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Herb Kohl
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article refers to Sen. Herbert Kohl (D-WI). For the article about Herbert Kohl, the educator and author, see Herbert Kohl (education).
| Herb Kohl | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1989 Serving with Russ Feingold |
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| Preceded by | William Proxmire |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent (2013) |
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| Born | February 07, 1935 Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | None |
| Alma mater | University of Wisconsin-Madison |
| Religion | Jewish |
Herbert H. Kohl (born February 7, 1935) is an American politician, business leader and philanthropist. He currently serves as the senior senator from the state of Wisconsin as a member of the Democratic Party, and is the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks National Basketball Association (NBA) team.
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Kohl was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1956 and a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University in 1958. He served in the United States Army Reserve between 1958-64.
He served as the chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin between 1975-77. He won election to the United States Senate in 1988 with his trademark catchphrase "nobody's Senator but yours."[1] He was reelected in 1994, 2000 and 2006. He is one of the wealthiest U.S. senators with an estimated net worth in 2005 of $279 million. [2]
Kohl has a fairly moderate voting record. He has voted in favor of most lawsuit reform measures as well as for rules tightening personal bankruptcy. He has long supported amending the Constitution to require a balanced budget. He was one of the few Democrats to vote for the tax cut passed in 2001 and like many moderate Democrats he voted in favor of welfare reform measures in the mid 1990s. Kohl on the other hand has voted against many free trade agreements including NAFTA and more recently CAFTA, and voted against the Freedom to Farm Act in 1996. He voted in 2002 to authorize military force in Iraq, however he voted against authorizing the Gulf War in 1990. Kohl has voted on a number of occasions with more liberal Democrats to reduce military spending.
He is strongly pro-choice and opposes the death penalty. He has consistently voted against the flag desecration amendment and in recent years has voted against restrictions on travel to Cuba and funding for TVMarti. In 2005 he secured a victory for one of his main causes: requiring handguns to be sold with child safety locks. The amendment was attached to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, with every Democrat and many Republicans voting in favor of the amendment. Earlier in his career, he helped push the Gun Free Schools Act which the Supreme Court overturned in 1995 and has submitted many amendments to that effect.[3]
In 2006, Kohl easily won re-election over Robert Lorge, the Republican nominee by default after more well known candidates such as former governor Tommy Thompson and 2004 Senate candidate Tim Michels opted not to run. In polls well before the primary, Kohl led Lorge by a large margin.[4]
| Wisconsin U.S. Senate Election 2006 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Herb Kohl (incumbent) | 1,436,623 | 67.4 | ||
| Republican | Robert Lorge | 629,127 | 29.5 | ||
| Green | Rae Vogeler | 42,300 | 2.0 | ||
| Wisconsin U.S. Senate Election 2000 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Herb Kohl (incumbent) | 1,563,238 | 61.6 | ||
| Republican | John Gillespie | 940,744 | 37.1 | ||
| Wisconsin U.S. Senate Election 1994 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Herb Kohl (incumbent) | 912,662 | 58.3 | ||
| Republican | Bob Welch | 636,989 | 40.7 | ||
| Wisconsin U.S. Senate Election 1988 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Herb Kohl | 1,128,625 | 52.1 | ||
| Republican | Susan Engeleiter | 1,030,440 | 47.6 | ||
- 1988 election for U.S. Senate — Democratic Primary
- Herb Kohl (D), 47%
- Tony Earl (D), 38%
- Ed Garvey (D)
- Doug LaFollette (D)
Before his election to the Senate, Kohl helped build his family-owned business, Kohl's grocery and department stores. He served as president from 1970 through the sale of the corporation in 1979.
Kohl is recognized as dedicated Wisconsinite and sports enthusiast. In 1985 he bought the Bucks basketball team to ensure the team remained in Milwaukee. Kohl also donated $25 million to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for construction of its new sports arena, which was named the Kohl Center. It was the largest single donation in University of Wisconsin System history.
He remains active in other charitable activities. In 1990 he established the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Achievement Award Program, which provides annual grants totaling $100,000 to 100 graduating seniors, 100 teachers and 100 schools throughout Wisconsin.
- United States Senator Herb Kohl official Senate site
- Herb Kohl Educational Foundation official site
- Herb Kohl's biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Herb Kohl's voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Herb Kohl's campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Herb Kohl's campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Herb Kohl's biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Herb Kohl's issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- SourceWatch Congresspedia — Herb Kohl profile
- Democratic Party of Wisconsin — Herb Kohl profile
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William Proxmire |
United States Senator (Class 1) from Wisconsin 1989–Present Served alongside: Robert W. Kasten, Jr., Russ Feingold |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by Gordon Smith Oregon |
Chairman of Senate Aging Committee 2007–Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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| Class 1: Dodge • Doolittle • Carpenter • Cameron • Sawyer • Mitchell • Quarles • La Follette, Sr. • La Follette, Jr. • McCarthy • Proxmire • Kohl Class 3: Walker • Durkee • Howe • Carpenter • Cameron • Spooner • Vilas • Spooner • Stephenson • Husting • Lenroot • Blaine • Duffy • Wiley • Nelson • Kasten • Feingold |
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| Wisconsin's current delegation to the United States Congress | |
|---|---|
| Senators | Herb Kohl (D), Russ Feingold (D) |
| Representative(s) | Paul Ryan (R), Tammy Baldwin (D), Ron Kind (D), Gwen Moore (D), Jim Sensenbrenner (R), Tom Petri (R), Dave Obey (D), Steve Kagen (D) |
| All delegations | Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming — American Samoa • District of Columbia • Guam • Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands |
Categories: 1935 births | Video game censorship | Jewish American politicians | Jewish American sportspeople | Jewish businesspeople | Living people | Milwaukee Bucks | People from Milwaukee | National Basketball Association executives | United States Senators from Wisconsin | Harvard Business School alumni | University of Wisconsin-Madison alumni | American businesspeople in retailing