Amy Klobuchar
Amy Klobuchar | |
|---|---|
| File:Sen Amy Klobuchar.JPG | |
| Junior Senator-Elect, Minnesota | |
| In office Starts January 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Mark Dayton |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Democratic-Farmer-Labor |
| Spouse | John Bessler |
| 1Klobuchar was elected to replace the retiring Dayton in the 2006 election and will take office in January 2007. | |
Amy Jean Klobuchar (born May 25, 1960 in Plymouth, Minnesota) is the county attorney of Hennepin County, Minnesota and United States Senator-elect from Minnesota (see 2006 Minnesota United States Senate election). Her name is pronounced "KLOH-buh-shar".
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 in political science magna cum laude from Yale University and her Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School. Her senior thesis at Yale, 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. 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 race
Klobuchar was recognized early as a favorite for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party nomination in 2006 for the U.S. Senate seat currently 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.[1]
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 8 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.[2]
Committee Placement
As of Nov. 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 "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 “said 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.”[3]
Personal
Mrs. Klobuchar is of Slovenian descent.
Electoral history
- 2006 Race for U.S. Senate - Minnesota
- Amy Klobuchar (D), 58%
- Mark Kennedy (R), 38%
- Robert Fitzgerald (IPM), 3%
- 1998 Race for Hennepin County Attorney
- Amy Klobuchar, 50.3%
- Sheryl Ramstad Hvass, 49.4%
References
- ^ 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