Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota
Amy Klobuchar (D) was elected to the Senate from Minnesota in 2006. She was the first woman elected to the Senate from Minnesota. She graduated magna cum laude from Yale University in 1982 and the University of Chicago Law School in 1985. In the Senate, Klobuchar has pushed to protect consumers, strengthen veterans' health and education benefits, create a strong safety net for farmers, and invest in the energy technologies that will create new jobs. Before her election to the Senate, Klobuchar served as a partner of two of Minnesota's leading law firms, and headed Minnesota's largest prosecutor's office for eight years. She also serves on the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, the Environment and Public Works Committee, and the Joint Economic Committee.
Top
Edward E. Kaufman, D-Delaware
Ted Kaufman (D) was selected to represent Delaware and fill Vice President Joe Biden's vacant Senate seat. He is a Duke-educated engineer with a Master's Degree from Wharton. He worked at the DuPont Company for seven years before joining Senator Biden's staff in 1973, where he served for 22 years, including 19 as Chief of Staff. As Senator Biden's Chief of Staff, Kaufman played an integral role in many parts of the Senate Judiciary Committee, including several Supreme Court nominations. Since 1991, Kaufman has taught about the Congress at Duke University's Law School, and he served on the Broadcasting Board of Governors for 13 years. Kaufman also serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.
Top
Arlen Specter, D-Pennsylvania
Arlen Specter (D) was elected to the Senate in 1980 from the state of Pennsylvania. He is a former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University Law School and went on to practice law in Philadelphia, eventually becoming district attorney. He is the author of the Terrorist Prosecution Act, the Armed Career Criminal Act and the co-author the Second Chance Act. In 1964 he served on the Warren Commission, the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Specter has been a leader in the Senate on health and education issues. He is a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, the Special Committee on Aging, and the Appropriations Committee.
Top
Al Franken (D) was born on May 21, 1951, and grew up in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. He graduated from Harvard in 1973, where he met his wife Franni. They've been married for 33 years, and have two children: daughter Thomasin, 28, and son Joe, 24. Franken spent the last 37 years as a comedy writer, author, and radio talk show host, and has taken part in seven USO tours, visiting troops overseas in Germany, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Uzbekistan - as well as visiting Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait four times. In 2008, Franken was elected to the Senate as a member of the DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) Party from Minnesota, and was sworn in in July 2009 following a statewide hand recount. He currently sits on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee; the Judiciary Committee; the Committee on Indian Affairs; and the Special Committee on Aging. Franken is a long-time advocate for affordable, accessible health care, an economy that works for the middle class, the protection of a secure retirement, the promise of a 21st century education for our kids, and the creation of a green economy that creates jobs and improves our environment.