Mark Udall

Mark Udall

Democratic Party

Prior offices

Colorado House of Representatives

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U.S. House Colorado District 2

Successor: Jared Polis

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U.S. Senate Colorado

Successor: Cory Gardner

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Compensation

Net worth

(2012) $1,784,531

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 4, 2014

Education

Bachelor's

Williams College, 1972

Personal

Religion

Unspecified

Profession

Educator

Mark Udall (b. July 18, 1950, in Tucson, AZ) is a former Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from the state of Colorado. Udall was first elected to the Senate in 2008 and lost his bid for re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2014. He was defeated by Rep. Cory Gardner (R) in the general election on November 4, 2014. Udall was one of several vulnerable Democratic senators in 2014.

Udall began his political career in 1996, winning election to the Colorado House of Representatives. He served one term in the state house and then won election to the U.S. House in 1998. Udall served in that position until his election to the Senate in 2008.

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Udall's academic, professional, and political career:

• 1972: Graduated from Williams College with B.A.
• 1974: Field coordinator, Morris K. Udall for President
• 1985-1995: Executive director, Colorado Outward Bound School
• 1996-1998: Colorado House of Representatives
• 1999-2009: U.S. Representative from Colorado
• 2009-2015: U.S. Senator from Colorado

Committee assignments

U.S. Senate

2013-2014

Udall served on the following committees:

• Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
  • Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
  • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
• Energy and Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining
  • Subcommittee on National Parks
  • Subcommittee on Energy
• United States Senate committee on Intelligence

2011-2012

Udall served on the following committees:

• Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
  • Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
• Energy and Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Energy
  • Subcommittee on National Parks, Chair
  • Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
• Intelligence
• Aging

Key votes

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 224 out of the 3215 introduced bills (7 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session. The Senate confirmed 13,949 out of 18,323 executive nominations received (76.1 percent). For more information pertaining to Udall's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.

National security

John Brennan CIA nomination

Udall voted for the confirmation of John Brennan as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The nomination was confirmed by the Senate on March 7, 2013, with a vote of 63 - 34. Most Democrats supported the nomination, while Republicans were somewhat divided with roughly one-third supporting the nomination.

Economy

Farm bill

On February 4, 2014, the Democratic controlled Senate approved the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, H.R. 2642, also known as the Farm Bill. It passed the Senate with a vote of 68-32. The nearly 1,000-page bill reformed and continued various programs of the Department of Agriculture through 2018. The $1 trillion bill expanded crop insurance for farmers by $7 billion over the next decade and created new subsidies for rice and peanut growers that will kick in if or when prices drop; however, cuts to the food stamp program cut an average of $90 per month for 1.7 million people in 15 states. Udall joined with 46 other Democratic senators in favor of the bill.

2014 Budget

On January 16, 2014, the Democratic-controlled Senate approved H.R. 3547, a $1.1 trillion spending bill to fund the government through September 30, 2014. The Senate voted 72-26 for the 1,582 page bill, with 17 Republicans and 55 Democrats voting in favor of the bill. The omnibus package included 12 annual spending bills to fund federal operations. It included a 1 percent increase in the paychecks of federal workers and military personnel, a $1 billion increase in Head Start funding for early childhood education, reduced funding to the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency and left the Affordable Care Act without any drastic cuts. Udall voted with the Democratic Party in favor of the bill.

Government shutdown

See also: United States budget debate, 2013

During the shutdown in October 2013, the Senate rejected, down party lines, every House-originated bill that stripped the budget of funding for the Affordable Care Act. A deal was reached late on October 16, 2013, just hours before the debt ceiling deadline. The bill to reopen the government, H.R. 2775, lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies. The final vote on H.R. 2775 was 81-18, with all 18 votes against the bill from Republican members. Udall voted with the Democratic Party for the bill.

No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013

Udall voted for H.R.325 -- No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013. The bill passed the Senate on January 31, 2013, with a vote of 64 - 34. The purpose of the bill was to temporarily suspend the debt ceiling and withhold the pay of members of Congress until a budget could be passed. The vote largely followed party lines with Democrats overwhelmingly supporting it and many Republicans in opposition to the bill.

Immigration

Mexico-U.S. border

Udall voted against Senate Amendment 1197 -- Requires the Completion of the Fence Along the United States-Mexico Border. The amendment was rejected by the Senate on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 39 - 54. The purpose of the amendment was to require the completion of 350 miles of fence described in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 before registered provisional immigrant status may be granted. It would also require 700 miles of fence be completed before the status of registered provisional immigrants may be changed to permanent resident status. The vote followed party lines.

Social issues

Violence Against Women (2013)

Udall voted for S.47 -- Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. The bill was passed by the Senate on February 12, 2013, with a vote of 78 - 22. The purpose of the bill was to combat violence against women, from domestic violence to international trafficking in persons. All 22 dissenting votes were cast by Republicans.

Previous congressional sessions

Fiscal Cliff

Udall voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by an 89 - 8 vote on January 1, 2013.

Campaign themes

2014

Udall's campaign website listed the following issues:

“	Economic Opportunity & Building a Better Life: "Colorado has added more than 214,000 jobs since the recession, yet there are too many Colorado families that are still struggling to make ends meet. Mark knows that our economy is more than just statistics and numbers — it’s about creating the opportunity for families to work hard and build a better life." Creating Good-Paying Colorado Jobs: "A recognized expert on energy issues, Mark’s leadership has helped make Colorado a model for the nation on smart energy policy. From efficiency and conservation, to wind, solar and other renewables, to the responsible development of clean burning natural gas, Colorado’s bountiful supply of energy doesn’t just power our homes and businesses, it drives our economy, creates good-paying jobs, and makes our country more secure." Fighting For Our Rights & Values: "Our veterans put their lives on the line to protect us and for that we owe them the best health care this country has to offer. Mark works tirelessly to ensure all Colorado veterans are treated with the dignity and respect that they are owed. He successfully forced the VA to cut red tape so veterans don’t have to travel long distances for life-saving surgeries and has fought to reduce needless paperwork and redundant processes. To ensure our servicemen and women are cared for, Mark has also pressed the military to address post traumatic stress and fatigue stemming from multiple deployments." Protecting Colorado’s Way of Life: "Mark works tirelessly to do right by Colorado, come hell or high water. And Colorado has seen both over the past year. He fought to get Colorado $770 million in emergency assistance to rebuild our communities, and repair our roads and bridges after last year’s historic flooding. And after forcing the Obama administration to give the Forest Service the modern tankers they needed to better fight Colorado wildfires, Mark is now leading the charge to simplify wildfire recovery by ensuring the government approaches them as they do hurricanes and tornados."	”
—Mark Udall's campaign website, http://markudall.com/on-the-issues/

Tenure

On February 13, 2009, Udall voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the stimulus. In 2009, he also voted for the Affordable Care Act. The following year, Udall was one of seven Democrats to vote against a deal to extend the Bush tax cuts for two years. He said that he has opposed the Patriot Act since its inception, though the Denver Post reported in 2013 that Udall said he has "no problem" with PRISM, an electronic surveillance data mining program implemented by the National Security Agency.

He voted for the Employee Free Choice Act, a proposal to eliminate the secret ballot in voting to unionize businesses. Udall voted in February 2014 for the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, a $1 trillion dollar bill that expanded crop insurance by $7 billion over the next decade, and created new subsidies for rice and peanut growers that kick in when prices drop, and which cut food stamp subsidies for 1.7 million people across 15 states.

Udall repeatedly voted against the Keystone XL pipeline. He also voted to expand background checks for gun purchases.

Elections

2014

See also: United States Senate elections in Colorado, 2014

Udall lost his bid for re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2014. He won the Democratic nomination in the primary on June 24, 2014, unopposed. He was defeated by Cory Gardner (R) in the general election on November 4, 2014.

In February 2014, Udall's campaign received a lien from Colorado for failure to pay unemployment insurance.

U.S. Senate, Colorado General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Cory Gardner	48.2%	983,891
	Democratic	Mark Udall Incumbent	46.3%	944,203
	Libertarian	Gaylon Kent	2.6%	52,876
	Independent	Steve Shogan	1.4%	29,472
	Independent	Raul Acosta	1.2%	24,151
	Unity Party of Colorado	Bill Hammons	0.3%	6,427
Total Votes				2,041,020
Source: Colorado Secretary of State

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Mark Udall, click [show] to expand the section.

2008 On November 4, 2008, Mark Udall won election to the United States Senate. He defeated Bob Schaffer (R), Douglas Campbell (American Constitution), Bob Kinsey (G) and three write-in candidates in the general election. U.S. Senate, Colorado General Election, 2008 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Mark Udall 52.8% 1,230,994      Republican Bob Schaffer 42.5% 990,755      American Constitution Douglas Campbell 2.6% 59,733      Green Bob Kinsey 2.1% 50,004      Write-in Buddy Moore 0% 116      Write-in Gary Cooper 0% 10      Write-in Bruce Lohmiller 0% 9 Total Votes 2,331,621 2006 On November 7, 2006, Mark Udall won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Rich Mancuso (R), Norm Olsen (L) and J. A. Calhoun (G) in the general election. U.S. House, Colorado District 2 General Election, 2006 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Mark Udall incumbent 68.2% 157,850      Republican Rich Mancuso 28.3% 65,481      Libertarian Norm Olsen 2.2% 5,025      Green J. A. Calhoun 1.3% 2,951 Total Votes 231,307 2004 On November 2, 2004, Mark Udall won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Stephen Hackman (R) and Norm Olsen (L) in the general election. U.S. House, Colorado District 2 General Election, 2004 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Mark Udall incumbent 67.2% 207,900      Republican Stephen Hackman 30.4% 94,160      Libertarian Norm Olsen 2.4% 7,304 Total Votes 309,364 2002 On November 5, 2002, Mark Udall won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Sandy Hume (R), Norm Olsen (L), Patrick West (Natural Law) and Erik Brauer (American Constitution) in the general election. U.S. House, Colorado District 2 General Election, 2002 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Mark Udall incumbent 60.1% 123,504      Republican Sandy Hume 36.8% 75,564      Libertarian Norm Olsen 1.7% 3,579      Natural Law Patrick West 0.8% 1,617      American Constitution Erik Brauer 0.6% 1,258 Total Votes 205,522 2000 On November 7, 2000, Mark Udall won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Carolyn Cox (R), Ronald Forthofer (G) and David Baker (L) in the general election. U.S. House, Colorado District 2 General Election, 2000 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Mark Udall incumbent 55% 155,725      Republican Carolyn Cox 38.6% 109,338      Green Ronald Forthofer 4.4% 12,398      Libertarian David Baker 2% 5,655 Total Votes 283,116 1998 On November 3, 1998, Mark Udall won election to the United States House. He defeated Bob Greenlee (R) and Patrick West (Natural Law) in the general election. U.S. House, Colorado District 2 General Election, 1998 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Mark Udall 49.9% 113,946      Republican Bob Greenlee 47.4% 108,385      Natural Law Patrick West 2.7% 6,111 Total Votes 228,442

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Mark Udall campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2008	U.S. Senate (Colorado)	Won	$11,667,048	N/A**
2006	U.S. House (Colorado, District 2)	Won	$1,512,865	N/A**
Grand total			$13,179,913	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only availabale data.

Personal Gain Index

See also: Personal Gain Index (U.S. Congress)

The Personal Gain Index (U.S. Congress) is a two-part measurement that illustrates the extent to which members of the U.S. Congress have prospered during their tenure as public servants.
It consists of two different metrics:

• Changes in Net Worth
• The Donation Concentration Metric

PGI: Change in net worth

See also: Changes in Net Worth of U.S. Senators and Representatives (Personal Gain Index) and Net worth of United States Senators and Representatives

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Udall's net worth as of 2012 was estimated between $887,057 and $2,682,000. That averages to $1,784,531, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic senators in 2012 of $13,566,333.90. Udall ranked as the 54th most wealthy senator in 2012. Between 2004 and 2012, Udall's calculated net worth decreased by an average of 1 percent per year. Between 2004 and 2012, the average annual percentage increase for a member of Congress was 15.4 percent.

Mark Udall Yearly Net Worth
Year	Average Net Worth
2004	$1,882,137
2012	$1,784,531
Growth from 2004 to 2012:	−5%
Average annual growth:	−1%
Comparatively, the American citizen experienced a median yearly decline in net worth of -0.94%.

The data used to calculate changes in net worth may include changes resulting from assets gained through marriage, inheritance, changes in family estates and/or trusts, changes in family business ownership, and many other variables unrelated to a member's behavior in Congress.

PGI: Donation Concentration Metric

See also: The Donation Concentration Metric (U.S. Congress Personal Gain Index)

Filings required by the Federal Election Commission report on the industries that give to each candidate. Using campaign filings and information calculated by OpenSecrets.org, Ballotpedia calculated the percentage of donations by industry received by each incumbent over the course of his or her career (or 1989 and later, if elected prior to 1988). Udall received the most donations from individuals and PACs employed by the Lawyers/Law Firms industry.

From 1997-2014, 23.71 percent of Udall's career contributions came from the top five industries as listed below.

Mark Udall Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$32,816,096
Total Spent	$27,047,742
Top five industries that contributed to campaign committee
Lawyers/Law Firms	$2,704,252
Retired	$2,042,899
Securities & Investment	$1,203,533
Real Estate	$996,149
Leadership PACs	$833,446
% total in top industry	8.24%
% total in top two industries	14.47%
% total in top five industries	23.71%

Analysis

Ideology and leadership

See also: GovTrack's Political Spectrum & Legislative Leadership ranking

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Udall was a rank-and-file Democrat as of July 2014. This was the same rating Udall received in June 2013.

Like-minded colleagues

The website OpenCongress tracks the voting records of each member to determine with whom he or she votes most and least often. The results include a member from each party.

Udall most often voted with:

• Tom Udall
• Susan Collins

Udall least often voted with:

• Joe Manchin
• Mike Lee (Utah)

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, Udall missed 36 of 1,701 roll call votes from January 2009 to July 2014. This amounts to 2.1 percent, which is worse than the median of 2 percent among current senators as of July 2014.

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Udall paid his congressional staff a total of $2,705,295 in 2011. He ranked 27th on the list of the lowest paid Democratic senatorial staff salaries and ranked 69th overall of the lowest paid senatorial staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Colorado ranked 18th in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.

National Journal vote ratings

See also: National Journal vote ratings

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Click the link above for the full ratings of all members of Congress.

2013

Udall ranked 33rd in the liberal rankings among U.S. senators in 2013.

2012

Udall ranked 39th in the liberal rankings among U.S. senators in 2012.

2011

Udall ranked 30th in the liberal rankings among U.S. senators in 2011.

Voting with party

The website OpenCongress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus.

2014

Udall voted with the Democratic Party 95.5 percent of the time, which ranked 26th among the 53 Senate Democratic members as of July 2014.

2013

Udall voted with the Democratic Party 94.9 percent of the time, which ranked 28th among the 52 Senate Democratic members as of June 2013.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.

Email [email protected] to notify us of updates to this biography.

Udall and his wife, Maggie Fox, have two children.

In 1972, Udall was arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession. He served a night in jail and paid a $300 fine.

Udall's brother, James “Randy” Udall, went missing on June 28, 2013, following a solo backpacking trip. He was found dead of what appeared to be natural causes on July 3, 2013.

Son's arrest

Udall's son Jed was arrested on January 29, 2014, on charges of vehicular trespassing and drug possession. According to reports, he broke into three cars and was found with heroin in his pocket. Senator Udall responded by saying, "Maggie and I are deeply distressed to learn of our son's arrest. We love our son and stand with him in his commitment to getting the treatment he needs. We appreciate the private space to deal with this as a family."

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term Mark + Udall + Colorado + Senate

Mark Udall News Feed

See also

• United States Senate
• United States Senate elections in Colorado, 2014

External links

• Social media:
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
• Biographies:
  • U.S. Congress
  • NNDB
  • Wikipedia
• Political profiles:
  • GovTrack
  • CongressMerge
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Roll Call
• Financial (federal level):
  • FEC contributions
  • OpenSecrets.org
  • LegiStorm.com
• Interest group ratings:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions:
  • On The Issues
  • Project Vote Smart
• Legislation:
  • Congress.gov
• Public statements:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Voting record:
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Washington Post
• Works by or about:
  • WorldCat
• Media appearances:
  • C-SPAN
  • IMDb
• Media coverage:
  • New York Times
  • Washington Post

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Wayne Allard	U.S. Senate - Colorado 2009-2015	Succeeded by Cory Gardner

[show]

Colorado's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Michael Bennet (D)

John Hickenlooper (D)

Representatives

District 1

Diana DeGette (D)

District 2

Joe Neguse (D)

District 3

Lauren Boebert (R)

District 4

Greg Lopez (R)

District 5

Doug Lamborn (R)

District 6

Jason Crow (D)

District 7

Brittany Pettersen (D)

District 8

Yadira Caraveo (D)

Democratic Party (7)

Republican Party (3)