In the Spotlight

Tools
Your Voice
Document What goals would you set for President Bush? What focus would you like to see? What do you want from the 2004 administration?
Select A Candidate
Document Select A Candidate
Which candidates' views on the issues most closely match your own? Take our Select A Candidate survey.
MyBallot.net
To see who will be on your ballot, enter all or part of your address.

Address Number: (e.g. 124)

Street Name: (e.g. Elm St)

Zip code (required):




Your street address will help generate your sample ballot and will not be used for any other purpose.
News Headlines
News & Features
Campaign 2004
HomeResultsPresidentCongressLegislatureResources


Candidate Bio
James Oberstar
Political affiliation:
Democratic Party
Born:
September 10, 1934
Chisholm, Minn.
Personal:
Married to Jean Oberstar. Four children from his marriage to Jo, who died in 1991. Catholic.
Occupation:
8th District congressman. Navy civilian language teacher, Haiti, 1959-63.
Education:
Bachelor's degree from the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., in 1956 and a master's degree from the College of Europe in Belgium in 1957.
Major political experience:
Administrative assistant to Rep. John Blatnik, 1963-74; Elected to U.S. House of Representatives, 1974.
Audio
Links and Resources
Web site:
Document www.house.gov/oberstar/
Campaign Web site:
Document www.oberstar.org
Campaign contributors:
Document Political Money Line
Candidate Pages
District Pages

Jim Oberstar

SNAPSHOT
James L. Oberstar is the dean of the Minnesota congressional delegation with 15 terms under his belt. He is the longest-serving member of Congress in Minnesota's history. The seniority has brought a powerful committee position and more clout than other politicians from the state. He has an independent streak and is perceived as something of a maverick.

Creole-speaking Oberstar, who served the U.S. Navy in Haiti, came to the House in 1974, seeking to succeed Rep. John Blatnik, his former employer. He lost the DFL endorsement for the seat to state Sen. Tony Perpich, but ran in the primary and defeated Perpich handily.

He had few serious challenges in his subsequent re-election bids. In 1984, he lost a primary bid for the U.S. Senate.

In the 107th Congress, Oberstar remained the senior Democrat on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, where he has earned a reputation for bringing home the bacon. As of late, he's been a central figure in the debate over how to make air travel safer in a post-Sept. 11 world.

Oberstar is a critic of the Transportation Security Adminstration, saying it has moved to slow to enhance baggage screening and put federal employees at check points.

Although he's in his late 60s, Oberstar hasn't slowed a bit. He loves to ride a bike and last year he logged 2,630 miles. He likes biking so much that he's joined with other members of Congress to form a bike lobby. And he's helped Congress quadruple spending on bike projects in the last decade to nearly $2 billion, which has helped build 20,000 miles of bike trails, put bike racks on buses and establish safety programs.

His district is one of the nation's largest. It stretches north from Chisago and Isanti counties in east-central Minnesota, through Duluth and the Iron Range to the Canadian border. He opposes abortion and is against the death penalty.

James Oberstar was elected to the U.S. House in 1974 with 62 percent of the vote. He has been re-elected 14 times, all with ease. Oberstar's three most recent contests are prime examples. In 1998 he defeated Republican Jerry Shuster with 66 percent of the vote in a race that also featured Stan "The Man" Estes. In the 2000 general election he faced another nicknamed challenger, "Cowboy" Bob Lemen, a native Texan who has settled in Grand Rapids. He beat Lemen with 68 percent of the vote. He outspent Lemen $1 million to $22,000. In 2002, he again beat Lemen by a 69-to-31-percent margin.

In 2004, Oberstar faced Mark Groettum, a Republican, and Van Presley, a member of the Green Party. Oberstar cruised to re-election, capturing 65% of the vote in the three-way race, the 5th straight election in which he captured at least 65% of the votes cast. See 8th District election results.


Patty Wetterling's uncertain political future
Democrat Patty Wetterling lost her bid for Congress by 30,000 votes. But political observers say Wetterling, as a first-time candidate, made a good showing against incumbent Republican Mark Kennedy. Now many wonder about Wetterling's political future.
Minnesota members of Congress return to Washington
Minnesota is sending back all of the state's incumbents to Congress. Republican Mark Kennedy defeated DFL challenger Patty Wetterling in the race that garnered most of the attention. Kennedy received 54 percent of the vote in Minnesota's 6th District to Wetterling's 46 percent of the vote. Kennedy's victory means that Minnesota's congressional delegation will be split with four Republicans and four Democrats. Members of both parties say they hope to put the recent partisan rhetoric behind them when they go back to Washington.
Gutkencht confident of eighth term
For more than a decade, Republican Gil Gutknecht has represented the 1st District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He's won his last few races handily. This year's election is unlikely to be any different. In fact Gutknecht is so confident he's barely campaigning at all.
Meet the Candidates: Mark Kennedy and Patty Wetterling
The congressional race in Minnesota's 6th District has been one of the most closely watched in the country. In what would otherwise be a relatively safe reelection campaign, Republican Mark Kennedy is facing a challenge from a very well-known first-time candidate: missing children's advocate Patty Wetterling. Minnesota Public Radio's Meet the Candidates series continues with back-to-back interviews with Kennedy and Wetterling.
1st District and 5th District debates
Minnesota Public Radio's Meet the Candidates series continues with the congressional candidates in the 1st and 5th Districts.
3rd District debate
Minnesota Public Radio's Meet the Candidates series continues with the 3rd District congressional candidates, incumbent Republican Jim Ramstad and his DFL challenger Deborah Watts. In the 2nd half hour, a look at the Senate races in South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Meet the candidates: 2nd Congressional District
A live Minnesota Public Radio debate between the candidates running for Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District. Republican John Kline is in his first term in the U.S. Congress and is defending his seat against Democrat Teresa Daly. Independence Party candidate Doug Williams was also invited to participate in the debate but did not respond.
Meet the candidates: 4th Congressional District
A live Minnesota Public Radio debate between the candidates running for Minnesota's 4th Congressional District. Betty McCollum, a two-term Democratic incumbent, is defending her seat against Republican Patrice Bataglia. Independence Party candidate Peter Vento was also invited to participate in the debate but did not respond.
Sixth District candidates debate
Sixth District Republican Congressman Mark Kennedy is defending his seat from well-known missing children's advocate Patty Wetterling, a Democrat. They square off at a Sunday evening debate in St. Paul sponsored by the League of Women Voters and KSTP-TV. Minnesota Public Radio broadcasts the debate as part of our "Meet the Candidates" series.
Kennedy, Wetterling stage final 6th District debate
Incumbent Republican Mark Kennedy and his Democratic challenger Patty Wetterling are involved in one of Minnesota's hottest congressional races. Their final debate was broadcast live from a Twin Cities television station.
Negative ads suggest close race in Minnesota's 6th District
Republican Mark Kennedy and the National Republican Congressional Committee are stepping up their criticism of DFLer Patty Wetterling. Both Kennedy and the NRCC are running television advertisements questioning Wetterling's credibility as a candidate and the special interest groups that support her. Wetterling says the ads are unfair and has countered with an ad of her own questioning the Republican tactics.
Congressional candidates debate in St. Cloud
The two candidates for Minnesota's 6th Congressional District met over the weekend for their second debate in St. Cloud. Incumbent Republican Mark Kennedy and Democratic challenger Patty Wetterling showed contrasting opinions on topics ranging from Social Security to the war in Iraq.
In Minnesota's sprawling 6th District, the battleground may be TV
The candidates in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District are battling over the war on terrorism and homeland security. Republican Congressman Mark Kennedy has been running an ad suggesting DFL opponent Patty Wetterling opposes the war in Afghanistan. Wetterling says Kennedy is misleading voters and has been running her own ads touting her accomplishments in fighting crime.
Hard feelings mark Minnesota's 2nd District race
Republican Congressman John Kline and DFL Challenger Teresa Daly met on Monday for their second debate. The two candidates are running in Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District, which includes some southern Twin Cities suburbs and stretches south into Red Wing and Faribault. The 2002 race in Minnesota's 2nd was fiercely competitive, with Kline and DFL opponent Bill Luther both claiming the other was using underhanded tactics to get elected. The current race is likely to follow suit since both candidates are claiming their their opponent is engaged in mudslinging.
Kennedy, Wetterling debate issues in 6th District race
Republican Congressman Mark Kennedy and DFL challenger Patty Wetterling met in their first head-to-head debate on Sunday in Minneapolis. The two candidates are running in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District, which takes up St. Cloud, the northern Twin Cities suburbs and eastern suburbs, such as Woodbury and Stillwater.

More News & Features
Browse: 1 2 3 4 Next >