Wikipedia

Blanche Lincoln

American politician

Blanche Lambert Lincoln (born Blanche Meyers Lambert on September 30, 1960) is an American politician and lawyer. She was a U.S. Senator from Arkansas from 1999 to 2011. She was a member of the Democratic Party.

Blanche Lincoln
United States Senator
from Arkansas
In office
January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2011
Preceded byDale Bumpers
Succeeded byJohn Boozman
Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee
In office
September 9, 2009 – January 3, 2011
Preceded byTom Harkin
Succeeded byDebbie Stabenow
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Arkansas's 1st district
In office
January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1997
Preceded byWilliam Vollie Alexander Jr.
Succeeded byRobert Berry
Personal details
Born
Blanche Meyers Lambert

(1960-09-30) September 30, 1960 (age 64)
Helena, Arkansas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Steve Lincoln
EducationUniversity of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Randolph College (BS)
Signature

She was the first woman elected to the Senate from Arkansas and, at aged 38, was the youngest woman ever elected to the Senate.[1] She was in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Arkansas's 1st congressional district from 1993 to 1997.

Early life, education and private career

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Blanche Lambert was born in Helena, Arkansas. She is the daughter of Martha (née Kelly) and Jordan Bennett Lambert.[2][3] Her father was a rice and cotton farmer.[2][4] Her older sister, Mary Lambert, is a film director.[5]

Lincoln went to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. She was a member of the Chi Omega sorority while she went there. [2] She graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman's College (now known as Randolph College) in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1982. She earned a Bachelor's degree in biology.[6] She originally wanted to go into nursing.[7]

After graduating from college, Lincoln was an assistant for U.S. Representative Bill Alexander, a Democrat from Arkansas's 1st congressional district.[6] She worked for him until 1984.[2]

She married her husband Steve Lincoln in 1994. Lincoln is a distant relative of former President of the United States Abraham Lincoln.[8]

U.S. House of Representatives

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In 1992, Lincoln defeated Bill Alexander in the Democratic primary, by a margin of 60 to 40 percent.[9][10] She then won the general election, beating Republican Terry Hayes with 70% of the vote.[11][12] Her election to the House of Representatives happened at the same time as the election of Bill Clinton, who was also from Arkansas, as President of the United States.[13]

She called herself a centrist Democrat[14][15] and was part of the minority of Democrats who support CAFTA.[16][17]

She was reelected to a second term under her married name, Blanche Lincoln, and served in the House of Representatives until 1997.[18] Lincoln chose not to run for reelection in 1996. She was pregnant at that time.[18]

U.S. Senate

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First term

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In the 1998 Senate election, Lincoln returned to politics. She ran for the Senate seat being vacated by incumbent Senator Dale Bumpers.[19] She defeated her Republican opponent, Fay Boozman, a state senator and the brother of future U.S. Representative John Boozman, 55 percent to 42 percent.[20][21][22]

Second term

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In the 2004 election, Lincoln was re-elected, defeating Republican state Senator Jim Holt (R-Springdale) by 56 percent to 44 percent.[23]

 
Lincoln holds a press conference in 2006 with Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee regarding proposed changes to Medicare.

In March 2007, Lincoln called for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign.[24] Gonzales resigned in August 2007.

In September 2009, Lincoln pledged to filibuster any legislation that had a Public health insurance option, such as the Affordable Health Care for America Act (the Democratic-controlled, House of Representatives' preferred health care reform bill).[25]

In November 2009, Lincoln voted against bringing Guantanamo Bay prisoners to the United States for trial.[26]

On December 9, 2010, Lincoln missed a vote to repeal Don't ask, don't tell by three minutes. She missed it because of an appointment at the dentist. A supporter of the bill, She said that she would have voted for repeal had she made it to the vote.[27] On December 18, she voted for the bill.[28]

2010 re-election campaign

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With the Obama administration having become very unpopular in her home state, Lincoln's strategy to be re-elected in the 2010 election was to make herself look independent of the Democrats. After defeating the state's then-Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter with an early endorsement from former President and Governor of Arkansas Bill Clinton, Lincoln lost in November to Republican congressman John Boozman by 58 percent to 37 percent.[29]

Caucuses and committees

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In 2004, Lincoln co-founded the Senate Hunger Caucus. The caucus was established to provide a bipartisan forum for Senators to work on national and international hunger and food insecurity issues.[30]

After Congress

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In July 2013, Lincoln made her own political consulting firm called Lincoln Policy Group.[31][32]

As of November 2020, Lincoln is an advisor to the RATE Coalition (Reforming America’s Taxes Equitably),[33] which has lobbied for competitive corporate tax rates during the Biden administration.[34]

References

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  1. ↑ "Biography". U.S. Senator Blance Lincoln. Archived from the original on December 2, 2009. Retrieved January 27, 2020. {{cite news}}: More than one of |archivedate= and |archive-date= specified (help); More than one of |archiveurl= and |archive-url= specified (help)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Blanche Meyers Lambert Lincoln (1960–)". The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture.
  3. ↑ "Arkansas Congressional Directory". Govnotes.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  4. ↑ "About". Blanche Lincoln for Senate. Archived from the original on May 24, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Mary Lambert". The Internet Movie Database.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "LINCOLN, Blanche Lambert, (1960 - )". Biographical Dictionary of the United States Congress.
  7. ↑ Barton, Paul (June 18, 2009). "From Congress to Costco". Arkansas Times.[permanent dead link]
  8. ↑ "Senate Primary Heats Up in Arkansas". PBS NewsHour. 2010-04-30. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
  9. ↑ "Blanche Lincoln's balance". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  10. ↑ Brantley, Max (4 June 1992). "A woman's place: The House". Arkansas Times.
  11. ↑ "The 1992 Elections: State by State; South". The New York Times. 4 November 1992.
  12. ↑ "Blanche Lambert Lincoln". CBS News. 7 October 1998. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  13. ↑ Toner, Robin (1992-11-04). "The 1992 Elections: President -- the Overview; Clinton Captures Presidency with Huge Electoral Margin; Wins a Democratic Congress". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  14. ↑ Heineman Jr, Ben (2009-12-08). "Blanche Lincoln and the Democratic Dilemma". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  15. ↑ Greenwald, Glenn (2010-06-10). "The Democratic Party and Blanche Lincoln". Salon. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  16. ↑ Nichols, John (2005-07-05). "Democrats for CAFTA". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  17. ↑ Swann, Christopher (14 June 2005). "Narrow Cafta approval set to heighten concerns". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Smith, Doug (2010-01-21). "Hip deep in health care". Arkansas Times. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  19. ↑ Henneberger, Melinda (1998-06-13). "No Escaping Motherhood on Campaign Trail". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  20. ↑ "Democrats enjoy a big night after a hard-to-read election - November 3, 1998". CNN. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  21. ↑ Muskal, Michael (2010-11-02). "Rep. John Boozman ousts Sen. Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  22. ↑ Rudin, Ken (1 March 2010). "Arkansas' Lincoln, Already Vulnerable, Gets Dem Primary From The Left". NPR. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  23. ↑ Hendricks, Nancy. "Blanche Meyers Lambert Lincoln (1960-)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  24. ↑ Max Brantley (March 15, 2007). "Arkansas Blog: C-SPAN alert". Arkansas Times. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  25. ↑ Brian Beutler (November 21, 2009). "Lincoln: "I'll Filibuster A Public Option Bill" | TPMDC". Tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com. Archived from the original on November 24, 2009. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  26. ↑ "Lincoln, Pryor back bid to block funding to hold terror suspects in U.S. | Arkansas News". Arkansasnews.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  27. ↑ Brian Beutler (December 9, 2010). "Root Canal'd! Lincoln Misses DADT Vote In Dentist Chair | TPMDC". Tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com. Retrieved May 5, 2013.[permanent dead link]
  28. ↑ "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 111th Congress - 2nd Session". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  29. ↑ "Arkansas Secretary of State". Votenaturally.org. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  30. ↑ Faler, Brian (November 25, 2004). "Senators Form Hunger Caucus to Draw Attention to Issue". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  31. ↑ Brantley, Max (July 12, 2013). "Blanche Lincoln going out on her own in D.C. lobbying". Arkansas Times.
  32. ↑ meyer, Theodoric (October 2, 2019). "Roskey returns to Lincoln Policy Group". Politico. ...former Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), the firm's founder...
  33. ↑ "RATE Coalition: Leadership". Rate Coalition. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  34. ↑ Theodoric, Meyer (May 21, 2021). "COALITION FIGHTING CORPORATE TAX HIKES STEPS UP LOBBYING". Politico. Retrieved April 21, 2024.


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