Mark Udall encyclopedia topics

Personal background

Mark was born in Tucson, Arizona, the son of Morris "Mo" Udall, a former congressman from Arizona and candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1976. He is a first cousin of Congressman (and fellow Senate candidate) Tom Udall of New Mexico and a second cousin of Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon, and nephew of former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall. The Udall family is one of the most prominent political families in the United States.

Mark Udall graduated from Canyon del Oro High School, located in the Tucson suburb of Oro Valley in 1968. He graduated from Williams College in 1972 and moved to Colorado. He was an instructor, course director and program director with the Colorado Outward Bound School for 20 years, and served for 10 years as executive director.

Elected offices

After only one term in the Colorado State House of Representatives, Udall won the Democratic nomination for the 2nd District in 1998 after 12-year incumbent David Skaggs retired. The race was unexpectedly close, with Udall only defeating Boulder's Republican mayor, Bob Greenlee, by two points. He has since easily won reelection four times. He is co-chair of the Congressional Soccer Caucus.

Udall touts his commitment to working for bipartisanship in Congress. On his campaign website, he discusses his advocation for environmentalism and the development for alternative fuels. He also writes that he is a strong supporter of military issues, including the development of new jobs in the aerospace field, but that he has opposed the Patriot Act since it was first initated.

Committee assignments

Armed Services Committee

Readiness Subcommittee
Terrorism and Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee

Committee on Science and Technology

Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee (Chairman)
Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment

Committee on Natural Resources

Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
Subcommittee on Water and Power

Co-chair of the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus
NATO Parliamentary Assembly

Senate election 2008

On January 15, 2007, Senator Wayne Allard announced he would not run for a third term. Rep. Udall has expressed his interest in running and is the expected Democratic nominee for the race.

At the same time, his first cousin Representative Tom Udall is running for the New Mexico Senate seat left open by the retirement of Pete Domenici. Including their second cousin Senator Gordon Smith, there are three Udalls running in Senate elections in 2008.

In 2000 and 2002, Udall received money from Preston Gates, a national law firm with which Jack Abramoff was affiliated, before votes on bills to limit internet gambling, both of which Udall voted against. In 2006, after Abramoff had been jailed for corruption and was no longer donating to Udall, Udall then voted for a similar bill. There is no indication that Udall's votes were related to the contributions he had received from Preston Gates, and Udall never received any donations from Abramoff himself. Dick Wadhams, the Chair of the Colorado Republican Party, stated that Preston Gates "was just another law firm at that time, like hundreds of others."