Rick Nolan | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2013 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMinnesota | |
| In office January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Chip Cravaack |
| Succeeded by | Pete Stauber |
| Constituency | 8th district |
| In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1981 | |
| Preceded by | John M. Zwach |
| Succeeded by | Vin Weber |
| Constituency | 6th district |
| Member of theMinnesota House of Representatives from the 53A district | |
| In office January 7, 1969 – January 1, 1973 | |
| Preceded by | John Lemme |
| Succeeded by | Raymond Kempe |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Richard Michael Nolan (1943-12-17)December 17, 1943 Brainerd, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | October 18, 2024(2024-10-18) (aged 80)[a] Nisswa, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives | Martin J. McGowan Jr. (uncle) |
| Education | University of Minnesota (BA) |
| Website | House website |
Richard Michael Nolan (December 17, 1943 – October 18, 2024)[a] was an American politician and businessman who served as theU.S. representative fromMinnesota's 8th congressional district from 2013 to 2019. He previously served as the U.S. representative fromMinnesota's 6th congressional district between 1975 and 1981 and was also a member of theMinnesota House of Representatives from 1969 until 1973.
After re-entering politics in 2011, he was nominated to challenge first-term incumbent RepublicanChip Cravaack in the 8th district,[6] defeating him on November 6, 2012.[7] Nolan was re-elected in 2014 and 2016.
Nolan's 32-year gap between terms in Congress is the second-longest such break in service (afterPhilip Francis Thomas's 34-year gap from 1841 to 1875)[8] in American political history.[9] On February 9, 2018, Nolan announced he would retire from Congress at the end of his current term.[10] Nolan ran forLieutenant Governor of Minnesota as the running mate ofAttorney General of MinnesotaLori Swanson in the2018 gubernatorial election.[11] They were defeated in the August primary byTim Walz andPeggy Flanagan.[12]
Nolan was born inBrainerd, Minnesota, and graduated fromBrainerd High School in 1962. His aunt was an attorney and judge, whom Nolan called his "biggest political influence growing up."[13] He attendedSt. John's University inCollegeville, Minnesota, the following year, and completed his undergraduate studies at theUniversity of Minnesota, earning hisBachelor of Arts in 1966. He was enrolled in the Army ROTC program for two years, from 1962 to 1964. Nolan pursued postgraduate work in public administration and policy formation at theUniversity of Maryland, College Park, and in education atSt. Cloud State University.[14]
Early in his career he served as a staff assistant toWalter Mondale in theUnited States Senate,[15] and was a teacher of social studies inRoyalton, Minnesota.[14] In 1968, he campaigned for presidential candidateEugene McCarthy.[13]
Nolan was elected to theMinnesota House of Representatives in 1968 and served two terms (1969–1973), representing House District 53A (Morrison County). His uncleMartin J. McGowan Jr. also served in the Minnesota Legislature.[16] He then ran unsuccessfully forMinnesota's 6th congressional district seat in theUnited States House of Representatives in 1972, but was elected in his second run in 1974 to the94th Congress and reelected to the95th and the96th.
In 1979, he broke with his party in endorsing SenatorTed Kennedy for president over the sitting Democratic PresidentJimmy Carter.[15][17]
In 2007, he endorsedConnecticut SenatorChristopher Dodd in his campaign forPresident of the United States, and traveled the state ofIowa campaigning on his behalf.[18]
Nolan decided not to run for reelection in 1980, and served as president of the U.S. Export Corporation until 1986, and was later appointed to and became president of theMinnesota World Trade Center, a private-public initiative, by then-Democratic Party chairman GovernorRudy Perpich from 1987 to 1994.[14][16] TheNational Journal reported that "his Republican foes criticized his $70,000 salary, which they considered high for a civil servant at the time, and the budget deficits the company ran up."[13] He has also served as chairman of theMission Township[19] Planning Committee, president and board member of theCentral Lakes College foundation, to which he helped direct federal funding.[20] Nolan is the former owner of Emily Wood Products, a small sawmill and pallet factory in the northern Minnesota community ofEmily.[13] His daughter and son-in-law now own and operate the enterprise.[21]
Nolan announced his candidacy for theU.S. House of Representatives on July 12, 2011, challenging incumbentChip Cravaack inMinnesota's 8th congressional district.[22] He won the Democratic primary in August 2012, defeatingTarryl Clark and Jeff Anderson.[23][24] TheDemocratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent about $2 million on his campaign, and the liberal House Majority PAC spent another $1.5 million.[25] Nolan defeated Cravaack, 191,976 (54%) to 160,520 (45%), to return to Congress after a 32-year absence.[26]
Nolan ran for re-election in 2014. The Democratic primary took place on August 12, 2014, and the general election on November 4, 2014. He was challenged by Republican nomineeStewart Mills III.[27][28] According toPolitico, Nolan was a vulnerable Democrat in a competitive congressional district. He was targeted byAmericans for Prosperity over his support of theAffordable Care Act. He was successful in his close re-election bid, defeating Mills 129,090 (49%) to 125,358 (47%).[29]
Nolan faced Mills in a rematch and narrowly defeated him again, by a vote of 179,097 (50.2%) to 177,088 (49.6%). Nolan greatly outran the top of the Democratic ticket, as Hillary Clinton became the first Democratic presidential nominee to lose the 8th district since before the Great Depression. Republican Donald Trump won the 8th district by a margin of 16%, but despite this, Nolan managed to survive and win re-election.[30]
Nolan said that he supported theSecond Amendment but believed there should be some restrictions on gun ownership.[31]In January 2013, Rick Nolan called the assault weapon ban, which expired in 2004, common sense legislation, saying he didn't need an assault weapon to kill a duck.[32]
Nolan voiced opposition to the proposed route of theEnbridgeSandpiper pipeline, saying it posed environmental risks to vulnerable wetlands and drinking water in northern Minnesota.[33]
Nolan voted against an amendment requiring a study of the vulnerabilities of theKeystone XL pipeline to a terrorist attack and certification that necessary protections have been put in place.[34]
Nolan supported increased federal investment in the mining industry, including a "$250 million-a-year research center that would look at newer, cheaper and more environmentally friendly ways of extracting resources from the region." He also advocated for speeding up the environmental review process for mining companies.[35]
During a debate in 2012, Nolan said that taxes should be raised and that provisions in the tax code that encourageoffshoring should be eliminated. Nolan also said that the "super-rich" in particular should be targeted for tax increases.[36]
Nolan voiced support for the stimulus spending championed by President Obama. He said, "It did in fact create good jobs in a whole wide range of areas, not the least of which is in the field of transportation."[37]
On October 1, 2013, Nolan introduced a bill that would withhold the pay of members of Congress during a government shutdown, in response to theshutdown that had gone into effect that morning. "It's time for Congress to start living in the real world – where you either do your job, or you don't get paid," he said concerning the bill.[38]
In June 2014, Nolan and RepublicanDavid McKinley introduced the Health Care Fairness and Flexibility Act, which would delay anAffordable Care Act fee on every person covered by large self-insured employers and insurance companies. According to theDuluth News Tribune, "The effort marks a rare bit of bipartisan cooperation in Washington when it comes to legislation, especially regarding the president's signature law."[39]
Nolan supported theAffordable Care Act and said he would not vote to repeal it. Nolan said, "It ensures that another 30 million people in this country would have health insurance; it provides that nobody can be denied as a result of preconditions; it provides that parents can keep their children insured up to the age of 26."[40]
Nolan was a strong supporter of single-payer health care and believed it should be the ultimate goal of theAffordable Care Act.[41]
Nolan was one of four members of Congress to vote against the 2014 Veterans Affairs appropriations bill. The bill allocated $73.3 billion to veterans programs and military construction projects, "$1.4 billion more than what Congress budgeted last year." In a statement, Nolan said, "I voted against the bill in protest, because it under-funds veterans health and benefit programs, while shoveling billions of new dollars into unnecessary new military construction in places all around the world where American presence and American resources do not belong."[42]
In 2014, Nolan urged President Obama to resist further military intervention in both Syria and Iraq.[43][44][45]
Nolan visitedCuba along with President Barack Obama in March 2016. It was a return trip for Nolan, who had first been to Cuba in 1977.[46]
Nolan voted against the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which prohibits abortions after 20 weeks.[47]
Nolan supportedcampaign finance reform. In February 2013, Nolan introduced a constitutional amendment designed to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in theCitizens United v. FEC case that dealt with the regulation of campaign spending by organizations.[48] In 2015, Nolan joined Democratic U.S. RepresentativesKeith Ellison,Mark Pocan,Matt Cartwright,Jared Huffman andRaúl Grijalva as co-sponsors of legislation calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010Citizens United decision.[49]
Nolan sat on theTransportation and Infrastructure Committee, and four of its Subcommittees: Highways and Transit; Aviation; Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management; and Water Resources and the Environment.[50] He also serves on theHouse Agriculture Committee and two of its Subcommittees: Conservation, Energy and Forestry, and Livestock, Rural Development, and Credit.[50]
Nolan had previously served on theHouse Small Business Committee and theHouse Agriculture Committee; his previous appointments would have earned him some Committee Seniority on these committees that he had already served on[51] in the94th,95th and96th Congresses.[52] Instead, Nolan will now have Committee Seniority on only theHouse Agriculture Committee and be a junior member of theTransportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Nolan had been quoted as saying he would like to serve on "theTransportation and Infrastructure Committee, along with theNatural Resources Committee, which hears legislation that directly affects the mining, forestry, agriculture and tourism-based economy of the Eighth Congressional District."[53][54]
Nolan and Minnesota SenatorAmy Klobuchar were the original co-sponsors of legislation called theSmall Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013, a bill that would modernize small aircraft regulations and theFAA's Part 23 certification process.[55][56]
Nolan endorsedBernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic U.S. presidential primary election.[57]
He was a member of theCongressional Progressive Caucus, theClimate Solutions Caucus,[58][59] theCongressional Arts Caucus,[60] and theUnited States Congressional International Conservation Caucus.[61]
The following is an incomplete list of legislation that Nolan sponsored:
In 2018,Lori Swanson declared her candidacy for governor, and selected Nolan as her running mate.[63] In the August primary, Swanson and Nolan were defeated by the ticket ofTim Walz andPeggy Flanagan.[64]
Nolan first married Marjorie C. Langer on June 13, 1964. They had four children. After they divorced on April 15, 1982, he then married Mary L. Wieland on May 19, 1984.[65][66] His daughter, Katherine Nolan Bensen, died on September 15, 2020, at the age of 46, after a five-year battle withsmall-cell carcinoma.[67]
On October 18, 2024, it was announced that Nolan died from a heart condition at his home inNisswa, Minnesota, at the age of 80.[2][a]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Rick Nolan (Incumbent) | 179,093 | 50.17 | |
| Republican | Stewart Mills III | 177,089 | 49.61 | |
| Write-in | 792 | 0.22 | ||
| Majority | 2,004 | 0.56 | ||
| Total votes | 356,974 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic (DFL)hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Rick Nolan (Incumbent) | 129,090 | 48.51 | |
| Republican | Stewart Mills III | 125,358 | 47.11 | |
| Green | Skip Sandman | 11,450 | 4.30 | |
| Write-in | 185 | 0.07 | ||
| Majority | 3,732 | 1.40 | ||
| Total votes | 266,083 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic (DFL)hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Rick Nolan | 191,976 | 54.28 | |
| Republican | Chip Cravaack (incumbent) | 160,520 | 45.39 | |
| Write-in | 1,167 | 0.33 | ||
| Majority | 31,456 | 8.89 | ||
| Total votes | 353,663 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic (DFL)gain fromRepublican | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Rick Nolan (Incumbent) | 115,880 | 55.28 | |
| Independent-Republican | Russ Bjorhus | 93,742 | 44.72 | |
| Write-in | NDA | NDA | ||
| Majority | 22,138 | 10.56 | ||
| Total votes | 209,622 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic (DFL)hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Rick Nolan (Incumbent) | 147,507 | 59.79 | |
| Independent-Republican | James (Jim) Anderson | 99,201 | 40.21 | |
| Write-in | NDA | NDA | ||
| Majority | 48,306 | 19.58 | ||
| Total votes | 246,708 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic (DFL)hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Rick Nolan | 96,465 | 55.36 | |
| Republican | Jon Grunseth | 77,797 | 44.64 | |
| Write-in | 1 | 0.00 | ||
| Majority | 18,668 | 10.71 | ||
| Total votes | 174,263 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic (DFL)gain fromRepublican | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Zwach (incumbent) | 114,537 | 51.02 | |
| Democratic (DFL) | Rick Nolan | 109,955 | 48.98 | |
| Write-in | NDA | NDA | ||
| Majority | 4,582 | 2.04 | ||
| Total votes | 224,492 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMinnesota's 6th congressional district 1975–1981 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMinnesota's 8th congressional district 2013–2019 | Succeeded by |
