Below the fold are the second set of Senator Profiles. Every (or at least most) weekdays, I will write brief profiles of two Senators. Brief biography, Committees, Key legislation and stances on issues... My goal is that by the end of the series anyone who reads it will have a basic knowledge of every Senator. To make this more manageable, I am starting with the 28 Senators who will be running for re-election in 2006 (5 Senators up for re-election are retiring). Each day I will be featuring one Dem and one Repub, one of whom will be a mostly unknown Senator, while the other will be relatively known (at least to the liberal blogosphere). Today's Senators: Daniel Akaka and Craig Thomas. You can see more profiles, as well as tons of other Senate news, on my blog,
OurSenate.
Senator Daniel Akaka, Democrat from Hawaii
Elected: 1990 - 2nd Term
Age: 80
Religion: Congregationalist
Education: U. of Hawaii (M.Ed.)
Biography: The first Congressman of native Hawaiian decsent, Daniel Akaka has championed the rights of native Hawaiians for nearly thirty years. An elementary school teacher and principal, he was appointed to a state government position in 1971. In 1976 he ran for Hawaii's 2nd district House seat, which he won with 80%. In 1990, after the death of Sen. Spark Matsunaga, Akaka was appointed to his Senate seat. He won the special election with 54%, and was re-elected in 1994 and 2000 with 72% and 73% of the vote.
Senate: Akaka is a loyal and partisan Democrat, with a 97% party unity rating as calculated by CQ. Akaka has worked to increase the rights of native Hawaiians, with significant success. However, his most important effort, the Akaka Bill, which would give native Hawaiians similar rights as granted to other native peoples, has been blocked by Republicans in the Senate since he first introduced it in 2000. Akaka has reintroduced the bill several times, only to have it blocked each time. Akaka sits on the Armed Services, Energy & Natural Resources, Homeland Security & Government Affairs, Indian Affairs, and Select Ethics Committees. He is also the ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee.
The Future: Akaka will be running for re-election in 2006. With an approval rating of 62% and without a challenger, Akaka won't have any trouble winning another term.
Source: CQ's Politics in America, 2006
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Senator Craig Thomas, Republican from Wyoming
Elected: 1994 - 2nd Term
Age: 73
Religion: Methodist
Education: U. of Wyoming, La Salle U.
Biography: Craig Thomas worked as a power company trade association execustive and argricultural association executive before he ran for the U.S. House after Rep. Dick Cheney resigned from the At-Large seat in 1989 to become President George H.W. Bush's Secretary of Defense. Thomas won the special election with 52% of the vote. In 1994, after the retirement of Sen. Malcolm Wallop, he ran for the Senate, winning with 59%. He was easily re-elected in 2000 with 74%.
Senate: Thomas is extremely conservative. Congressional Quarterly ranks him as the #1 Republican Senator in Party Unity with 99.55%. He agrees with President Bush 97.6% of the time. Thomas is known as a strong supporter of opening more federal land to oil and gas drilling. He promotes this agenda as Chairman of the National Parks Subcommittee of the Energy Natural Resources Committee. Thomas also sits on the Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Committee, as well as the Finance, Indian Affiars, and Select Ethics Committees. Thomas chairs the Congressional Oil and Gas Forum, and co-chairs the Senate Rural Health Caucus with Sen. Tom Harkin (D). Thomas is also a Deputy Whip for the Republican Leadership.
The Future: Thomas has announced that he will run for another term in 2006. While Wyoming has a Democratic Governor, it is the second most Republican state, after Utah, so it is extremely unlikely that any Democrat will create a significant threat to Thomas' re-election. The latest SUSA poll gives Thomas a 59-25% approval rating.
Source: CQ's Politics in America, 2006
See more profiles, and 2006 Senate news, at OurSenate.com.