| Joe Donnelly | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 2nd district |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2007 |
|
| Preceded by | Chris Chocola |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph Simon Donnelly, Sr. September 29, 1955 Massapequa, New York |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Jill Donnelly |
| Residence | Granger, Indiana |
| Alma mater | University of Notre Dame Notre Dame Law School |
| Occupation | Attorney Businessman |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Joseph Simon "Joe" Donnelly, Sr.[1] (born September 29, 1955[2]) is the U.S. Representative for Indiana's 2nd congressional district, serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Donnelly announced Monday May 9 that he would run for the United States Senate seat that is held by Republican Richard Lugar.
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Joe Donnelly was born in Flushing, New York.[3] He graduated from Notre Dame in 1977 and earned his law degree from Notre Dame Law School in 1981. He practiced law until 1996, when he opened Marking Solutions, a printing and rubber stamp company.[4]
Donnelly held two public positions before deciding to run for Congress. From 1988 to 1989 he served on the Indiana State Election Board, which was charged with ensuring accurate election results. He served on a local school board from 1997 to 2001, serving as president of the board from 2000 to 2001.[4]
He ran a campaign for Indiana Attorney General in 1988, but lost at the Democratic state convention. He also ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Indiana State Senate in 1990.[3]
Donnelly ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination in the second district, where he faced off against incumbent Chris Chocola.[5] Chocola was helped by several fundraising visits from President George W. Bush, and was able to outspend Donnelly by a two to one margin, $1.4 million to $700,000. Donnelly lost the election, 54%–45%.[6] Due to his relatively late entrance into the contest, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) did not offer much support to Donnelly's 2004 campaign. This would change in 2006, when the race was identified by the DCCC as a "Red-to-Blue" contest and extra funds were sent from out of the district in an effort to win back control of the House of Representatives.
| General election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Chris Chocola (incumbent) | 140,496 | 54.2% | ||
| Democratic | Joe Donnelly | 115,513 | 44.5% | ||
| Libertarian | Douglas Barnes | 3,346 | 1.3% | ||
| Turnout | 259,355 | 62% | |||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
On May 2, 2006, Donnelly defeated Steve Francis for the Democratic nomination, setting up a rematch against Chris Chocola.[7]
Because Chocola was a strong supporter of George W. Bush, the race was expected to be more competitive than in 2004 in light of Bush's waning popularity. The website Moveon.org identified Donnelly as a top contender to defeat a Republican incumbent in the house, and began running its "Red-Handed" ads against Chocola early in the campaign. Chocola still maintained a significant money advantage over Donnelly, but in 2006, Donnelly had enough to maintain a competitive advertising presence throughout the campaign.
The campaign was heated, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sponsoring ads attacking Chocola as being beholden to monied interests in the insurance, pharmaceutical, and energy industries. Chocola returned fire by attacking Donnelly over a late tax filing and by attempting to link him to liberal House leader Nancy Pelosi.[8]
On November 7, 2006, Donnelly defeated Chris Chocola by 15,145 votes, or 8% of a substantially larger total of votes relative to 2004.[9] The key difference between the 2006 and 2004 elections for Donnelly lay in the results within St. Joseph County, the location of South Bend and by far the largest county in the district. Traditionally reliably Democratic, voters in the county chose Donnelly over Chocola by only a few hundred votes in the 2004 election. In 2006, however, Donnelly amassed 58% of the county's votes, generating a 14,000-vote margin.
Donnelly was named to the House Financial Services Committee for the 110th Congress.[10]
| General election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Joe Donnelly | 103,561 | 54.0% | ||
| Republican | Chris Chocola (incumbent) | 88,300 | 46.0% | ||
| Turnout | 191,861 | 44% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | Swing | ||||
Donnelly ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination. In the general election, he received 67.1% of the vote, winning against Republican nominee Luke Puckett and Libertarian nominee Mark Vogel.
| General election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Joe Donnelly (incumbent) | 187,416 | 67.1% | ||
| Republican | Luke Puckett | 84,455 | 30.2% | ||
| Libertarian | Mark Vogel | 7,475 | 2.7% | ||
| Turnout | 279,346 | 62% | |||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
Donnelly ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination. In the general election, he was challenged by Republican nominee State Representative Jackie Walorski. Despite huge GOP gains Donnelly was re-elected with 48% of the vote to Walorski's 47%.
| General election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Joe Donnelly (incumbent) | 91,341 | 48.2% | ||
| Republican | Jackie Walorski | 84,455 | 46.8% | ||
| Libertarian | Mark Vogel | 9,447 | 5.0% | ||
| Turnout | 189,591 | 41% | |||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
Donnelly is a member of Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate Democrats in Congress. In March 2007, he was recognized as "Blue Dog of the Week" for his work on helping small businesses.[11] He has also broken with the Democratic leadership on several budgetary issues, including the 2008 fiscal budget proposal.[12] In June 2007, he was ranked as one of the ten most independent Democrats by a nonpartisan Congressional Quarterly report.[13]
Donnelly has supported attempts to patch the Alternative Minimum Tax. Additionally, he has co-sponsored HR 976, The Small Business Tax Relief, Act[14][15][16]
In July 2007, Donnelly joined 221 other House members in voting for HR 2956, the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act. This legislation contained a deadline for withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.[17]
Serving on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, supported legislation that was the largest increase in funding for veterans in history (Fiscal Year 2008 Military Construction and Veterans’ Affairs Appropriations).[18] Since taking office, he has worked to improve the conditions at Walter Reed Hospital[19] by supporting H.R.1538, The Wounded Warrior Assistance Act.[20] He has worked across the aisle with Republican Congressman Fred Upton to introduce H.R. 1490, The Fairness in Veterans Disability Benefits Act, which reduces waiting time for veterans deserving disability benefits.[21] Donnelly has introduced legislation to create a rural advisory board for veterans[22] and fought to improve private-care options for veterans struck with traumatic brain injury.[23] He has also worked to open an outpatient clinic in Elkhart, IN and an inpatient hospital in South Bend, IN.[24][25]
Donnelly strongly supports expanding health care so it covers a greater number of people. Because many are losing their insurance as a result of losing their jobs, or because their small business cannot afford to provide workers with health care, Donnelly suggests revising the health care plan so that all Americans are covered, as opposed to the 46 million that are currently uninsured.[26] On March 21, 2010, Joe Donnelly voted in favor of approving the Senate version of the Democrats' health care reform bill.[27]
To fix what Donnelly calls the “country’s immigration crisis” he wants to start by securing the borders and have more agents patrolling the perimeter. He suggests using E-Verify, a program he supports that allows employers to verify if their workers are legal by checking with databases from the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.[28] The interest groups English First, Federation for American Immigration Reform, and Americans for a Better Immigration have all been supporters of Donnelly’s work, while the National Latino Congreso has adamantly criticized his efforts.[29]
The National Rifle Association has consistently supported Joe Donnelly on his views on gun control. He helped promote a project that would get rid of gun registration and the trigger lock law in Washington D.C.[30] The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has disapproved of Donnelly’s views and actions since 1998, based on his gun control voting records.[29] He values family traditions and human life; therefore, he is working on making inappropriate content on the web, television, and radio unavailable to children. Donnelly is morally opposed to abortion, and is trying to make adoption more accessible to families.[31]
In 2011, he co-sponsored HR 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.[32] The bill contained an exception for "forcible rape," which opponents criticized as potentially excluding drug-facilitated rape, date rape, and other forms of rape.[33] The bill also allowed an exception for minors who are victims of incest.[32]
Donnelly has announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Republican U.S Senator Richard Lugar in the 2012 U.S Senate election.
Donnelly and his wife, Jill, have two children. They reside in Granger, Indiana.
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Chris Chocola |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 2nd congressional district January 3, 2007 – present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Joe Courtney D-Connecticut |
United States Representatives by seniority 271st |
Succeeded by Keith Ellison D-Minnesota |