Earl Benjamin Nelson (born May 17, 1941) is an American politician, attorney, and businessman who served as a United States senator from Nebraska from 2001 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 37th governor of Nebraska from 1991 to 1999. As of , he is the last Democrat to have won or held statewide office in Nebraska.
Nelson was an insurance executive before he entered politics. His first run for office was in 1990, when he narrowly defeated incumbent Republican governor Kay Orr. He was reelected by a landslide in 1994. He ran for an open U.S. Senate seat in 1996, losing in an upset to Republican Chuck Hagel. He was elected to Nebraska's other Senate seat in 2000, and reelected in 2006. He did not run for a third term in 2012, and was succeeded by Republican Deb Fischer.
Nelson was the most conservative Democrat during his time in the U.S. Senate, frequently voting against his party.
Early life, education, and early career Earl Benjamin Nelson was born on May 17, 1941, in McCook, in southwestern Nebraska. He is the only child of Birdella and Benjamin Earl Nelson. He is an Eagle Scout.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1963, a Master's degree in 1965, and a Juris Doctor in 1970—all from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
After graduating from law school, Nelson landed a job as assistant general counsel for Central National Insurance Group of Omaha. After several years in the business, in 1975 the governor appointed him state insurance director. After the administration changed, he returned to work for Central National Insurance as an executive vice president and eventually president.
Political career Nelson became involved in state politics, joining the Democratic Party. In 1986, he served as state chairman of Democrat Helen Boosalis's gubernatorial campaign. She was mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska. Boosalis was defeated by state treasurer Republican Kay Orr, 53% to 47%.
Governor of Nebraska (1991-1999)
Nelson first ran for electoral office in 1990, defeating first-term Republican incumbent Orr by 4,030 votes out of over 586,000 cast. He was reelected in 1994 with 73% of the vote, the largest margin of victory for a governor in half a century, despite the national Republican gains that year.
During his tenure, he introduced legislation to cut crime through the Safe Streets Act and Juvenile Crime Bill, advocated for low-income families through the Kids Connection health care system, and enacted welfare reforms. He also cut taxes for over 400,000 middle-income families.
As governor, Nelson took some conservative stances on issues in right-leaning Nebraska. He pushed welfare reform before it was done at a national level and opposed President Bill Clinton's efforts on health care.
During the 1990 campaign, Nelson attacked Orr's support for a proposed low-level nuclear waste dump in the state. During his tenure, the Nebraska State Department of Environmental Quality denied the dump's application for an operating license, prompting a lawsuit that Nebraska settled for $145 million.
Nelson ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1996 when fellow Democrat Jim Exon retired. He was defeated by Republican businessman and Vietnam veteran Chuck Hagel in an upset.
In 1998, Nelson was ineligible to run for re-election because of Nebraska's term-limits law. He was succeeded as governor by Mike Johanns, the Republican mayor of Lincoln. As of , Nelson is the last Democrat to serve as governor of Nebraska.
U.S. Senator (2001-2013) 2000 election
Nelson was nominated by the Democrats for the Senate in the 2000 election after his fellow Democrat, incumbent Bob Kerrey, announced his retirement. His opponent was Attorney General Don Stenberg. Nelson won the election with 51% of the vote after a campaign in which he spent 50% more ($1,004,985) than Stenberg. Despite initially pledging to work together, Nelson and his fellow colleague Hagel had a somewhat frosty relationship.
2006 election
Nelson was thought to be in danger of losing his seat in 2006, as it was thought his successor as governor, Mike Johanns, was almost certain to run against him; that speculation ended when Johanns was appointed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. With Johanns' move to Washington, few high-profile Republicans stepped up to run against Nelson, as the state party focused its attention on the governor's race. The Republican nomination was won by Pete Ricketts, a former TD Ameritrade executive.
In the general election, Nelson was endorsed by the National Rifle Association of America, Nebraska Right to Life (National Right to Life's state affiliate), Nebraskans United for Life, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business, Nebraska Farmers Union PAC, National Farmers Union PAC, the Veterans of Foreign Wars PAC, the Business-Industry Political Action Committee, and the Omaha Police Union, all conservative-leaning groups.
Nelson defeated Ricketts 64%-36%, the biggest victory margin for a Democratic Senate candidate in Nebraska since Edward Zorinsky won 66% of the vote in 1982. In doing so, he received the votes of 42% of Republicans and 73% of Independents on top of 96% of those from his own party. He also won all but 13 counties in the western part of the state, a surprising feat in normally heavily Republican Nebraska.
Political positions Abortion Nelson is anti-abortion. In the 2006 election, he was endorsed by Nebraska Right to Life and Nebraskans United for Life. He lost Nebraska Right to Life's support after voting for the Senate version of health-care legislation, the Affordable Care Act, which did not contain the Stupak language. Nelson introduced the Nelson Amendment to the America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 to restrict federal funding of elective abortions.
Earmarks In July 2007, Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma criticized earmarks that Nelson had inserted into the 2007 defense spending bill, alleging that they would benefit Nelson's son Patrick's employer with millions in federal dollars, and that the situation violated terms of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, which the Senate passed but had not yet been voted on in the House. Nelson's spokesperson said he did nothing wrong and was acting with "an abundance of caution" when he withdrew the amendment after the new Senate Ethics Rules were passed. Some government watchdogs, including Public Citizen, commented that the earmark probably didn't violate ethics rules.Omaha World Herald, 8/3/2007, "Future of Nelson earmarks unclear" More than one publication questioned Coburn's motives, as his criticism did not include his own state delegation's earmark requests.Omaha World Herald editorial August 16, 2007, The Oklahoman 8/6/2007, Senator attacks 'pork'; State avoids extra trims from Coburn
Health care and "Cornhusker Kickback" In late 2009, the Senate's 40 Republicans unanimously opposed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Senate's version of health-care legislation. To end a Republican filibuster and pass the measure, the Democrats needed the votes of all 58 of their senators, plus those of two independents who caucused with their party. Nelson was the 60th and final senator to vote for cloture.Murray, Shailagh, and Lori Montgomery. "Deal on health bill is reached". Washington Post. December 20, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
According to Nelson, he wanted to ensure that the final version of the law prohibited the use of public funds for abortions."Nelson Speaks on Senate Floor About Nelson–Hatch Amendment". Transcript of Nelson's remarks on Senate floor; press release on Nelson's Senate website. December 7, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2010. His cloture vote came after the measure was amended to permit states to opt out of allowing insurance exchange plans to provide abortion coverage. People with plans that covered abortion costs would pay for that coverage separately from their payment for the rest of the plan.Kane, Paul. "To sway Nelson, a hard-won compromise on abortion issue". Washington Post. December 20, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2010. The bill also provided full and permanent federal reimbursement for the expenses Nebraska would incur in its mandated expansion of Medicaid eligibility, an amount the Congressional Budget Office estimated at $100 million.O'Brien, Michael. "CBO pegs Nelson's Nebraska Medicaid deal cost at $100 million". The Hill. December 20, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2010. Nelson also opposed a public health insurance option in the bill.
The health-care measure was controversial, and Nelson's vote provoked a strong response. Opponents of the Medicaid reimbursement scheme derided it as the "Cornhusker Kickback".Frates, Chris. "Payoffs for states get Harry Reid to 60 votes". Politico. December 19, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2010. Among those denouncing the provision was Dave Heineman, Nebraska's Republican governor.Hayworth, Bret. "Dems push back to defend Nelson health vote". Sioux City Journal. December 23, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2010. To these criticisms, Nelson responded that he had been attempting to eliminate an unfunded federal mandate upon the states,"Sen. Ben Nelson's Chronology". PBS Frontline. April 13, 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2010. and that the Nebraska item was a "placeholder", intended from the start to be replaced by a revision that would provide reimbursement for the increased Medicaid costs of every state.Morton, Joseph. Omaha World-Herald. January 16, 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
Anti-abortion organizations also responded negatively to Nelson's vote. In April 2010, Nebraska Right to Life declared that it would never again endorse Nelson.Walton, Don. "Nebraska Right to Life OKs Dave Heineman, abandons Ben Nelson". Lincoln Journal Star. April 14, 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
Nelson's popularity fell among Nebraskans in the wake of his cloture vote. According to Omaha.com, "Almost overnight, the controversial vote knocked [Nelson's] Nebraska voter approval rating from 78 percent, the highest in the Senate, to 42 percent, according to one poll, and prompted relentless criticism, with many observers saying his political career was over." A December 2009 Rasmussen poll indicated that in a hypothetical Nelson–Heineman race, the Republican would get 61% of the vote to Nelson's 30%. In the same poll, 64% of the Nebraska voters surveyed opposed the health-care bill."Election 2012: Nebraska Senate" Rasmussen Reports. December 29, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
With the surprise victory of Republican Scott Brown in the special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by the death of Senator Ted Kennedy, Democrats lost their filibuster-proof majority. Since Brown had declared himself opposed to the health-care measure, the party's leadership opted to enact the legislation through the budget reconciliation process.Stolberg, Sheryl Gay, Jeff Zeleny, and Carl Hulse. "Health Vote Caps a Journey Back From the Brink". New York Times. March 20, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010. Nelson voted against the final version of the legislation, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.Herszenhorn, David. "Nelson to Vote Against Reconciliation Bill". New York Times. March 22, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010. His support for the measure was no longer essential to its passage, since the reconciliation bill was not subject to filibuster and required only a simple majority.Stolberg, Sheryl Gay and Robert Pear. "Obama Calls for 'Up or Down Vote' on Health Care Bill". New York Times. March 22, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.