Tom Udall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
Tom Udall
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2009 Serving with Jeff Bingaman |
|
| Preceded by | Pete Domenici |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| In office January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2009 |
|
| Preceded by | Bill Redmond |
| Succeeded by | Ben R. Luján |
|
|
|
| In office 1991 – 1999 |
|
| Preceded by | Harold Stratton |
| Succeeded by | Patricia Madrid |
|
|
|
| Born | May 18, 1948 Tucson, Arizona |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Jill Cooper |
| Residence | Santa Fe, New Mexico |
| Alma mater | Prescott College, Cambridge University, University of New Mexico School of Law (J.D.) |
| Profession | attorney |
| Religion | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
Thomas Stewart Udall (born May 18, 1948) is the junior United States Senator from New Mexico and a member of the Democratic Party. He had represented New Mexico's 3rd congressional district as a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1999. Udall was elected as the junior United States senator from New Mexico on November 4, 2008, defeating Congressman Steve Pearce.
Contents |
[edit] Education and family
Tom Udall's family can be traced to territorial New Mexico, and he was born in Tucson, Arizona. He attended Prescott College, graduating with a pre-law degree in 1970. In 1975, he graduated from Cambridge University in England with a Bachelor of Law degree. That fall, he enrolled in the University of New Mexico School of Law and graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1977. After graduating, Udall was Law Clerk to Chief Judge Oliver Seth of the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. His legal career then included appointments as Assistant US Attorney in the criminal division and Chief Counsel to the Department of Health and Environment. A partnership followed in the Miller Law Firm.
He is the son of Stewart Udall, who was Secretary of the Interior from 1961 to 1969, nephew of Arizona Congressman Morris Udall, and 1st cousin of Colorado Senator Mark Udall and double second cousin of former Oregon Senator Gordon Smith.[1] He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[2] In addition, Senator Udall (D-NM) is the first cousin of Senator Udall (D-CO). The frequent occurrence of the Udall surname in politics has prompted several Washington insiders to state that there are "oodles of Udalls on the Hill".
[edit] Political career
In 1982, Udall ran for Congress in the newly-created 3rd District, but lost the Democratic primary to Bill Richardson. He ran for Congress again in the 1st District for the seat left open by retiring 20-year incumbent Manuel Lujan, but narrowly lost to Bernalillo County District Attorney Steven Schiff.
From 1991 to 1999 he served as Attorney General of New Mexico.[3]
[edit] U.S. House of Representatives
Udall ran for Congress again in 1998 in the 3rd District against Bill Redmond, who had been elected in a 1997 special election to replace Richardson. Redmond was a conservative Republican representing a heavily Democratic district, and the 3rd's partisan tilt was enough for Udall to defeat Redmond with 53 percent of the vote to Redmond's 43 percent.[4] Udall never faced another close contest, and was reelected four times, including a completely unopposed run in 2002. He won a fifth term in the 2006 midterm elections he was reelected with 75 percent of the vote, defeating Republican Ron Dolin.
Tom Udall belonged to both the centrist New Democrat Coalition and the somewhat more liberal Congressional Progressive Caucus. He was also a member of the United States House Peak Oil Caucus.[5]
[edit] Committee assignments
- United States House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations
- Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Legislative Branch
- Co-Vice Chair of the House Native American Caucus
[edit] 2008 U.S. Senate campaign
In November 2007 he announced he would give up his congressional seat to run in the 2008 Senate election in New Mexico to replace Pete Domenici, who was retiring.[6] The only other Democrat in the race, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez, dropped out in December, essentially handing the nomination to Udall. New Mexico's other two members of the House, 1st District Congresswoman Heather Wilson and 2nd District Congressman Steve Pearce, also gave up their seats to run in the Republican primary. Pearce won the Republican nomination, and lost to Udall in November 2008 elections. Democrat Ben R. Luján went on to win Udall's House seat.
While Udall was running for senate in New Mexico, his first cousin, congressman Mark Udall, ran for the Colorado Senate seat left open by the retirement of Wayne Allard. Their double second cousin, incumbent Gordon Smith of Oregon, also ran in a Senate election against Jeff Merkley. While Mark and Tom Udall are Democrats, Smith is a Republican.
Tom Udall won his Senate race with 61% of the vote.
[edit] U.S. Senate
[edit] Committee assignments
- Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
- Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion
- Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance
- Subcommittee on Science and Space
- Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
- Committee on Environment and Public Works
- Committee on Rules and Administration
- Committee on Indian Affairs
- Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
[edit] See also
- Udall family (political family)
[edit] References
- ^ Udall family of Arizona at the Political Graveyard
- ^ Taylor, Scott (February 28, 2009). "Congress includes 14 Church members". LDS Church News (Deseret News).
- ^ "Ten things to know about Senate hopeful Rep. Tom Udall". Albuquerque Tribune. November 29, 2007. http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/nov/29/ten-things-know-about-senate-hopeful-rep-tom-udall/. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
- ^ "Udall wins Redmond's New Mexico House seat". Associated Press. 4 November 1998. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/1998/states/NM/H/03/. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
- ^ Rep. Tom Udall on resource depletion and climate change Global Public Media, December 9, 2005
- ^ Baker, Deborah (November 10, 2007). "New Mexico Rep. Tom Udall to seek Democratic nomination for Senate". Associated Press (SignOnSanDiego.com). http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20071110-1445-newmexico-senate.html. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tom Udall |
- Senator Tom Udall official U.S. Senate website
- Udall For Us All official campaign website
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
- Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
- Congressional profile at GovTrack.us
- Tom Udall at the Open Directory Project
- Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
- Profile and issue positions at Votimus.com
- Profile at About.com
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Harold Stratton |
Attorney General of New Mexico 1991–1999 |
Succeeded by Patricia A. Madrid |
| United States House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by Bill Redmond |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Mexico's 3rd congressional district 1999-2009 |
Succeeded by Ben R. Luján |
| United States Senate | ||
| Preceded by Pete Dominici |
United States Senator (Class 2) from New Mexico January 3, 2009 – present Served alongside: Jeff Bingaman |
Incumbent |
| Order of precedence in the United States of America | ||
| Preceded by Mark Udall (D-Colorado) |
United States Senators by seniority 89th |
Succeeded by Mike Johanns (R-Nebraska) |
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
