Amy Klobuchar: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox Senator | name=Amy Klobuchar |
{{Infobox Senator | name=Amy Klobuchar |
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| image name=Senator_Amy_Klobuchar.jpg |
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| jr/sr=Junior Senator |
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| state=[[Minnesota]] |
| state=[[Minnesota]] |
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Revision as of 03:20, 31 January 2007
Amy Klobuchar | |
|---|---|
| File:Senator Amy Klobuchar.jpg | |
| United States Senator from Minnesota | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2007– Serving with Norm Coleman | |
| Preceded by | Mark Dayton |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Democratic-Farmer-Labor |
| Spouse | John Bessler |
Amy Jean Klobuchar (born May 25, 1960 in Plymouth, Minnesota) is a former county attorney of Hennepin County, Minnesota, and current United States Senator from Minnesota (see 2006 Minnesota United States Senate election). Her name is pronounced "KLOH-buh-shar". Along with Claire McCaskill of Missouri, she is one of two female senators in the 110th United States Congress freshman class.
Klobuchar was first elected to county attorney in 1998 and re-elected in 2002 with no opposition. In 2001 she was selected "Attorney of the Year" by Minnesota Lawyer. 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 one of Minnesota's top law firms, Dorsey & Whitney, where former Vice President Walter Mondale also works. In addition, Klobuchar was a partner at another top Minnesota law firm Gray Plant and Mooty before seeking public office.
Klobuchar 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.[1] Her senior thesis, later published as the book, Uncovering the Dome, was a 300 page history of the politics and issues surrounding the development of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. She received the degree of Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School. Klobuchar is married to attorney John Bessler and has a daughter, Abigail. They live in Minneapolis. Her father, Jim Klobuchar, is an author and retired columnist for the Star Tribune, the largest newspaper in Minnesota.
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. Klobuchar won the DFL's endorsement on June 9, 2006.
Klobuchar gained the early endorsement 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%. Klobuchar was endorsed by EMILY's List on 29 September, 2005. On January 20, 2006, Wetterling dropped out of the race and endorsed Klobuchar. The only other serious candidate for the DFL endorsement was veterinarian Ford Bell, who dropped out of the race on July 10 and also endorsed Klobuchar. Former Senate candidate and prominent lawyer Mike Ciresi, who was widely seen as the only other serious potential DFL candidate, indicated on February 7, 2006 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.[2]
In the general election, she faced Constitution candidate Ben Powers, Republican candidate Mark Kennedy, Independence Party candidate Robert Fitzgerald, and Green Party candidate Michael Cavlan. 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.
With her win, she is the first elected female Senator from Minnesota (Muriel Humphrey, the first female Senator, was appointed to fill her husband's unexpired term, not elected). Klobuchar consistently led Kennedy throughout the campaign by single or double digits depending on the poll.[3]
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 her senior Senator Norm Coleman. This was to the delight of Klobuchar who 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. Klobuchar stated she would be “98th in Senate seniority, a ranking which affects everything from office space to committee assignments.”[4] A late January, 2007 Survey USA poll showed Klobuchar to be widely popular in Minnesota; her approval rating was 56%-30%. [citation needed]
Issue stances as a senator
Along with fellow Minnesota senator, Norm Coleman, Klobuchar opposed President Bush's plan to increase troop levels in Iraq in January, 2007.[5]
Personal
Amy Klobuchar is of Slovenian descent.
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%
References
- ^ 1982 Yale Banner, p. 394.
- ^ 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. (Nov. 14, 2006). "Ellison skips White House reception to attend AFL-CIO meeting". McClatchy Company.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) Retrieved on Nov. 16, 2006 - ^ Diaz, Kevin (2007-01-08). "Minnesota delegation offers cool response". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2007-01-09.