Ben Nelson

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Ben Nelson
Junior Senator from Nebraska
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2001– Serving with Chuck Hagel
Preceded by	J. Robert Kerrey
Succeeded by	Incumbent (2013)
Born	May 17, 1943 (age 63) McCook, Nebraska
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Diane Nelson
Religion	Methodist

Earl Benjamin "Ben" Nelson (born May 17, 1941) is the junior U.S. Senator from Nebraska, where he was born and has lived for most of his life. Nelson is a Methodist. A Democrat, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000, and is now the leading conservative Democrat in the Senate. The April 2006 Survey USA poll found him to be the most popular senator in the country, with a 73% approval rating from his constituents [1]. In the most recent poll, his approval rating was 68% [2].

[edit] Early life and family

Nelson was born in McCook, a rural southwestern town in Nebraska to Benjamin E. and Birdella Nelson. He earned a BA (1963), MA (1965), and JD (1970) from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was an attorney and insurance executive, winning his first elected office in 1990.

[edit] Political career

[edit] Governor

Nelson was elected governor in the state's fourth-closest gubernatorial race in history (himself only winning the Democratic nomination by 42 votes) in 1990, and was easily re-elected in 1994. During his first race for governor, he ran against Kay A. Orr, the first elected Republican woman in Nebraska.

During the 1990 campaign, Nelson attacked her support for a proposed low-level nuclear waste dump in the state. During his tenure, the Nebraska State Department of Environmental Quality denied the dump's application for an operating license, prompting a law-suit which Nebraska settled for $145 million.

During his tenure in office, Nelson oversaw the only three executions in the state of Nebraska since the lifting of the moratorium in 1973.

Nelson ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1996, but was defeated by Republican businessman and Vietnam veteran Chuck Hagel in one of the noteworthy political upsets of 1996. Nelson left the governor's office in January 1999 after two terms (he was ineligible to run again because of term limits); he was succeeded by Republican Mike Johanns. When he left office, the state had a General Fund surplus balance of almost $300 million and a rainy day fund of $145 million. Nelson cut the sales tax and income tax and cut $157 million in spending. He also was able to passed 8 balanced budgets without resorting to special sessions^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Election to the Senate

Senator Ben Nelson with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD).

Nelson was again nominated by the Democrats for the Senate in 2000 after his fellow Democrat, incumbent Bob Kerrey, announced his retirement. Nelson won that election with 50.99% of the vote after a campaign in which he spent 50% more ($1,004,985) than his opponent, although the race was also inundated with funding from outside groups and the national parties^{[citation needed]}.

In November 2004, it was widely rumored that President Bush would choose Nelson as his agriculture secretary in the cabinet. In the end, the position went to Nelson's gubernatorial successor, Mike Johanns.

[edit] Political positions and votes

[edit] Cooperation with Republicans

Sen. Nelson and Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) discuss social security reform on Meet the Press with Tim Russert. Both Nelson and Chafee are seen as moderates within their parties, who have the potential to appeal to members of the other sides.

On May 23, 2005, Nelson was one of fourteen Senators to forge a compromise on the Democrats' use of the judicial filibuster, thus blocking the Republican leadership's attempt to implement the so-called "nuclear option". Under the agreement, the Democrats would retain the power to filibuster one of President Bush's judicial nominees only in an "extraordinary circumstance", and the three most conservative Bush appellate court nominees (Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen and William Pryor) would receive a vote by the full Senate. Subsequently, he was the only Democratic senator to vote in favor of Brown; he was later the first Democratic senator to support Samuel Alito's confirmation to the Supreme Court. Nelson also has voted twice, with three other Democrats, to end Senate debate over President Bush's UN Ambassador nominee John Bolton.

President Bush has nicknamed Nelson "The Benator." Originally, Bush nicknamed him "Nellie," but Nelson jokingly complained that he would prefer a "tougher" nickname.

[edit] Views on abortion

Nelson is one of few Democrats in the Senate with a pro-life voting record. Nelson is a member of the Democrats for Life of America, a national organization for pro-life members of the Democratic party that advocates a 95% reduction in the number of abortions performed over the next 10 years. In the 2006 election, Nelson was endorsed by Nebraska Right to Life [3] and Nebraskans United for Life [4] - the two largest pro-life organizations in the state.

[edit] Other votes

Nelson's votes in the Senate have often placed him at odds with the leadership of his party. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) has said that Nelson is probably the most conservative Democrat in the Senate. This perception is supported by a National Journal congressional vote rating from 2006, which placed Nelson to the right of five Senate Republicans (Gordon Smith, Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter, Susan Collins, and Lincoln Chafee). Mary Landrieu was the only other Democrat to place to the right of any Republicans (she placed to the right of Chafee). [5] A similar 2007 National Journal congressional vote rating went even further, placing him to the right of eight Senate Republicans (the above five as well as Richard Lugar, Norm Coleman, and Mike DeWine), with Landrieu once again placing to the right of Chafee and being the only other Democrat to place to the right of any Republicans. [6]

Nelson was one of only two Democratic senators to vote against the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. Nelson supports eliminating the estate tax and voted in favor of both the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003. He has voted with Republicans on matters of bankruptcy reform, environmental protection, lawsuit reform, and trade. He supports expanding use of the federal death penalty. In 2004 he was one of only three Democratic senators to vote to invoke cloture on the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment; in 2006 he was one of only two Democratic Senators to vote that way [7] [8]. He was the only Democratic senator to vote against a 2006 bill that would have extended federal funding for Stem Cell Research. He has however voted consistently against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He has also come out opposed to President Bush's plan to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq.[9]

On March 15, 2007, Nelson was one of 2 Democratic Senators to vote against a resolution aimed at withdrawing most American combat troops from Iraq in 2008. The vote, requiring 60 votes to pass, was 50 to 48 against. ^[1]

[edit] 2006 re-election campaign

Main article: Nebraska United States Senate election, 2006

Nelson won his 2006 re-election campaign by a margin of 28 percentage points [10]. The primary election was held on May 9, 2006. Former TD Ameritrade executive Pete Ricketts won the Republican nomination with 48% of the vote. Ben Nelson was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

In the general election, Nelson was endorsed by the National Rifle Association, Nebraska Right to Life [11], Nebraskans United for Life [12], the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Businesses [13], Nebraska Farmers Union PAC, National Farmers Union PAC, the Veterans of Foreign Wars PAC, the Business-Industry Political Action Committee, and the Omaha Police Union, all of which are conservative-leaning groups.

Nelson easily defeated Ricketts 64-36%; in doing so, he received the votes of 42% of Republicans and 73% of Independents on top of holding serve with 96% of his own party, and won all but several of the westernmost counties in the state, a surprising feat given the state's Republican partisanship. [14] [15]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• United States Senator Ben Nelson official Senate site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission - E Benjamin Nelson campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues - Ben Nelson issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org - Ben Nelson campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart - Senator E. Benjamin 'Ben' Nelson (NE) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia - Ben Nelson profile
• Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Ben Nelson voting record

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