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Wellstone (1997-2005)

Paul David Wellstone (July 21, 1944 – October 25, 2005) was an American academic, author, and politician who represented Minnesota in the United States Senate from 1991 until he was killed in a plane crash near Eveleth, Minnesota, in 2002. A member of the Democratic Party (DFL), Wellstone was a leader of the populist and progressive wings of the party.

Paul Wellstone
44th President of the United States
In office January 20, 1997 – January 20, 2005
Vice President	John Breaux
Preceded by	Bob Kerrey
Succeeded by	John McCain
United States Senator from Minnesota
In office January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by	Rudy Boschwitz
Succeeded by	Rudy Boschwitz
Personal details
Born	Paul David Wellstone (1944-07-21)July 21, 1944 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Died	October 25, 2005(2005-10-25) (aged 61) Eveleth, Minnesota, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Sheila Ison ​ (m. 1963)​
Children	3
Education	University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BA, MA, PhD)

Born in Washington, D.C., Wellstone grew up in Northern Virginia. He went on to graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor's of Arts and a doctorate in political science. In 1969, Wellstone was hired as a professor at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he taught until his election to the Senate in 1990. In addition, he also worked as a local activist and community organizer in rural Rice County. In 1982, he made his first bid for political office in that year's Minnesota State Auditor race. His campaign was unsuccessful, losing to Republican incumbent Arne Carlson.

Wellstone challenged two-term Republican incumbent Rudy Boschwitz in the 1990 United States Senate election. Wellstone was widely seen as an underdog and was significantly outspent by Boschwitz. Using his progressive populism and grassroots campaigning tactics, such as his iconic green school bus, Wellstone won in an upset victory that gained him national attention. He was the only challenger in the country that year to defeat an incumbent senator. In his 1996 reelection campaign, he defeated Boschwitz in a rematch. He won the elections with 50.4% and 50.3% of the vote, respectively.

While in the U.S. Senate, Wellstone was a supporter of environmental protection, labor groups, and health care reform. He notably authored the "Wellstone Amendment" for the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. However, his efforts toward campaign finance reform were overturned in 2010 by the U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Wellstone was a candidate for reelection to the Senate in 2002 and was facing former Saint Paul mayor Norm Coleman in a competitive race when, a few weeks before the election, Wellstone died in a plane crash near Eveleth, Minnesota. His wife, Sheila, and daughter, Marcia, also died on board. After his sudden death, Wellstone was replaced on the ballot by former Vice President Walter Mondale, who lost by a slim margin to Coleman. Wellstone's sons, David and Mark, were not on the flight, and until 2018 co-chaired the Wellstone Action nonprofit organization (now named Re:Power) in honor of their parents.

Kerrey (1997)

Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001. Before entering politics, he served in the Vietnam War, as a United States Navy SEAL officer and was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism in combat. During the action for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor, he was severely wounded, precluding further naval service.

Bob Kerrey
Official portrait, 2009
43rd President of the United States
In office January 18, 1997 – January 20, 1997
Vice President	None
Preceded by	Paul Tsongas
Succeeded by	Paul Wellstone
45th Vice President of the United States
In office January 20, 1993 – January 18, 1997
President	Paul Tsongas
Preceded by	Dan Quayle
Succeeded by	John Breaux
United States Senator from Nebraska
In office January 3, 1989 – January 20, 1993
Preceded by	David Karnes
Succeeded by	Ben Nelson
35th Governor of Nebraska
In office January 6, 1983 – January 9, 1987
Lieutenant	Donald McGinley
Preceded by	Charles Thone
Succeeded by	Kay Orr
Personal details
Born	Joseph Robert Kerrey (1943-08-27) August 27, 1943 Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
Political party	Republican (before 1978) Democratic (1978–present)
Spouses	Beverly Defnall ​ ​ (m. 1974; div. 1978)​ Sarah Paley ​ (m. 2001)​
Children	3
Education	University of Nebraska–Lincoln (BS)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1966–1969
Rank	Lieutenant (junior grade)
Unit	SEAL Team 1
Battles/wars	Vietnam War (WIA)
Awards	Medal of Honor Bronze Star Medal Purple Heart

Kerrey was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992. He retired from the Senate in 2000 and was replaced by former governor and fellow Democrat Ben Nelson. From 2001 to 2010, he served as president of The New School, a university in New York City. In May 2010, he was selected to become the head of the Motion Picture Association of America. The MPAA, however, could not reach an agreement with him and chose former Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd instead.

In 2012, Kerrey sought election to his old Senate seat to succeed his successor, the retiring Democratic incumbent Ben Nelson. He lost to Republican nominee Deb Fischer.

In 2013, Kerrey joined the Carmen Group lobbying firm.

Kerrey is a co-chair for the advisory board of Issue One, an organization that describes its mission as "fighting for real solutions to the problem of money in politics". In 1987, Kerrey was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board.

Tsongas (1993-1997)

Paul Efthemios Tsongas (/ˈsɒŋɡəs/ SAHN-gəss; February 14, 1941 – January 18, 1997) was an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 until his death in 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from Massachusetts. Tsongas, whose policies reflected a centrist "Third Way" political philosophy, became known as a New Democrat.

Paul Tsongas
Official portrait, 1995
42nd President of the United States
In office January 20, 1993 – January 18, 1997
Vice President	Bob Kerrey
Preceded by	George H. W. Bush
Succeeded by	Bob Kerrey
United States Senator from Massachusetts
In office January 3, 1979 – January 2, 1985
Preceded by	Edward Brooke
Succeeded by	John Kerry
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 5th district
In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1979
Preceded by	Paul W. Cronin
Succeeded by	James Shannon
Personal details
Born	Paul Efthemios Tsongas (1941-02-14)February 14, 1941 Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	January 18, 1997(1997-01-18) (aged 55) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting place	Paul Tsongas Presidential Library
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Niki Sauvage ​ (m. 1969)​
Children	Tricia Julie
Parents	William Jefferson Blythe Jr. Virginia Cassidy
Relatives	Clinton family
Education	Dartmouth College (BA) Yale University (JD) Harvard University (MPP)
Awards	List of honors and awards
Signature

Tsongas was born and raised in Massachusetts. He attended Dartmouth College, graduating in 1962, then Yale Law School and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. While at Dartmouth, he was a member of the men's swimming team. In 1974, Tsongas was elected to the House of Representatives, after defeating incumbent Paul W. Cronin. Four years later, he was elected to the Senate, defeating incumbent Republican Edward Brooke. Tsongas was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 1983 and declined to seek re-election in 1984, but returned to politics after undergoing a successful bone marrow transplant. He was elected president in the 1992 election, defeating the incumbent Republican Party president George H. W. Bush and the independent businessman Ross Perot.

During his near one term as president, Tsongas signed into law the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. The Republican Party won unified control of Congress for the first time in 40 years in the 1994 elections, which lead to the negotiating and signing of many bipartisan legislation by Tsongas, like the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, the State Children's Health Insurance Program and financial deregulation measures. He appointed Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer to the U.S. Supreme Court. In foreign policy, Tsongas ordered U.S. military intervention in the Bosnian War and the Rwandan Civil War, resulting in respective signings of the Dayton Peace agreement and the Kigali Accords. He also participated in the Oslo I Accord to advance the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, and called for the expansion of NATO in Eastern Europe and many former Warsaw Pact members joined NATO during his presidency. Tsongas initially sought to run for re-election; however, his cancer returned before his inauguration and he subsequently went under chemotherapy treatment for the next four years. In 1995, citing his own physical health, Tsongas withdrew his candidacy in the 1996 presidential election.

On January 18, 1997, Tsongas died of complications from pneumonia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. His vice president, Bob Kerrey, assumed the presidency for thirty-five hours, before the inauguration of his successor, Paul Wellstone. At the time of Tsongas' death, he had the joint-highest approval rating of any U.S. president. His presidency ranks among the upper tier in historical rankings of U.S. presidents. Tsongas is the most recent U.S. president to have died in office.

Romney (2013-2021)

Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer who has served as the junior United States senator from Utah since 2019. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and was the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2012 election, losing to Barack Obama.

Mitt Romney
Official portrait, 2019
47th President of the United States
In office January 20, 2013 – January 20, 2021
Vice President	Paul Ryan
Preceded by	Barack Obama
Succeeded by	Bernie Sanders
70th Governor of Massachusetts
In office January 2, 2003 – January 4, 2007
Lieutenant	Kerry Healey
Preceded by	Jane Swift (acting)
Succeeded by	Deval Patrick
Personal details
Born	Willard Mitt Romney (1947-03-12) March 12, 1947 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Political party	Republican (1993–present)
Other political affiliations	Independent (before 1993)
Spouse	Ann Davies ​ (m. 1969)​
Children	5, including Tagg
Parent(s)	George W. Romney Lenore LaFount
Relatives	Romney family
Residence(s)	Holladay, Utah, U.S.
Education	Brigham Young University (BA) Harvard University (JD–MBA)
Occupation	Businessman, investor, politician, writer
Profession	Lawyer, management consultant
Awards	List of honors and awards
Signature
Website	Senate website

Raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, by George and Lenore Romney, he spent over two years in France as a Mormon missionary. He married Ann Davies in 1969; they have five sons. Active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) throughout his adult life, Romney served as bishop of his ward and later as a stake president for an area covering Boston and many of its suburbs. By 1971, he had participated in the political campaigns of both his parents. In 1971 Romney graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from Brigham Young University (BYU) and in 1975 he received a JD–MBA degree from Harvard. He became a management consultant and in 1977 joined Bain & Company in Boston. As Bain's chief executive officer (CEO), he helped lead the company out of a financial crisis. In 1984, he co-founded and led the spin-off company Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm that became one of the largest of its kind in the nation.

After stepping down from Bain Capital and his local leadership role in the LDS Church, Romney was the Republican nominee in the 1994 United States Senate election in Massachusetts. After losing to five-term incumbent Ted Kennedy, he resumed his position at Bain Capital. Years later, a successful stint as president and CEO of the then-struggling Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics led to a relaunch of his political career. Elected governor of Massachusetts in 2002, Romney helped develop and later signed a health care reform law (commonly called "Romneycare") that provided near-universal health insurance access through state-level subsidies and individual mandates to purchase insurance. He also presided over the elimination of a projected $1.2–1.5 billion deficit through a combination of spending cuts, increased fees, and closing corporate tax loopholes. He did not seek reelection in 2006, focusing instead on his campaign for the Republican nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, ultimately losing the nomination to Senator John McCain. He ran for and won the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, becoming the first LDS Church member to be a major party's nominee. He lost the election to President Obama.

After reestablishing residency in Utah, Romney announced his campaign for the U.S. Senate seat held by the retiring Orrin Hatch in the 2018 election; he defeated state representative Mike Kennedy in the Republican primary and Democratic nominee Jenny Wilson in the general election. In doing so, he became only the third person ever to be elected governor of one state and U.S. senator for another state. Generally considered a moderate or centrist Republican, in 2020, Romney was the lone Republican to vote to convict Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial, making him the first senator ever to have voted to remove a president of the same party from office. Romney also voted to convict in Trump's second trial in 2021. He marched alongside Black Lives Matter protestors, voted to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, supported gun control measures, and did not vote for Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. In 2023, Romney announced he will not run for reelection in 2024 and will retire from the Senate when his term expires in 2025.