Becky Lourey (born September 24, 1943) is an American

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, a former

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL)

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

and

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

, and a former Minnesota gubernatorial candidate. Her son Matt served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

and was killed on May 27, 2005, as a result of injuries received in combat over Buhriz,

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, where he was serving in his second tour of duty. Lourey was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1990, defeating a longtime incumbent Republican, and became the first woman to represent her rural district. She was reelected in 1992 and 1994. Lourey was elected to the Minnesota Senate in 1996, again defeating a veteran incumbent, later becoming chair of the Senate Health and Family Security Committee and earning a reputation as an expert on health care. Lourey did not run for reelection in 2006. Her son Tony held her former seat until 2018, after which he was appointed to Governor Tim Walz's cabinet.

2006 campaign for governor

Lourey announced her candidacy for governor in November 2005. She lost the DFL Party endorsement to

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Mike Hatch Michael Alan Hatch (born November 12, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer. He was the Attorney General of Minnesota from 1999 to 2007, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Commerce from 1983 to 1989, and chair of the Minnesota DF ...

, gaining the support of 31% of the delegates on the first ballot, with 38% voting for Hatch and 29% voting for Steve Kelley. She withdrew from the endorsement process after the third ballot after falling behind Kelley, with Hatch's vote total increasing. She ran against Hatch in the September primary, losing with 24% of the vote. Lourey's gubernatorial campaign health care platform was the Health Care Security Plan, which included a plan for universal health coverage in Minnesota by 2010. That system would have been voluntary, not mandatory, like the Massachusetts health program enacted in 2006. The platform also included other state-level health reform proposals, including the current Minnesota Medical Association's proposal. At the heart of Lourey's health care plan was expanding and reforming

MinnesotaCare MinnesotaCare is a public health insurance program in the United States, U.S. state of Minnesota for low-income individuals and families who lack employee-sponsored health insurance and who do not qualify for Medical Assistance (Minnesota’s Medic ...

, a state program providing health insurance to low-income Minnesotans that she, along with several others, had authored in the state legislature in 1993. Under Lourey's plan, all Minnesotans would have been eligible to join MinnesotaCare by 2010. Employers could participate by offering their employer plan via a BusinessCare program to be created as part of MinnesotaCare. Lourey's plan had several cost containment measures, including a requirement that any HMOs, private health insurers or Third Party Administrators receiving contracts to administer state-funded health plans spend no more than 5% on administrative expenses. Lourey is the currently the owner of Nemadji Research Corporation, which specializes in "cost recovery and revenue maximization for health care providers."

Electoral history

*2006 race for governor - Democratic primary **

(DFL), 73% **Becky Lourey (DFL), 24% *2002 race for Minnesota Senate - District 8 **Becky Lourey (DFL) (inc.), 55% **Bruce Nelson (R), 31% **Steve Keillor (IPL), 8% *2000 race for Minnesota Senate - District 8 **Becky Lourey (DFL) (inc.), 68% **Dennis Janssen (R), 33%

References

External links

Lourey's campaign websiteCampaign 2006: Becky Lourey (Minnesota Public Radio)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lourey, Becky 1943 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Democratic Party Minnesota state senators Women state legislators in Minnesota People from Pine County, Minnesota 21st-century American women politicians People from Little Falls, Minnesota 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature