Mark Kennedy

Mark Kennedy was a Republican member of the U. S. House of Representatives representing the 6th District of Minnesota from 2001 to 2007. He opted not to seek reelection in 2006, choosing instead to pursue the Senate seat vacated by incumbent Sen. Mark Dayton. He was defeated in that race by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)

Bio
Kennedy was born April 11, 1957 in Benson, Minnesota. He received his B.A. at St. John's University and his M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Kennedy announced he is running for Mark Dayton's U.S. Senate in 2006. His close ties to President Bush are now seen as a liability for his chances to win the senate seat, and in early 2006 polls he is led by all Minnesota Democratic Farm Labor (DFL) candidates, by a spread ranging from 2 to 10 points.

Iraq War
Kennedy voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.

2006 Elections
Kennedy announced that he would run for Senate at the end of his term. He was defeated in the general election 58%-38% by Democrat Amy Klobuchar. 

Democrats nominated Patty Wetterling and Republicans nominated Michele Bachman to contest the November 2006 election for his Senate seat. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006)

Committees in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * House Committee on Armed Services
 * House Defense Review Threat Panel
 * Subcommittee on Personnel
 * Subcommittee on Terrorism Unconventional Threats and Capabilities
 * House Committee on Education and the Workforce
 * Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations
 * Subcommittee on Workforce Protections

More Background Data

 * 2006 Minnesota CD 6 Candidate List from VIS

Resources

 * Official website
 * Campaign website
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Articles

 * GOP Auction House: Mark Kennedy MN-6, DCCC.org.
 * "Mark Kennedy's (MN-06) Rubber Stamp Record," DCCC.org.
 * "Mark Kennedy 2002 Ad," YouTube.
 * Michael Khoo, "Mark Kennedy jumps into Senate race," Minnesota Public Radio, February 11, 2005.
 * "Kennedy Can Run, But He Can't Hide," Minnesota Republican Watch, November 9, 2005.
 * News Release: "President's Remarks at Mark Kennedy '06 and Minnesota Republican Party Victory Reception," Hilton Minneapolis Hotel, Minneapolis, Minnesota, December 9, 2005.
 * Libby George, "MN Senate: Mostly Party-line Voting May Hinder Kennedy," CQ Politics, January 23, 2006.
 * Noah Seligman, "Mark Kennedy wrong for students. Kennedy voted to cut nearly $13 billion from financial aid loan programs," Minnesota Daily, January 25, 2006.
 * Phil Singer, "White House Budget Forces Mark Kennedy To Choose Between Minnesota & Bush," DSCC.org, February 6, 2006.
 * "Tim Pawlenty, Mark Kennedy Spotted In Florida," Minnesota Republican Watch, February 17, 2006.
 * News Release: "Mrs. Bush's Remarks at a Mark Kennedy for Senate and Minnesota Victory Reception," The Depot, Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 6, 2006.
 * Jon-David, "Makeover Mark's Website Scrubs Bush," MN Publius.com, June 26, 2006.
 * Michael Link, "Scrubgate, Revisited," From the Roots DSCC Blog, June 28, 2006. Also see other Minnesota postings.
 * "Karl Rove To Raise Money For Mark Kennedy," Associated Press (WCCO.com CBS4), July 17, 2006. re Karl Rove
 * Eric Black, "Rove stumps for Bachmann, Kennedy. The president's tactician was in town for twin fundraisers for candidates in high-profile races," Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN), July 21, 2006.
 * "Know When to Hold Them," The American Spectator, July 25, 2006.
 * Patrick Condon, "Political pros sharpen their knives in press release wars," Associated Press (Duluth Superior), July 25, 2006.
 * Pat Kessler, "Reality Check: Mark Kennedy's Ad," WCCO.com CBS4, July 26, 2006.
 * John Kroman, "Let the Games Begin: Senate race sparks TV ad war," KARE11.com (Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN), July 28, 2006: "Kennedy's first commercial was produced by Texas Republican media guru Scott Howell, the same person who created Norm Coleman's ad campaign in his 2002 Senate run." Political analyst Steve Smith, "a political science professor at Washington University in St Louis", "believes the Kennedy camp is attempting to fight off the perception, and a standard Democrat criticism, that he's too closely aligned with President Bush and the Republican Party's national agenda. The ad, in Smith's mind, is an effort to address a perceived weakness."
 * DavidNYC, "MN-Sen: You Can't Hide From CQ," Swing State Project, July 28, 2006.
 * Captain Ed, "Meet The Rightroots Candidates (Update & Bump)," Captain's Quarters Blog, August 1, 2006. See Rightroots
 * "Conservative bloggers begin fundraising effort for GOP candidates," The Raw Story, August 2, 2006.
 * Holly Yeager, "US businesses spend to protect Senate seats," Financial Times (MSNBC), August 2, 2006. Business Industry Political Action Committee (BIPAC)'s "candidates this year include Mark Kennedy, a Republican House member and former finance director at Pillsbury, the baked goods maker, who is running for an open Senate seat in Minnesota, and Mike McGavick, former chief executive of Safeco, a Seattle-based insurer, who is challenging Maria Cantwell, Democratic senator from Washington."
 * "State by State," The Hill, August 2, 2006. U.S. Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Kennedy.
 * Matt, "Farmfest Review: Kennedy's Scorn for Minnesota Farmers," MN Publius.com, August 2, 2006.
 * Eric Black, "Campaign truth squad: Ad claims create a false impression," Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN), August 3, 2006: "Mark Kennedy's latest ad says he's a Republican who readily crosses party lines. But his voting record doesn't reflect that; it shows high party unity. So we asked him about the discrepancy." Text of Kennedy ad. See ad on YouTube.
 * "Makeover Mark Muddles Message, Misses Next Debate. After Missing the Mark at Farm Fest, Kennedy Skipped Greater Minnesota Debate," Minnesota Democratic-Farm-Labor Party, August 3, 2006.
 * Bill Salisbury, "GOP says it's about choice. National committee's strategy keeps Bush at arm's length, focuses on local candidates," TwinCities.com/Pioneer Press, August 4, 2006.
 * Ruth Marcus, "Fundraising moves beyond cocktails," Times-Union (Albany, NY), August 4, 2006: "Rep. Mark Kennedy, a Minnesota Republican running for an open Senate seat, had a fundraising lunch June 15 with White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten at the Oval Room."
 * Ryan Lizza, "Analyze Diss," The New Republic, August 4, 2006.
 * Michael Abramowitz, "GOP Candidates Claim Degrees Of Separation From President," Washington Post, August 5, 2006.
 * Rob Hotakainen, "Photo-op with Bush? Some Republicans camera shy. When Air Force One comes to town next week, candidates face the tricky decision of whether to embrace their embattled leader," Star-Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN), August 17, 2006.
 * "Bush Loyalist Kennedy Plays Down Ties in Fight for Senate Seat," Bloomberg, August 18, 2006.
 * Opinion: "Mark Kennedy's 'happy feet' are troubling," St. Paul Pioneer Press/TwinCities.com, August 20, 2006.
 * Patrick Condon, "Kennedy would be Senate's only CPA, but its second accountant," Associated Press (DuluthNewsTribune.com (MN)), August 22, 2006.
 * Michael Abramowitz, "GOP Candidates Claim Degrees Of Separation From President," Washington Post, September 5, 2006.

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * DumpMarkKennedy.com
 * Kennedy v. The Machine
 * MN Publius.com
 * Inside Minnesota Politics
 * Minnesota Campaign Report
 * Centrisity
 * Wetterling v. Bachmann
 * DFL Senate

Contact
DC Office: 1415 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-2302 Phone: 202-225-2331 Fax: 202-225-6475 Email: mark.kennedy AT mail.house.gov Web Email Website

District Office- Buffalo: 1111 Highway 25 North, Suite 204 Buffalo, MN 55313 Phone: 763-684-1600 Fax: 763-684-1730

District Office- Hugo: 14669 Fitzgerald Avenue North, Suite 100 Hugo, MN 55038-9367 Phone: 651-653-5933 Fax: 651-653-1549