Gaylord Kent Conrad (born March 12, 1948) is a former American politician who was a
United States Senator from
North Dakota
North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...
. He is a member of the
Democratic Party. First elected to the Senate in 1986, he served as chairman or Ranking Member of the
Senate Budget Committee for 12 years.
On January 18, 2011, Conrad announced that he was retiring from politics and would not run for reelection in
2012
2012 was designated as:
*International Year of Cooperatives
*International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
Events January
*January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.
* January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
.
He said in a statement that it was more important that "I spend my time and energy trying to focus on solving the nation's budget woes than be distracted by another campaign."
Fellow Democrat
Heidi Heitkamp was elected to replace him.
Conrad currently co-chairs the
Bipartisan Policy Center's Commission on Retirement Security and Personal Savings. He is also a member of the ReFormers Caucus of
Issue One. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of the
Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Early life
Conrad was born in
Bismarck, North Dakota, the son of Abigail and Gaylord E. Conrad. He was orphaned at a young age and subsequently raised by his grandparents in Bismarck. He attended Roosevelt Elementary, Hughes Junior High, and
Wheelus Air Base high school in
Tripoli, Libya
Tripoli, historically known as Tripoli-of-the-West, is the capital city, capital and largest city of Libya, with a population of about 1.317 million people in 2021. It is located in the northwest of Libya on the edge of the desert, on a point ...
, before eventually graduating from
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...
. He then went to college at
Stanford, and received an
M.B.A. from
The George Washington University.
Personal life
Conrad has been married twice. His first wife, Pam, is the sister of former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former North Dakota Governor
Ed Schafer; they have a daughter, Jessamyn. Jessamyn Conrad is the author of ''What You Should Know About Politics ... But Don't'', subtitled ''a Nonpartisan Guide'', which was praised by
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
and
Bob Dole.
On February 14, 1987, Conrad married Lucy Calautti, his 1986 Senate campaign manager, who is now a lobbyist for
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
.
Early political career
After graduating from college, Conrad became a
civil servant, working as an assistant to the
North Dakota State Tax Commissioner,
Byron Dorgan, who later became his colleague in the Senate. Conrad made his first entry into politics when he ran unsuccessfully for the North Dakota Auditor's office in 1976. In 1980 Conrad succeeded Dorgan as Tax Commissioner. Conrad was state tax commissioner until 1986, when he ran for the Senate.
U.S. Senate career
Committee assignments
*
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
**
Subcommittee on Energy, Science and Technology
**
Subcommittee on Domestic and Foreign Marketing, Inspection, and Plant and Animal Health
**
Subcommittee on Production, Income Protection and Price Support
*
Committee on the Budget (chairman)
*
Committee on Finance
**
Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
**
Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-Term Growth (chairman)
**
Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth
*
Committee on Indian Affairs
*
Joint Committee on Taxation
Political positions

In April 2006 ''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' named Conrad one of "America's 10 Best Senators". That same year ''The American'' commended him for his knowledge of economic issues. Conrad endorsed
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary.
Conrad was a leading member of the "
Gang of 10", a conservative group that pushed for much greater
offshore drilling in sensitive environmental areas. He was well known for using charts as visual aids when speaking in the Senate, which earned him the nickname "Godfather of Charts."
Health care
In the 2009 negotiations over reforming America's healthcare system, Conrad strongly opposed a "
public option." The AFL-CIO announced it would fund a primary challenge to Conrad in 2012 if he continued to oppose a public option.
On September 29, 2009, Conrad voted with Senate Finance Committee Republicans against an amendment to a health care bill that would have provided for a public option. He was supportive of the
Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which places limits on taxpayer-funded abortions in the context of the November 2009
Affordable Health Care for America Act.
Social policies
Conrad is more politically conservative than most Democrats. He voted consistently in favor of banning the
partial-birth abortion medical procedure. He also opposes public funding of abortion, but voted in favor of lifting the ban on abortions on military bases. Conrad has a mixed record on gay rights. While he personally opposes gay marriage, he voted against a proposed constitutional ban on it and has supported bills that prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation. On January 31, 2006, Conrad was one of four Democrats to vote in favor of confirming Judge
Samuel Alito to the
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
.
Fiscal policies
On April 17, 2012, Conrad, a strong supporter of the
Simpson-Bowles plan, announced his plan to offer a version of it that he, as a member of the
National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (often called Simpson–Bowles or Bowles–Simpson from the names of co-chairs Alan K. Simpson, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles; or NCFRR) was a bipartisan Presidential Commission (Unite ...
, helped to develop. Lawmakers on the Senate Budget Committee could be forced to vote or modify the plan.
Conrad was known for his deep understanding of monetary policies and budget issues. He identifies as a "deficit hawk", supporting a balanced federal budget, but continues to support farm subsidies. He voted against Republican proposals to repeal the estate and alternative minimum taxes. He supported lower middle-class taxes, but increased taxes for people making more than $1 million per year. In 2010 he supported extending the expiring
Bush tax cuts "at least until the economy is clearly recovering."
Conrad was very vocal in his opposition to the spending policies of the
George W. Bush administration. He contended that Bush worsened the
national debt. Conrad also opposed most
free-trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist political parties general ...
measures and strongly supported subsidies to family farmers.
Foreign policy and national security
In 1991 Conrad voted against approving the use of military force in
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 ...
. He was one of only 23 senators to vote against the
war resolution of 2002. While he initially voted in favor of the
USA PATRIOT Act, he has opposed
warrantless wiretapping and government's continued use of the
Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
Countrywide Financial loan scandal
In June 2008 it was reported that Conrad had received mortgages on favorable terms for a second home and an apartment building due to his association with
Countrywide Financial CEO
Angelo R. Mozilo.
Conrad acknowledged that he had spoken with Mozilo by phone.
In an April 23, 2004, email about one of Conrad's loans, Mozilo encouraged an employee to "make an exception due to the fact that the borrower is a senator."
Conrad denied any prior knowledge of such treatment and gave the mortgage discount to charity.
[ Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington ( CREW) called on the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate Conrad. In August 2009, after a yearlong inquiry, the Ethics Committee exonerated Conrad of any unethical behavior in his dealings with Countrywide.]
Electoral history
Overview
In the 1986 election, Conrad defeated the Republican incumbent, Mark Andrews, by 2,120 votes. Andrews had represented North Dakota at the federal level since 1963 (he had previously served in the House before moving to the Senate in 1981).
During the campaign, Conrad pledged that he would not run for reelection if the federal budget deficit had not fallen substantially by the end of his term. By 1992 it became obvious that this would not be the case, and although polls showed that the electorate would have welcomed his reneging on that pledge, Conrad considered his promise binding and did not run for reelection. Byron Dorgan won the Democratic primary election.
Conrad received an opportunity to remain in the Senate when North Dakota's other senator, long-serving Dem-NPLer Quentin Burdick, died on September 8, 1992. Burdick's widow, Jocelyn Birch Burdick, was appointed to the seat temporarily, but a special election was needed to fill the rest of the term. Viewing this opportunity as different from running for reelection, Conrad ran for and won the Democratic-NPL's nomination. He went on to win the special election, and was sworn in on December 14, 1992, resigning his original Senate seat the same day. (Conrad's original Senate seat was then filled by Dorgan, via appointment by the governor on December 15, 1992, to fill the seat for the brief period until he would have been sworn in under normal circumstances.)
Despite North Dakota's Republican leanings, Conrad was comfortably reelected in 1994—a year when Republicans won most of the Congressional seats that were not in heavily Democratic-leaning states.
1986
* Kent Conrad (D-NPL) 50%
* Mark Andrews (R) (inc.) 49%
1992
* Kent Conrad (D-NPL) 63%
* Jack Dalrymple (R) 34%
1994
* Kent Conrad (D-NPL) (inc.) 58%
* Ben Clayburgh (R) 42%
2000
* Kent Conrad (D-NPL) (inc.) 61%
* Duane Sand (R) 39%
2006
* Kent Conrad (D-NPL) (inc.) 69%
* Dwight Grotburg (R) 30%
* Roland Riemers (I) 1%
* James Germalic (I) 0.6%
References
External links
United States Senator Kent Conrad
official U.S. Senate website (archived)
*
*
Sam Stein, Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...
, April 8, 2012
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad, Kent
1948 births
American Unitarian Universalists
Democratic Party United States senators from North Dakota
George Washington University School of Business alumni
Living people
North Dakota tax commissioners
Politicians from Bismarck, North Dakota
Phillips Exeter Academy alumni
Stanford University alumni
Members of Congress who became lobbyists
20th-century North Dakota politicians
21st-century North Dakota politicians
21st-century United States senators
20th-century United States senators