Chet Culver
Encyclopedia
Chester John "Chet" Culver (born January 25, 1966) was the 41st Governor of Iowa, from 2007 to 2011. He was also elected as the Federal Liaison for the Democratic Governors Association
for 2008-2009. He founded the Chet Culver Group, an energy sector consulting firm, in 2011.
in Bethesda, Maryland
before attending Virginia Tech on a football scholarship. He earned a B.A. degree in political science in 1988. Later, he received a M.A.
degree in Teaching from Drake University
in 1994.
on her 1990 campaign for state attorney general, serving as field director. Culver previously worked as a lobbyist under the guidance of Campbell's husband. From 1991 to 1995, Culver worked as a consumer and environmental advocate in the attorney general's office. After completing his master's degree, he took a job as a teacher in Des Moines. Working first at Roosevelt High School and then Hoover High School, he taught government
and history
. Culver coached sophomore football and eighth grade boys basketball during his tenure.
In 1998, Culver ran for Iowa Secretary of State
and won. At the age of 32, he was the youngest current Secretary of State in the nation. He was reelected to a second term in 2002 by a large margin. While serving at this post, he created the Iowa Student Political Awareness Club, which attempts to get students motivated to participate in politics when they reach voting age. During his tenure, Culver received accolades for modernizing the office, increasing voter registration, and ensuring voter accessibility for people with disabilities.
Culver's 2006 election as Governor marked the first time that Democrats simultaneously controlled both the executive and legislative branches of Iowa's state government since the 1965–1967 session of the Iowa General Assembly
. Culver is also the first Democratic governor in Iowa since Nelson G. Kraschel
in 1937 to be elected to succeed another Democrat.
research in Iowa. "The new legislation allows medical researchers to create embryonic stem cells through cloning. While allowing for further research, it prohibits reproductive cloning
of humans." according to National Public Radio. Culver said lifting the ban will "give hope to those suffering from diseases such as cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's
and Alzheimer's
."
Culver proposed spending $12.5 million to establish a stem cell research center at the University of Iowa
. NPR called it a "Key Moment in the Stem Cell Debate."
that struck Iowa and much of the mid-west. A year later, Culver and other state elected officials expressed "outrage" at the slow pace of disbursement of federal funding to affected areas. In August 2008, the Des Moines Register
wrote that "Iowa Gov. Chet Culver was acting as lobbyist in chief for Iowa's flood relief effort..."
In 2010, Culver proposed a $40 million "disaster relief fund" and declared March 2010 "Flood Awareness Month."
wrote that "Gov. Chet Culver has bet much of his political future on alternative energy. The power fund was a centerpiece of his campaign for governor, and he managed to push the program through the Legislature. Lawmakers have allocated $49.6 million for the effort over the last two years."
and seven-term State Representative Ed Fallon
. Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge
was also running for the nomination, but after she withdrew from the race, she gave her support to Culver and became his running mate
. Culver won the Democratic primary with 39% of the vote.
Culver faced Republican Congressman Jim Nussle
of Manchester, who was unopposed in the Republican primary, in the general election. On November 7, 2006, Culver defeated Nussle in the general election, winning 54% of the vote to Nussle's 44.6%, with minor party candidates getting 1.4%.
Culver ran unsuccessfully for reelection with incumbent lieutenant governor Patty Judge
. He was challenged by Republican
former four-term governor Terry Branstad, who was running with State Senator
Kim Reynolds
.
, on February 7, 2008 in Omaha, Nebraska
, he endorsed Barack Obama
as the Democratic nominee in the 2008 presidential election
.
Culver's father, John Culver
, is a former U.S. Senator from Iowa.
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Democratic Governors Association
The Democratic Governors Association is a Washington, D.C. based 527 organization founded in 1983, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Democratic Party. The mission of the organization is to provide party support to the election and re-election of Democratic...
for 2008-2009. He founded the Chet Culver Group, an energy sector consulting firm, in 2011.
Early life and education
Culver was born in Washington, D.C. Culver attended Bethesda-Chevy Chase High SchoolBethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School is a Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, public school named for two of the towns it serves along with Kensington and Silver Spring, Maryland. It is located at 4301 East-West Highway, in Bethesda, an unincorporated community in Montgomery County...
in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
before attending Virginia Tech on a football scholarship. He earned a B.A. degree in political science in 1988. Later, he received a M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree in Teaching from Drake University
Drake University
Drake University is a private, co-educational university located in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The institution offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and pharmacy. Today, Drake is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the country....
in 1994.
Political career
After college, Culver moved to Iowa and worked as a staff member for the state Democratic Party. He worked with Bonnie CampbellBonnie Campbell
Bonnie J. Campbell is an American lawyer, a former Iowa Attorney General, a former Iowa gubernatorial candidate, a former official in the U.S. Department of Justice and a former federal judicial nominee to the U.S...
on her 1990 campaign for state attorney general, serving as field director. Culver previously worked as a lobbyist under the guidance of Campbell's husband. From 1991 to 1995, Culver worked as a consumer and environmental advocate in the attorney general's office. After completing his master's degree, he took a job as a teacher in Des Moines. Working first at Roosevelt High School and then Hoover High School, he taught government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
and history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
. Culver coached sophomore football and eighth grade boys basketball during his tenure.
In 1998, Culver ran for Iowa Secretary of State
Iowa Secretary of State
The Iowa Secretary of State is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of Iowa and is elected every four years. The Office of the Secretary of State is divided into four divisions: Elections and Voter Registration, Business Services, Administrative Services, and Communications and Publications...
and won. At the age of 32, he was the youngest current Secretary of State in the nation. He was reelected to a second term in 2002 by a large margin. While serving at this post, he created the Iowa Student Political Awareness Club, which attempts to get students motivated to participate in politics when they reach voting age. During his tenure, Culver received accolades for modernizing the office, increasing voter registration, and ensuring voter accessibility for people with disabilities.
Culver's 2006 election as Governor marked the first time that Democrats simultaneously controlled both the executive and legislative branches of Iowa's state government since the 1965–1967 session of the Iowa General Assembly
Iowa General Assembly
The Iowa General Assembly is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of Representatives respectively...
. Culver is also the first Democratic governor in Iowa since Nelson G. Kraschel
Nelson G. Kraschel
Nelson George Kraschel was an American politician of the Democratic Party. He was born on a farm near Macon, Illinois in 1889 and died in Harlan, Iowa in 1957....
in 1937 to be elected to succeed another Democrat.
Stem cell research
One of Culver's first initiatives was to sign legislation easing limits on types of stem cellStem cell
This article is about the cell type. For the medical therapy, see Stem Cell TreatmentsStem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms, that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells...
research in Iowa. "The new legislation allows medical researchers to create embryonic stem cells through cloning. While allowing for further research, it prohibits reproductive cloning
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
of humans." according to National Public Radio. Culver said lifting the ban will "give hope to those suffering from diseases such as cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
and Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
."
Culver proposed spending $12.5 million to establish a stem cell research center at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
. NPR called it a "Key Moment in the Stem Cell Debate."
2008 Floods
A September 2008 poll of Iowans found 60% supporting Culver's handling of the major floodsIowa flood of 2008
The Iowa flood of 2008 was a hydrological event involving most of the rivers in eastern Iowa beginning around June 8, 2008 and ending about July 1. Flooding continued on the Upper Mississippi River in the southeastern portion of the state for several more days...
that struck Iowa and much of the mid-west. A year later, Culver and other state elected officials expressed "outrage" at the slow pace of disbursement of federal funding to affected areas. In August 2008, the Des Moines Register
Des Moines Register
The Des Moines Register is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States. A separate edition of the Register is sold throughout much of Iowa.-History:...
wrote that "Iowa Gov. Chet Culver was acting as lobbyist in chief for Iowa's flood relief effort..."
In 2010, Culver proposed a $40 million "disaster relief fund" and declared March 2010 "Flood Awareness Month."
Alternative energy
Culver touts Iowa as the leading alternative "energy capital of the world". He started a "power fund" to assist with that effort. The Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
wrote that "Gov. Chet Culver has bet much of his political future on alternative energy. The power fund was a centerpiece of his campaign for governor, and he managed to push the program through the Legislature. Lawmakers have allocated $49.6 million for the effort over the last two years."
Campaign history
Culver's main opponents for the Democratic nomination were former director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development Mike BlouinMike Blouin
Michael Thomas Blouin , American politician, was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1979, representing Iowa's 2nd congressional district...
and seven-term State Representative Ed Fallon
Ed Fallon
Ed Fallon is an American politician from the U.S. state of Iowa. A Democrat, he was a candidate for Governor of Iowa and U.S. Congress and served as a member of the Iowa General Assembly from 1993 to 2006.-Early life:The son of a member of the U.S...
. Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge
Patty Judge
Patty Jean Judge was the 46th Lieutenant Governor and previously, the Secretary of Agriculture for the U.S. State of Iowa. She was elected to the office in 2006 with Chet Culver as Governor, and unsuccessfully ran for re-election in 2010.-Early life, education and career:Secretary Judge graduated...
was also running for the nomination, but after she withdrew from the race, she gave her support to Culver and became his running mate
Running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as "Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were...
. Culver won the Democratic primary with 39% of the vote.
Culver faced Republican Congressman Jim Nussle
Jim Nussle
James Allen "Jim" Nussle is an American politician and was the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Nussle was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2007...
of Manchester, who was unopposed in the Republican primary, in the general election. On November 7, 2006, Culver defeated Nussle in the general election, winning 54% of the vote to Nussle's 44.6%, with minor party candidates getting 1.4%.
Culver ran unsuccessfully for reelection with incumbent lieutenant governor Patty Judge
Patty Judge
Patty Jean Judge was the 46th Lieutenant Governor and previously, the Secretary of Agriculture for the U.S. State of Iowa. She was elected to the office in 2006 with Chet Culver as Governor, and unsuccessfully ran for re-election in 2010.-Early life, education and career:Secretary Judge graduated...
. He was challenged by Republican
Republican Party of Iowa
The Republican Party of Iowa is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Iowa. The State Central Committee is led by Chairman Matt Strawn and Co-Chairman Bill Schickel...
former four-term governor Terry Branstad, who was running with State Senator
Iowa Senate
The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 50 members of the Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 59,500 per constituency. Each Senate district is composed of two House districts...
Kim Reynolds
Kim Reynolds
Kim Reynolds is the 47th and current Lieutenant Governor of Iowa and a former state senator from Osceola. Republican nominee for Governor Terry Branstad publicly proposed Reynolds for lieutenant governor on June 25, 2010 and she received the Republican nomination from the 2010 Republican State...
.
Electoral history
Personal life
He is a Presbyterian and has served as an elder. He is married to Mariclare Culver, who is Roman Catholic. In contrast to his wife who supported John EdwardsJohn Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
, on February 7, 2008 in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, he endorsed Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
as the Democratic nominee in the 2008 presidential election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
.
Culver's father, John Culver
John Culver
John Chester Culver is an American politician of the Democratic Party who represented Iowa in both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate....
, is a former U.S. Senator from Iowa.
External links
- Chet Culver and Patty Judge official campaign site
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