Kent Conrad
Kent Conrad (born March 12, 1948 in Bismarck , North Dakota ) is an American politician of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party , the party organization of the Democrats in North Dakota. From January 3, 1987 to January 3, 2013, he represented his home state in the United States Senate .
Early years
Kent Conrad spent his youth in Bismarck, the capital of North Dakota, where he was born. He was orphaned at an early age , which is why his grandparents raised him. After attending the public schools in Bismarck, he graduated from the high school of the American air force base in Libya's capital Tripoli in 1966 . He subsequently studied at the University of Missouri at Columbia , earned a further degree from Stanford University and finally an MBA from George Washington University .
Conrad is currently married to Lucy Calautti for the second time. His first marriage to Pam Schafer, sister of former US Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer , was divorced. A daughter emerged from this connection.
Professional and political career
Kent Conrad initially embarked on a career in the civil service. He joined Byron Dorgan , the Tax Commissioner in the North Dakota state government; later he was Conrad's co-senator for years. In 1976, the first application for a political office followed, but he failed in the election to the state auditor of North Dakota. In 1980 he succeeded in taking over from Byron Dorgan , who was elected to the US House of Representatives , as Tax Commissioner . He stayed in this post until 1987.
In 1986, Conrad stood as a challenger to Republican Senator Mark Andrews , who had represented North Dakota in Congress since 1963 ; After 18 years in the House of Representatives, he moved to the Senate in 1981. In the election, Conrad prevailed with a margin of 2100 votes. Since then, he has been a member of the Senate without interruption - albeit not in the same seat that he took on January 3, 1987. During his election campaign, he announced that he would not run again if the national debt of the USA did not decline by the end of his term in office. Since this had not happened in 1992, Conrad kept his promise and renounced to participate in the Primary of the Democrats. This was then won by his former superior Byron Dorgan.
However, when the longtime Democratic Senator Quentin N. Burdick died on September 8, 1992, Conrad was proposed as his successor. He did not see this as re-election, so he did not violate his self-commitment, and ran in the by-election, which he also won, whereupon he replaced Quentin Burdick's provisional wife Jocelyn on December 14, 1992 ; previously he had resigned his class II senator mandate. Byron Dorgan, who was elected as his successor, took over this position the next day by means of an early appointment by Governor George Sinner .
Although North Dakota is considered a more Republican-leaning state, Conrad, like his party colleague Dorgan, has always been confirmed in office since then, expanding his lead over his Republican challengers in every election. In 1994 he won with 58 percent of the vote against Ben Clayburgh, in 2000 with a share of 61 percent against Duane Sand. In the most recent re-election in 2006, he defeated Dwight Grotberg with 68.8 percent of the vote. Previously, Republican party officials had urged Governor John Hoeven to run against. The popular Hoeven, who was considered the only serious challenger for Conrad, turned it down.
In the 2012 Senate election , Conrad did not run again. Heidi Heitkamp was chosen as his successor.
Political positions
Compared to other members of the Democratic Senate Group, Kent Conrad is considered conservative when it comes to abortion and firearms control . He is one of the few democrats who consistently voted against the possibility of a late pregnancy termination ( partial birth abortion ). He also opposes public funding for abortions. In the area of LGBT rights, his voting behavior is not specified. Although he speaks out personally against same-sex marriage , he also voted against its prohibition by the constitution and supported draft laws to protect against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In January 2006, he was one of only four Democratic senators who voted to elect Samuel Alito as Supreme Court Justice .
During the reign of George W. Bush , Conrad opposed his spending policy decisively. He is an opponent of free trade and, as a representative of the agricultural state of North Dakota, campaigns for subsidies for farmers and their families. In 2002 he voted as one of 23 senators against the resolution on the Iraq war . Originally he was in favor of the USA PATRIOT Act ; but later he spoke out against wiretapping without a judicial decision and criticized the conduct with regard to the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base .
Conrad, who was selected by Time Magazine in April 2006 as one of “America's Ten Best Senators”, supported Barack Obama as a Democratic candidate in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election . His political focus is mainly on budget issues; he constantly emphasizes the importance of a balanced national budget. In the Senate he has been chairman of the budget committee since 2007 ; he had previously held this post twice.
Web links
- Kent Conrad in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
- Kent Conrad in nndb (English)
- Collected news and commentary from the New York Times
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Conrad, Kent |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 12, 1948 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bismarck , North Dakota |