Tom Udall
Thomas Stewart Udall (/ˈjuːdɔːl/ YOO-dawl; born May 18, 1948) is an American diplomat, lawyer, and politician serving as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from New Mexico from 2009 to 2021. Udall also served as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 3rd congressional district from 1999 to 2009 and New Mexico Attorney General from 1991 to 1999. Born in Tucson, Arizona to the Udall family, he is the son of former U.S. Representative and Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall and the nephew of former U.S. Representative Mo Udall. His cousin is Mark Udall, who concurrently served alongside him in the Senate representing the neighboring state of Colorado.
Tom Udall
Udall was first elected in the 2008 Senate race and was re-elected in 2014, and became dean of New Mexico's congressional delegation as its longest serving member. He did not seek a third term in 2020, making him the only Democratic senator to retire that cycle. On July 16, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Udall to serve as United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa.[1]
Early political career[edit]
In 1982, Udall ran for Congress in the newly created 3rd district, based in the state capital, Santa Fe, and including most of the 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 Jr., but narrowly lost to Bernalillo County District Attorney Steven Schiff. From 1991 to 1999 he served as Attorney General of New Mexico.[5]
U.S. House of Representatives[edit]
Elections[edit]
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 Udall defeated Redmond with 53 percent of the vote.[6] He was reelected four more times with no substantive opposition, including an unopposed run in 2002.
Tenure[edit]
As a U.S. Representative, 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.[7][8]
Committee assignments[edit]
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.
Caucuses[edit]
He was the Co-Vice Chair of the House Native American Caucus and Co-Chair of the International Conservation Caucus.
Political positions[edit]
Gun law[edit]
In 2013, Udall voted for state-by-state reciprocity of concealed carry and for the names of gun owners to be protected and released only in select situations.[32] In 2016, within weeks of the Orlando nightclub shooting, he participated in a sit-in at the House to demand votes on gun control legislation, saying, "We owe it to the LGBT community & all families harmed by gun violence to keep terror suspects fr[om] obtaining guns."[33] In 2017, Udall had a "C−" rating from the National Rifle Association and a "F" rating from the Gun Owners of America for his support of gun control.[34]
Environmental issues[edit]
Udall has a lifetime score of 96% from the League of Conservation Voters.[35] In 2018 he received the Sierra Club's top award for public officials, the Edgar Wayburn Award.[36]
In September 2019, Udall was one of eight senators to sign a bipartisan letter to congressional leadership requesting full and lasting funding of the Land and Water Conservation Act to aid national parks and public lands, benefit the $887 billion American outdoor recreation economy, and "ensure much-needed investment in our public lands and continuity for the state, tribal, and non-federal partners who depend on them."[37]
In late 2019, Udall co-sponsored the Green New Deal, a policy introduced in the U.S. Senate that would establish net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.[38]
Personal life[edit]
Udall and his wife, the former Jill Cooper, have a daughter.[49] 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,[50] and second cousin of Utah U.S. Senator Mike Lee.[51]
Udall is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[52]