She received her bachelor's degree magna cum laude in political science from Jonathan Edwards College, Yale University in 1982, where she was a member of the Yale College Democrats and the Feminist Caucus.[2] Her senior thesis is a college textbook still used across the U.S. Published as Uncovering the Dome,[3] the 300-page history describes the ten years of politics surrounding the building of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. Klobuchar served as an associate editor of the Law Review and received her J.D. in 1985 at the University of Chicago Law School.[1]
[edit] Career
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Klobuchar was elected county attorney in 1998 and re-elected in 2002 with no opposition. In 2001 Minnesota Lawyer named her "Attorney of the Year". Klobuchar was president of the Minnesota County Attorneys Association from November 2002 to November 2003. Besides working as a prosecutor, Klobuchar was a partner at Dorsey & Whitney, where former Vice President Walter Mondale also works, and a partner at another top Minnesota law firm Gray Plant Mooty before seeking public office.
[edit] 2006 Senate election
Klobuchar was recognized early as a favorite for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party nomination in 2006 for the U.S. Senate seat then held by Mark Dayton. Dayton announced in early 2005 that he would not seek re-election. EMILY's List endorsed Klobuchar on September 29, 2005. Klobuchar won the DFL's endorsement on June 9, 2006.
Klobuchar gained the support of the majority of DFL state legislators in Minnesota during the primaries. A poll taken of DFL state delegates showed Klobuchar beating her then closest opponent, Patty Wetterling, 66% to 15%. In January, Wetterling dropped out of the race and endorsed Klobuchar. Former Senate candidate and prominent lawyer Mike Ciresi, who was widely seen as a serious potential DFL candidate, indicated in early February that he would not enter the race; that removal of her most significant potential competitor for the DFL nomination was viewed as an important boost for Klobuchar.[4] The only other serious candidate for the DFL endorsement was veterinarian Ford Bell, who dropped out of the race in July and also endorsed Klobuchar.
In the general election, she faced Republican candidate Mark Kennedy, Independence Party candidate Robert Fitzgerald, Constitution candidate Ben Powers, and Green Party candidate Michael Cavlan. Klobuchar consistently led Kennedy throughout the campaign by single or double digits depending on the poll.[5] She won with 58% of the vote over Kennedy's 38% and the Independence Party's candidate Robert Fitzgerald at 3% and won all but eight of Minnesota's 87 counties. This landslide victory was the largest U.S. Senate election margin in Minnesota since the 1978 special election.
Klobuchar became the first elected female Senator from Minnesota. Muriel Humphrey, the state's first female senator, was appointed to fill her husband's unexpired term and not elected.
[edit] Committee placement
As of November 14, 2006, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) named Amy Klobuchar to the following committees:
- United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
- United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
- United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
- United States Congress Joint Economic Committee
This continues the practice of Minnesota having two spots on the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, taking Mark Dayton’s spot and joining Minnesota's senior Senator Norm Coleman. Klobuchar said, "the Ag Committee is something I told the people of the state was the committee I wanted to join, because the farm bill is up in 2007. So that's critically important to Minnesota." She also believes the Commerce Committee will give her a chance to focus on jobs, and the Environment and Public Works Committee will give her a perch to address energy issues and global warming.[citation needed] Klobuchar stated she would be “98th in Senate seniority, a ranking which affects everything from office space to committee assignments.”[6] A late January, 2007 Survey USA poll showed Klobuchar to be popular in Minnesota; her approval rating was 56%-30%. [1]
[edit] Political views
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Along with fellow Minnesota senator, Norm Coleman, Klobuchar opposed President Bush's plan to increase troop levels in Iraq in January 2007.[7]
Klobuchar favors universal health care and lower college tuition and opposes free trade agreements that cause loss of jobs in the U.S. She is pro-choice and in favor of embryonic stem cell research. Klobuchar has been a strong advocate for GLBT rights. She has championed middle class issues and opposes privatization of Social Security.[1]
[edit] Electoral history
- 2006 election for U.S. Senate - Minnesota
- Amy Klobuchar (D), 58%
- Mark Kennedy (R), 38%
- Robert Fitzgerald (IPM), 3%
- 1998 election for Hennepin County Attorney
- Amy Klobuchar, 50.3%
- Sheryl Ramstad Hvass, 49.4%
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Senate Web site (2007). U.S. Senator for Minnesota Amy Klobuchar: Biography. Retrieved on 2007-02-23. and White, Deborah, About.com (undated). Inside Profile of Amy Klobuchar, US Senator from Minnesota. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
- ^ 1982 Yale Banner, p. 394.
- ^ Klobuchar, Amy (April 1986). Uncovering the Dome, reprint, Waveland Press. ISBN 0-8813321-86.
- ^ The Friday Line: Can Democrats Get to 6? - The Fix Accessed October 2, 2006
- ^ Full list of poll results at Minnesota United States Senate election, 2006#Polling
- ^ Frommer, Frederic J.. "Ellison skips White House reception to attend AFL-CIO meeting", McClatchy Company, Nov. 14, 2006. Retrieved on Nov. 16, 2006
- ^ Diaz, Kevin (2007-01-08). Minnesota delegation offers cool response. Star Tribune. Retrieved on 2007-01-09.
[edit] External links
- United States Senator Amy Klobuchar, official site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Federal Election Commission - Amy J Klobuchar campaign finance reports and data
- On the Issues - Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar
- OpenSecrets.org - Amy Klobuchar campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart - Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN)
- SourceWatch Congresspedia - Amy Klobuchar
- About.com - Amy Klobuchar
- Amy Klobuchar for United States Senate, official campaign site
- Minnesota Public Radio - Campaign 2006: Amy Klobuchar collected news coverage and commentary
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mark Dayton |
United States Senator (Class 1) from Minnesota 2007- Served alongside: Norm Coleman |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Minnesota's current delegation to the United States Congress |
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| Senators: Norm Coleman (R), Amy Klobuchar (DFL)
Representative(s): Tim Walz (DFL), John Kline (R), Jim Ramstad (R), Betty McCollum (DFL), Keith Ellison (DFL), Michele Bachmann (R), Collin Peterson (DFL), Jim Oberstar (DFL) All delegations: Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming — American Samoa • District of Columbia • Guam • Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands |
Categories: Articles to be expanded since February 2007 | All articles to be expanded | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | 1960 births | American Congregationalists | Living people | Minnesota lawyers | Minnesota politicians | Prosecutors | Slovenian Americans | United States Senators from Minnesota | University of Chicago alumni | Yale University alumni
