Collin Peterson

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U.S. Representative

Collin Peterson (D)

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MN-07

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Positions
Leadership: No leadership position
Committees: House Committee on Agriculture
(subcommittees and past assignments)
Next election: Nov. 6, 2012

Primary challenge: No

Incumbent running: Yes

2012 candidates for MN-07

Confirmed: Lee Byberg, Gretchen Hoffman, Collin Peterson
Possible: None so far
Out: None so far
(more info & editing for MN-07)
On the Web
Official website


Collin Clark Peterson has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1991, representing the 7th District of Minnesota. He is a regional whip.

Contents

Record and controversies

Congressional scorecards

Click through the score to see the records of other members of Congress and full descriptions of the individual votes.

Want to see someone else's scorecard added to the list? You can do it!

Organization 2007 Scorecard
Score - Agree ratio 		2008 Scorecard
Score - Agree ratio
American Civil Liberties Union not avail. not avail.
American Conservative Union 33 - 8/25 not avail.
AFSCME not avail. not avail.
Americans for Democratic Action 85 - 17/20 80 - 16/20
Club for Growth not avail. not avail.
Drum Major Institute not avail. not avail.
Family Research Council not avail. not avail.
Information Technology Industry Council not avail. not avail.
League of Conservation Voters not avail. not avail.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People not avail. not avail.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce 60 - 12/20 not avail.


Iraq War

For more information see the chart of U.S. House of Representatives votes on the Iraq War.

Peterson voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.[1]

Environmental record

For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Air travel restrictions

On May 2 2007, the House voted by voice vote on H.R.363 to remove airplane travel restrictions. The measure was sponsored by Rep. Peterson and Rep. Samuel Graves (R-Mo.). The new rules allow members to fly in a friend's airplane for free. The rules change also provides that members who are certified pilots may again fly their own aircraft.

Main article: U.S. federal ethics, transparency, and campaign finance legislation, 110th Congress

Bio

Background

Peterson was born June 29, 1944 in Fargo, North Dakota. He grew up on a farm in Baker, Minnesota, and received his B.A. at Moorhead State University in Moorhead, Minnesota. His current home is Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

Peterson was a member of the Minnesota State Senate from 1977-1986.

Congressional Career

He won his present seat in the United States Congress by defeating incumbent Arlan Stangeland in 1990, after unsuccessful attempts in 1986 and 1988. In subsequent elections in 1992 and 1994, he struggled to hold on to his seat in close elections. In 1992 he narrowly won re-election by a 50-49% margin against former state representative Bernie Omann. In a 1994 re-match against Omann, Peterson won by a 51-49% margin. From 1996 on, he has been re-elected by a wide margin, with voters giving him between 65 and 72 percent of the vote.

Positions and Views

Peterson was one of the seven original founders of the Blue Dog Coalition of conservative Democrats in the House.

An avid hunter, Peterson is known for his interest in conservation and sportsmens issues. In the past he has been the Democratic House chair of the Congressional Sportsmens Caucus, with 300+ members. In 2000, he introduced H.R. 1275 to stop the interstate shipping of birds for cockfighting, a bill with 206 co-sponsors which did not make it out of committee. He consistently votes against gun control bills and received an "A" rating and endorsement from the National Rifle Association during the 2004 election. He is a co-sponsor of the America's Redrock Wilderness Act, a bill promoted by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance to protect Utah wilderness. He is a strong supporter of preserving wildlife and gaming refuges.

Representing a mostly rural district, Peterson takes a strong interest in agriculture issues, and support for increasing agricultural investment programs, farm support programs, protecting family farms, and promoting the use of ethanol and biodiesel fuels.

Among the bills sponsored by Peterson in recent sessions of Congress are bills to provide tax incentives for biodiesel, to eliminate methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) from the fuel supply, to provide for faster assistance to farmers who undergo crop damage in federally-declared disaster areas, and to require the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate fatal railroad grade crossing accidents.

In 1998, Peterson gained attention by proposing a constitutional amendment which would allow the residents of Minnesota's Northwest Angle to vote on whether they wanted to secede from the United States and join the Canadian province of Manitoba.

In January 2005, he was selected by the House Democratic Caucus to succeed former Texas Congressman Charles Stenholm as the Ranking Member on the House Committee on Agriculture. Some brief controversy ensued during the selection process as Peterson was grilled by House Democratic leaders over his votes in favor of a Republican-sponsored drug bill in 2000 and Medicare bill in 2002.

Peterson is regularly listed by political experts as one of the most conservative Democrats in the U.S. Congress. He often votes with the opposition on social issues like gay marriage, abortion, and capital punishment. He was one of the few Democrats in the House to vote for the first tax cut package in 2001. He supports eliminating the estate tax and was one of the few Democrats to vote against the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. On some issues he is closer to the mainstream of his party: he has voted against most free trade agreements, both versions of the Patriot Act, and he has been sharply critical of the Bush supported-No Child Left Behind Act, which he contends is unfair to rural students.

2006 elections

In 2006, Republicans nominated Mike Barrett to face Peterson in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) [1] Peterson retained his seat.

Money in politics

This section contains links to – and feeds from – money in politics databases. For specific controversies, see this article's record and controversies section.

Top Contributors to during the 2008 Election Cycle
DonorAmount (US Dollars)
American Crystal Sugar$ 10,250
American Assn of Crop Insurers$ 10,000
American Veterinary Medical Assn$ 10,000
Blue Dog PAC$ 10,000
American Institute of CPAs$ 8,000
American Pistachio Growers$ 8,000
Syngenta AG$ 8,000
Fagen Inc$ 7,500
American Farm Bureau$ 7,000
Ecolab Inc$ 7,000
Source: The Center for Responsive Politics' www.OpenSecrets.org site.
Note: Contributions are not from the organizations themselves, but are rather from
the organization's PAC, employees or owners. Totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.
Links to more campaign contribution information for Collin Peterson
from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site.
Fundraising profile: 2008 election cycle Career totals
Top contributors by organization/corporation: 2008 election cycle Career totals
Top contributors by industry: 2008 election cycle Career totals


Committees and Affiliations

Committees

Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

Coalitions and Caucuses

  • Air Force Caucus
  • Animal Welfare Caucus
  • Caucus on Armenian Issues
  • Caucus on Unfunded Mandates
  • Internet Caucus
  • Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus
  • Northern Border Caucus
  • Soybean Caucus
  • Sportsmen's Caucus
  • Travel and Tourism Caucus
  • Co-Chair, Military Veterans Caucus
  • Forestry 2000 Task Force
  • Law Enforcement Task Force
  • Co-Chair, Military Veterans Caucus
  • Renewable Energy Caucus
  • Rural Development Caucus
  • Rural Health Care Caucus
  • Rural Housing Caucus
  • Steering Committee, Rural Health Care Coalition
  • Telecommunications Task Force

Boards and other Affiliations

  • Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Task Force
  • Blue Dog Coalition
  • Canada - U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group
  • Cuba Working Group
  • Ducks Unlimited
  • Eagles Club
  • Farm Bureau
  • Farmers Union
  • National Guard and Reserve Component Organization
  • Safari Club International
  • Vietnam-era Veterans in Congress

More Background Data

Wikipedia also has an article on Collin Peterson. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.

Contact

DC office
  • 2211 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
    Ph: 202-225-2165 Fax: 202-225-1593
    Webform email
District offices
  • 714 Lake Avenue, Suite 107 Detroit Lakes, MN 56501
    Ph: 218-847-5056 Fax: (none entered)
  • 1420 East College Drive Marshall, MN 56258
    Ph: 507-537-2299 Fax: (none entered)
  • Minnesota Wheat Growers Building 2603 Wheat Drive Red Lake Falls, MN 56750
    Ph: 218-253-4356 Fax: (none entered)
  • 230 East 3rd Street Post Office Box 50 Redwood Falls, MN 56283
    Ph: 507-637-2270 Fax: (none entered)
  • 320 Fourth Street Southwest Centre Point Mall Willmar, MN 56201
    Ph: 320-235-1061 Fax: (none entered)
  • 100 North First Street Montevideo, MN 56265
    Ph: 320-269-8888 Fax: (none entered)
On the Web
Campaign office
  • No campaign website entered.
  • No campaign webform email entered.
  • No campaign office information entered.

Articles and Resources

Local blogs and discussion sites

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Semantic data (Edit data)

Retrieved from "http://www.opencongress.org/wiki/Collin_Peterson"
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