Mike Blouin
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Michael Thomas Blouin (born November 7, 1945), American politician, was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1979, representing Iowa's Second Congressional District. He was a candidate for Iowa Governor in 2006 but lost in the primary to Chet Culver.
[edit] Background
Blouin was born on a Naval Air Base in Jacksonville, Florida and attended school in Miami Shores, Florida and Chicago, Illinois. In 1966 he received a B.A. in political science from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. He remained in Dubuque to teach elementary school, eventually, as a Democrat running for and winning a seat in the Iowa House of Representatives where he served from 1969 to 1973. Blouin then won election to the Iowa Senate, serving from 1973 to 1974. Blouin left his Senate seat in 1974 upon winning election to Congress, representing Iowa's Second Congressional District. Blouin won reelection in 1976, but was defeated in 1978 by Tom Tauke. Blouin was director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development from January 2003 to July 2005, and is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2006.
[edit] Gubernatorial bid
Blouin lost a 2006 Democratic Party primary for Iowa governor, running against a field which included Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver (the primary winner) and seven term state representative Ed Fallon.
Blouin had received the endorsement of more than 80% of the state's Democratic legislators and most of the state's labor unions, including the Teamsters and AFSCME. Mr. Blouin has a pro-life perspective on abortion but had stated that he will not sign any legislation limiting the right to an abortion, even if Roe v. Wade is overturned. He selected pro-choice business executive Dr. Andrea McGuire as his pick to be Lt. Governor. The selection of McGuire was initially questioned by the media and Blouin's opponents because she was registered as a Republican as recently as 2004 and has made past contributions to Republicans including Congressman Jim Nussle, the presumptive 2006 Republican nominee for governor. McGuire also made significant contributions to Democratic candidates within the same time span, and supported Howard Dean's 2004 presidential bid. [1]
[edit] External links
| Preceded by John C. Culver |
U.S. Representative of Iowa's 2nd Congressional District 1974-1978 |
Succeeded by Tom Tauke |
