Mark Udall
Mark Emery Udall (/ˈjudɔːl/ YOO-dawl; born July 18, 1950) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Colorado from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Colorado's 2nd congressional district. Prior to being elected to Congress, he represented parts of Boulder, Colorado in the Colorado House of Representatives.
Mark Udall
2
Throughout his career he has proposed legislation to support renewable energy, expand national parks and protect natural resources. Born in Tucson, Arizona, he is the son of former U.S. Representative Mo Udall and the nephew of former U.S. Representative Stewart Udall. A member of the Udall family, a western American political family, his relatives include New Mexico's Tom Udall and Utah's Mike Lee. Udall ran for reelection in 2014 to a second term in the U.S. Senate, but was narrowly defeated by Republican challenger Cory Gardner.
Colorado House of Representatives[edit]
In 1996, Udall was encouraged to run for the Colorado House of Representatives by Peggy Lamm of the 13th district, who had decided to retire.[7] After running a grassroots campaign in the swing district, Udall narrowly defeated Republican Drew Bolin to represent the Longmont and Boulder district.[8] During his two years in office, Udall served on the Judiciary and Agriculture Livestock & Natural Resources Committees.[9]
While in the Colorado House, Udall proposed legislation titled "Renewable Electricity Standard." It would have required at least 10% of energy consumed in Colorado to be provided by renewable sources rather than fossil fuels. The bill died in committee.[7] Udall chose not to run for re-election, instead decided to run for the United States Congress. He was succeeded by fellow Democrat, Tom Plant.[8]
U.S. House of Representatives[edit]
Elections[edit]
After one term in the Colorado House of Representatives, Udall opted to run for Colorado's 2nd congressional district, which was being vacated by incumbent David Skaggs. In the primary, Udall had four opponents: Gene Nichol, Paul Weissmann, and Dave Thomas. He won with 44% of the vote, defeating his closest opponent Nichol by 7 percentage points.[10] He faced the Republican nominee, Boulder, Colorado Mayor Bob Greenlee in the general election. The race was unexpectedly close, with Udall narrowly winning, 49–47%. Udall was consecutively elected to five terms in the House, without major opposition. He was eventually succeeded by Jared Polis, after he decided to run for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Wayne Allard.[11]
Political positions[edit]
Abortion[edit]
NARAL Pro-Choice America gives Udall a 100% rating for abortion rights,[32] while his opponent in 2014, Cory Gardner, earned a 0% rating.[33]
Agriculture[edit]
In February 2014, Udall voted for the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, a $1 trillion bill that ended direct payments to farmers but expanded crop insurance by $7 billion over the next decade, created new subsidies for rice and peanut growers that will kick in if or when prices drop, and cut food stamp subsidies for 1.7 million people in 15 states.[34][35]
In 2011, Maine Senator Susan Collins and Udall successfully introduced an amendment to the Senate's agriculture appropriations bill. The amendment to the appropriations bill removed a limit placed on potatoes in the USDA new school nutrition guidelines.[36]
Personal life[edit]
Udall is married to Maggie Fox, an environmental lawyer who previously served as CEO of The Climate Reality Project.[11] The two met while working at Outward Bound, and were married in 1982.[7][79] They have two children, Jedediah and Tess.[1][6][80] A golfer, Udall was referred to as one of Congress' better players.[81]
Udall has said "there isn't a Coloradan out there who doesn't cycle, hunt, hike... We're an outdoor state. It fits our worldview, and it's how we define ourselves."[5] An experienced mountaineer, Udall has climbed many peaks during his work as an Outward Bound instructor, and in his personal life. Udall has climbed Colorado's 100 tallest peaks, known as "The Colorado Centennials," as well as Kangchenjunga in the Himalayas and Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America. He has also attempted Mount Everest multiple times.[1][5][82][83]
In 1986, Udall and his wife went on a group trek of Mount Garmo. During the climb, Maggie broke her leg, and their fellow climber, Steve Monfredo, died on the mountainside.[84] Udall's 61-year-old brother, Randy Udall, went missing on June 26, 2013, after going on a solo hike in Wyoming's Wind River Range.[85] On July 3, 2013, a body, later identified as that of Randy Udall, was found approximately 80 miles southeast of Grand Teton National Park.[86]