SNAPSHOT
Jim Ramstad, a moderate Republican, has coasted through his three most recent elections in 2002, 2000 and 1998 with around 70 percent of the vote. His House voting record has been generally conservative on fiscal matters but a little more liberal on social issues. Ramstad is pro-choice.

Ramstad voted against a ban on assault-style weapons. He supports the death penalty for drug-related killings, murders of police officers, and for sexual assaults which result in death.

Ramstad launched his first bid for the U.S. House in 1990, saying "I want to work for job creation and economic growth as I've done in the Minnesota Senate for 10 years." He opposed raising federal taxes, saying "Taxes are an important facet of economic growth. In the face of a recession, raising taxes does not reduce budget deficits."

During the 105th Congress, Ramstad worked on a more personal issue — alcoholism. Ramstad, an alcoholic himself, introduced a bill in 1998 that would guarantee equal insurance coverage for treatment of substance-abuse addiction and other medical services. The measure was modeled after a new law that is intended to achieve similar parity for mental health services. Ramstad said addiction was a "life or death" issue for the estimated 26 million Americans who are abusing drugs or alcohol. "As a recovering alcoholic, I've seen firsthand the value of treatment for people like me who are chemically dependent," Ramstad said.

Jim Ramstad was elected to the U.S. House in 1990 with 67 percent of the vote, defeating Democrat Lou Demars and re-elected in 1992 with 66 percent of the vote, defeating Democrat Paul Mandell. He was re-elected in 1994 with 74 percent, defeating Democrat Bob Olson. He was re-elected in 1996 with 70 percent of the vote, defeating Democrat Stanley Leino. Ramstad defeated Leino again in 1998, winning re-election with 72 percent of the vote in a race that also featured a third-party candidate. In 2000, he was re-elected with 68 percent of the vote. In 2002, he beat Darryl Stanton by a 72-to-28 percent margin.

Near the end of the 2002 election, he became the focal point of the Senate campaign, when, at a memorial service for Paul Wellstone, the senator's campaign treasurer exhorted him to vote for Walter Mondale against Norm Coleman. Ramstad stuck with Coleman. But while Kahn came in for heavy criticism, it was Ramstad who called him days later to say he understood Kahn's grief. In 2003, Ramstad helped persuade the House to pass a $10 million Wellstone Center for Community Building on St. Paul's West side.

In the election of 2004, Ramstad was, again, an easy winner, turning aside a challenge from DFLer Deborah Watts by a 65%-to-35% margin. See election results for the 3rd District.