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4th District: Betty McCollum


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When her daughter got hurt on a slide in a city park and the North St. Paul City Council would not fix the problem that led to the accident, Betty McCollum got involved in politics. She was elected to the city council on her second try.

In 1992 she ran for the state House of Representatives. District lines were being redrawn at the time so she ran against two incumbents. She beat them both. In office, she was a strong environmentalist who opposed Northern States Power when the utility sought permission to store spent nuclear waste in dry casks outside the plant. She advocated election reform, including allowing absentee voters to be able to vote without stating a reason they couldn't get to the polls. She had a 92 percent rating from the AFL/CIO and a 100 percent rating from the Sierra Club. She is in favor of abortion rights.

In 2004, McCollum faced Patrice Bataglia, a Dakota County commissioner. McCollum easily was re-elected with a 58%-to-33% victory. See election results for the 4th District.

According to Project Vote Smart, McCollum received these scores from special interest groups in 2005: NARAL (100%), National Association of Wheat Growers (40%), Humane Society (100%), National Taxpayers Union (17%), U.S. Chamber of Commerce (33%), NAACP (100%), National Education Association (100%), Family Research Council (0%), NOW (100%), Gun Owners of America (25%), American Public Health Association (100%). According to the National Journal, McCollum voted more liberal on economic, defense and foreign policy issues than 94 percent of the representatives. She voted more conservative on economic, defense and foreign policy issues than 6 percent of the representatives.

Candidate Bio

Betty McCollum
Political affiliation:
DFL Party
Born:
July 12, 1954
Minneapolis, MN.
Personal:
Divorced. Mother of adult son and daughter, Sean and Katie. Catholic. Resides in St. Paul
Occupation:
Former teacher. Current congresswoman
Education:
Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of St. Catherine, majoring in social studies and minoring in political science.
Major political experience:
Current congresswoman from the 4th District, Former state legislator, Former member of North St. Paul City Council.

On the Issues

Audio Budget (2/10/06)

Campaign Finances

Total contributions:
$492,101
Total disbursements
$420,940
Cash on hand
$195,227

Source: Federal Election Commission
October 2006

Links & Resources

Web site:
Document mccollumforcongress.com

Candidate Pages

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Four DFL candidates for the 5th District Congressional seat discussed their views on the fighting between Israel and Lebanon in a debate Tuesday night in Minneapolis. (07/26/2006)
Four of the DFLers seeking to replace retiring 5th District Congressman Martin Sabo debated the war in Iraq, health care and poverty issues Monday. The four DFLers agreed on a number of major national issues, but tried to differentiate themselves based on their experience. (07/24/2006)
Matt Entenza, the DFL-endorsed candidate for attorney general dropped his candidacy Tuesday, setting off a flurry of last-minute filings for the September primary. Five DFL candidates are now in the running. (07/18/2006)
DFL Attorney General candidate Matt Entenza says he's horrified and embarrassed by revelations that a Chicago firm he hired dug for dirt on current DFL Attorney General Mike Hatch. He says he will apologize to Hatch, his fellow Democrat, the party's endorsed candidate for governor. (07/13/2006)
Republican Party officials are calling on two of the state's top Democrats to come clean on an apparent feud between them. (07/12/2006)
Republican Gil Gutknecht is running for re-election in Minnesota's 1st Congressional District, long considered the most conservative in the state. But Democrats say that may be changing, and predict Gutknecht will be vulnerable this time around. (07/07/2006)
The Rev. Jesse Jackson rallied support for DFLer Keith Ellison's campaign for the 5th Congressional District seat in Minneapolis Friday afternoon. (06/30/2006)
If elected, Rep. Keith Ellison would be the first African American congressman from Minnesota and the first Muslim congressman in the nation's history. But Ellison's past, in particular his relationship with the Nation of Islam, are causing some Jewish activists and others to question if he's the best candidate. (06/30/2006)
Patty Wetterling locked down the DFL endorsement in the 6th District on Saturday, setting up what promises to be a rip-roaring battle for Congress with the GOP's conservative candidate, Michele Bachmann. (05/13/2006)
Democrats in the 6th Congressional District will meet Saturday in Monticello to endorse a candidate for the U.S. House. (05/12/2006)
Patty Wetterling and Elwyn Tinklenberg both want to grab Mark Kennedy's House seat for the Democratic Party. They make their cases to the voters in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District. (Midday, 05/10/2006)
If elected, Keith Ellison would be the first African American congressman in Minnesota history. But the endorsement doesn't guarantee that he'll be DFLer on the November ballot because several Democrats say they'll run in a September primary. (05/06/2006)
Bachmann easily won the endorsement contest Saturday in Monticello and is looking ahead to the November election. Her three challengers say they are sticking to their pledge not to run in a primary. (05/06/2006)
Rep. Mark Kennedy has set his sights on the U.S. Senate, and there is a heated race underway for the Republican endorsement to take his place in Congress. (Midday, 05/03/2006)
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