Tom Udall

Tom Udall
United States Senator from New Mexico
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2009 Serving with Martin Heinrich
Preceded by	Pete Domenici
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Mexico's 3rd district
In office January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2009
Preceded by	Bill Redmond
Succeeded by	Ben Luján
28th Attorney General of New Mexico
In office January 1, 1991 – January 1, 1999
Governor	Bruce King Gary Johnson
Preceded by	Hal Stratton
Succeeded by	Patricia Madrid
Personal details
Born	Thomas Stewart Udall (1948-05-18) May 18, 1948 Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Jill Cooper
Children	Amanda
Alma mater	Prescott College Downing College, Cambridge University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
Religion	Mormon
Website	tomudall.senate.gov

Thomas Stewart "Tom" Udall (born May 18, 1948) is the senior United States Senator from New Mexico and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected to the Senate in 2008, he represented New Mexico's 3rd congressional district as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009, and was the Attorney General of New Mexico from 1991 to 1999.

Early life, education, and law career

Udall was born in Tucson, Arizona, to Ermalee Lenora (née Webb) and Stewart Udall, the Secretary of the Interior from 1961 to 1969. Two of his maternal great-grandparents were Swiss. He attended Prescott College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970. In 1975, he graduated from Downing College, Cambridge 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. Udall then served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Oliver Seth of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. His subsequent legal career included appointments as Assistant U.S. Attorney in the criminal division and Chief Counsel to the New Mexico Department of Health and Environment.

Early political career

In 1982, Udall ran for Congress in the newly created 3rd district, based in the state capital, Santa Fe, and most of north of the state. He lost the Democratic primary to Bill Richardson. In 1988, he ran for Congress again, this time in an election for the Albuquerque-based 1st district seat left open by retiring twenty-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.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Udall ran for Congress again in 1998 in the 3rd district against incumbent 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 helped Udall defeat Redmond with 53 percent of the vote. He was reelected four more times with no substantive opposition, including an unopposed run in 2002.

Tenure

As a U.S. Representative, Tom Udall was a member of both the centrist New Democrat Coalition and the more liberal Congressional Progressive Caucus. He was a member of the United States House Peak oil Caucus, which he co-founded with Representative Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland.

Committee assignments

Udall sat on the United States House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations in the Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies and the Subcommittee on Legislative Branch He was the Co-Vice Chair of the House Native American Caucus and Co-Chair of the International Conservation Caucus.

U.S. Senate

Elections

Main article: United States Senate election in New Mexico, 2008

In November 2007, Udall announced he would run for the Senate seat held by retiring incumbent Pete Domenici. Potential Democratic rival Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez dropped out, handing Udall the nomination. New Mexico's other two members of the House, 1st and 3rd district's Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce, ran in the Republican primary. Pearce won the Republican nomination, and lost to Udall, who won 61 percent of the vote.

While Udall ran for Senate in New Mexico, his younger first cousin, Congressman Mark Udall, ran for the Senate in Colorado. Their double second cousin, incumbent Gordon Smith of Oregon, also ran for reelection. Both Udalls won and Smith lost.

Tenure

Udall has voted with his party 97 percent of the time since he was first elected to the U.S. Senate. He voted in favor of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, DREAM Act, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

Udall was one of the first members of Congress to publicly express concern about the possibility of NSA overreach, a year before Edward Snowden's 2013 disclosure of the PRISM program.

Legislation

On March 19, 2013, Udall introduced into the Senate the Sandia Pueblo Settlement Technical Amendment Act (S. 611; 113th Congress), a bill that would transfer some land to the Sandia Pueblo tribe. Also during the 113th Congress, Udall introduced a proposed amendment to the Constitution that would allow limits on outside spending in support of political candidates. The Amendment won the approval of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 10-8 vote in July 2014.

In March 2015 Udall sponsored Senate bill 697, a bill to amend and reauthorize the Toxic Substances Control Act, called the "Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act". Opponents of the legislation leaked a draft of the bill before the introduction and alleged that the bill had been created by a user of the American Chemistry Council. Some environmental, health and labor organizations and several states have criticized it because "it would gut state chemical regulations", but Udall and his office have vehemently denied that, pointing to two years of stakeholder involvement and an open process in crafting a major reform effort, with participation from senators, environmental organizations, health groups and business stakeholders. Despite critics' attempts to taint the bill as industry created, Udall helped shepherd the bill through the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works with a bipartisan vote of 15-5 on April 28, 2015. Three of the committee's most liberal members, Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) joined in support of the bill after winning major concessions addressing issues raised in a New York Times editorial.

On May 7, 2015, Udall announced an additional 14 cosponsors (evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans), bringing support for his legislation to 36. Udall also gained the endorsement of EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, who said she was "encouraged" by the bipartisan progress. At an earlier hearing on the Udall legislation, EPA officials testified that the bill met all six of the Obama Administration's principles for chemical safety reform.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
  • Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
• Committee on Foreign Relations
  • Subcommittee on African Affairs
  • Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs
  • Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs and International Environmental Protection, and Peace Corps
  • Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere and Global Narcotics Affairs
• Committee on Environment and Public Works
  • Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety
  • Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health
  • Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure
• Committee on Indian Affairs
• Committee on Rules and Administration
• Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
• International Narcotics Control Caucus

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus
• House Native American Caucus (Co-Vice Chair)
• International Conservation Caucus (Co-Chair)
• Rural Caucus
• Sportsmen's Caucus

2008

Democratic Party primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Udall	141,629	100.00
Total votes			141,629	100.00

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Tom Udall	505,128	61.33%	+26.37%
	Republican	Steve Pearce	318,522	38.67%	-26.37%
Majority			186,606	22.66%	-7.43%
Turnout			823,650
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

2014

Democratic primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Udall (Incumbent)	113,502	100
Total votes			113,502	100

New Mexico's US Senate Election, 2014
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Udall (Incumbent)	286,409	55.56
	Republican	Allen Weh	229,097	44.44
Total votes			515,506	100
	Democratic hold

Personal life

Udall is married to Jill Cooper Udall. They live in Santa Fe with their daughter, Amanda Cooper. Tom Udall is the son of former Arizona Congressman and Interior Secretary Stewart Lee Udall, nephew of Arizona Congressman Morris Udall, and first cousin of former Colorado U.S. Senator Mark Udall, double second cousin of former Oregon U.S. Senator Gordon Smith, and second cousin of Utah U.S. Senator Mike Lee.

See also

• Udall family (political family)
• Lee-Hamblin family

Further reading

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress

External links

• Senator Tom Udall official U.S. Senate site
• Tom Udall for U.S. Senate
• Tom Udall at DMOZ

Legal offices
Preceded by Hal Stratton	Attorney General of New Mexico 1991–1999	Succeeded by Patricia 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 Luján
Party political offices
Preceded by Gloria Tristani	Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from New Mexico (Class 2) 2008, 2014	Most recent
United States Senate
Preceded by Pete Domenici	United States Senator (Class 2) from New Mexico 2009–present Served alongside: Jeff Bingaman, Martin Heinrich	Incumbent
United States order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Roger Wicker	United States Senators by seniority 47th	Succeeded by Jeanne Shaheen