Blue Dog — a rare breed — heads back to the Hill
Democrat Joe Donnelly practiced law and ran a small business before being elected to Congress in 2006, where he is now serving his third term representing Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District.
In Congress, Donnelly, 57, serves on the Financial Services and Veterans’ Affairs committees and is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate Democrats known for fiscal conservatism. Donnelly himself has broken with his party’s leadership on several budgetary issues.
Donnelly served on the Indiana State Election Board from 1988 to 1989 and was a member of the school board for Marian (Ind.) High School from 1997 to 2001. In 1988, he ran unsuccessfully for state attorney general; he lost a bid for the state Senate in 1990.
Donnelly calls his agenda one of moderation and common sense, dedicated to creating and preserving jobs and reducing the debt and deficit. He has a conservative-leaning voting record on taxes, and in a speech at the 2012 Indiana Democratic Convention he said he would support a one-year extension of all Bush-era tax cuts. His voting record on gun control is also conservative. The National Rifle Association endorsed Donnelly in his 2008 and 2010 elections.
And Donnelly was one of 17 House Democrats to vote with the Republicans to hold U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress over the Operation Fast and Furious “gun-walking” scandal. “The Department of Justice can and should do more to cooperate with this investigation,” Donnelly said in a statement after the vote. “This should not be a partisan issue.”
Donnelly and his wife, Jill, have two children, Molly and Joe Jr.
— KarlyMoll