James M. "Jim" Ramstad (born May 6, 1946) is a United States politician from the state of Minnesota.

Early life

Ramstad was born in Jamestown, North Dakota, was educated at the University of Minnesota and the George Washington University Law School. He was an officer in the United States National Guard from 1968 to 1974. He also worked as a private practice attorney and as a legislative aide to the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Career

Ramstad was Republican member of the Minnesota State Senate from 1981 to 1990 before entering the U.S. Congress. He has served in the 102nd, 103rd, 104th, 105th, 106th, 107th, 108th, 109th, and 110th congresses thus far, beginning on January 3, 1991. He first defeated former Minneapolis city councilman Lou DeMars in the 1990 election and has rarely faced serious opposition since.

Ramstad has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1991, representing Minnesota's 3rd congressional district, one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota. The district, the state's wealthiest, includes most of the western portion of the Twin Cities area, including cities such as Maple Grove, Bloomington, Plymouth, Minnetonka, Wayzata, Edina, Eden Prairie and Brooklyn Park. On September 17, 2007 Ramstad announced he would not seek reelection in 2008. He reiterated his statement on December 19, 2007.

Political stances

Ramstad is a member of The Republican Main Street Partnership. He is pro-choice, supports stem cell research, and supports gay rights but is opposed to gay marriage. He voted in favor of an amendment to a whistleblower protection bill that would have allowed the government to influence stem-cell research.

He is considered to be the most moderate Republican member of the Minnesota delegation in the 109^th Congress, scoring 68 percent conservative by a conservative group and 21% progressive by a liberal group. Minnesota Congressional Districts shows the scores for the entire delegation.

Ramstad is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker. In 2006, he cosponsored H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act and H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.

Personal life

Ramstad has identified himself as a recovering alcoholic, having been sober since 1981; he is Patrick J. Kennedy's AA sponsor. Ramstad's sister, Sheryl Ramstad-Hvass, is currently a Tax Court judge in Minnesota.

On February 25, 2008 it was announced that Ramstad had been elected to the board of directors of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University

Committee Assignments

• Ways and Means Committee
• Subcommittee on Oversight (Ranking Member)
• Subcommittee on Health
• Co-chair of the Addiction Treatment and Recovery Caucus
• Co-chair of the Disabilities Caucus
• Co-chair of the Law Enforcement Caucus
• Co-chair of the Medical Technology Caucus

Electoral history

• 2006 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 3rd District
• Jim Ramstad (R)(inc.), 65%
• Wendy Wilde (DFL), 35%

References

External links

• Congressman Jim Ramstad official U.S. House site
• Jim Ramstad official campaign site

• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
• MPR — Campaign 2006: Jim Ramstad profile from Minnesota Public Radio