Joe Donnelly began his political career on the Indiana State Election Board while working as an attorney in practice.
76 Facts About Joe Donnelly
2.
Joe Donnelly represented Indiana's 2nd congressional district from 2007 to 2013, winning reelection in 2008 and 2010.
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In May 2011, Joe Donnelly announced his intention to run for the US Senate, winning the Democratic nomination one year later in an uncontested primary.
4.
Joe Donnelly then faced Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock who had defeated 36-year incumbent Richard Lugar in the Republican primary.
5.
In 2018, Joe Donnelly ran for reelection to a second term, but was defeated by former Republican state representative Mike Braun.
6.
On October 8,2021, President Joe Biden announced he would nominate Donnelly to serve as the United States ambassador to the Holy See.
7.
Joe Donnelly presented his letters of credence to Pope Francis on April 11,2022.
8.
Joe Donnelly's mother died when he was 10, and he was raised by his father.
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Joe Donnelly graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Arts in government in 1977, and earned his Juris Doctor from Notre Dame Law School in 1981.
10.
Joe Donnelly practiced at the law firm Nemeth, Feeney and Masters until 1996, when he opened Marking Solutions, a printing and rubber-stamp company.
11.
Joe Donnelly served on the Indiana Election Commission from 1988 to 1989.
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Joe Donnelly was a member of the Mishawaka Marian School Board from 1997 to 2001 and its president from 2000 to 2001.
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Joe Donnelly ran for Indiana attorney general in 1988, but lost at the Democratic state convention.
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Joe Donnelly ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Indiana Senate in 1990.
15.
In 2004, Joe Donnelly ran for the US Congress from Indiana's 2nd congressional district.
16.
On May 2,2006, Joe Donnelly defeated Steve Francis for the Democratic nomination for US Congress from Indiana's 2nd district, setting up a rematch against incumbent Chris Chocola.
17.
Joe Donnelly was named to the House Financial Services Committee for the 110th Congress.
18.
On May 8,2012, Joe Donnelly ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination for the US Senate after acknowledging the difficulty of winning reelection in his new home district drawn per the 2010 census.
19.
Joe Donnelly faced a Tea Party favorite, Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, who had defeated six-term incumbent Richard Lugar in the Republican primary, and Libertarian nominee Andy Horning.
20.
An issue in the campaign was the auto bailout of 2009, which Joe Donnelly supported and Mourdock said was unconstitutional.
21.
Joe Donnelly was endorsed by The Journal Gazette and the South Bend Tribune.
22.
Joe Donnelly ran for reelection against Republican Mike Braun and Libertarian Lucy Brenton.
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Joe Donnelly was the first Democrat to hold his seat since Vance Hartke's defeat by Richard Lugar in 1977.
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Joe Donnelly was considered a moderate Democrat who "sometimes bucks his party on issues such as abortion, defense spending and the environment".
25.
In February 2009, Joe Donnelly voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
26.
Joe Donnelly voted against the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 ; he voted for the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012.
27.
Joe Donnelly was one of 276 members of Congress who voted for the Tax Relief and Unemployment Insurance Act of 2010, extending the 2001 and 2003 Bush-era tax cuts and a 13-month extension of unemployment benefits.
28.
Joe Donnelly opposed the Republican tax reform legislation, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, saying in October 2017 that he was open to supporting the plan but wanted to see more detail and be assured it would focus on substantial middle-class tax relief.
29.
Joe Donnelly joined Republicans in writing a bill to deregulate certain banks.
30.
Joe Donnelly was one of four Democrats who helped write the bill.
31.
In 2018, Joe Donnelly broke with the majority of his party and voted with Republicans to loosen banking regulations.
32.
In 2007, Joe Donnelly co-sponsored the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007.
33.
Joe Donnelly voted in favor of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
34.
Joe Donnelly has pushed for the passage of the "Forty Hours is Full Time Act" along with Republican senator Susan Collins, which would define a full-time employment as 40 hours a week rather than 30.
35.
Joe Donnelly, along with 197 members of the House, was a cosponsor of the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007.
36.
Joe Donnelly voted against the Prescription Drug Imports Act, which would have "allowed funds to be used to prohibit the importation of prescription drugs by anyone who is not a legally sanctioned importer of drugs, a wholesaler, or a pharmacist".
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In 2007, Joe Donnelly was a co-sponsor of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, which would have added $35 billion and 4 million children to the program over five years by raising the federal cigarette tax by 61 cents to $1 per pack.
38.
Joe Donnelly joined 217 Democrats and 42 Republicans in a failed effort to override Bush's veto.
39.
In March 2010, Joe Donnelly voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
40.
In 2013, Joe Donnelly proposed changing the Affordable Care Act's definition of full-time work from 30 hours a week to 40.
41.
In 2012, Joe Donnelly cosponsored the Protect Medical Innovation Act, which would repeal the tax.
42.
In January 2018, Joe Donnelly was one of six Democrats to join Republican senators in voting to confirm Alex Azar, Trump's nominee for Health Secretary.
43.
Joe Donnelly opposed Trump's nomination of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education.
44.
In 2011, Joe Donnelly voted to allow Department of Defense funds to be used for military actions as part of the NATO Intervention in Libya.
45.
Joe Donnelly voted in support of the failed resolution to authorize the President to continue the limited use of US Forces in Libya.
46.
Joe Donnelly voted against the Iraq War troop surge of 2007.
47.
Joe Donnelly supported a Senate resolution condemning the UN Security Council resolution on Israeli settlements built on the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank.
48.
Joe Donnelly voted for the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act.
49.
Joe Donnelly has voted to reauthorize the Patriot Act, and to require FISA warrants for wiretaps in the US, but not abroad.
50.
Joe Donnelly voted against the DREAM Act on December 8,2010.
51.
Joe Donnelly said that he supports more funding for the border wall proposed by Trump.
52.
Joe Donnelly was previously one of the few Senate Democrats who had received an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association for his consistent support of policies that the NRA supports.
53.
Joe Donnelly has commended the NRA for its work with children on gun safety.
54.
Two years later, Joe Donnelly supported a law that would enact concealed carry reciprocity across state lines.
55.
In 2013, Joe Donnelly joined three other Senate Democrats in voting against the proposed ban on assault weapons.
56.
Joe Donnelly voted to support expanded background checks that same year.
57.
Joe Donnelly has described himself as "committed to protecting the sanctity of life".
58.
Joe Donnelly has mixed ratings from pro-choice and anti-abortion political action committees.
59.
Joe Donnelly was endorsed by Democrats for Life of America, a pro-life Democratic PAC.
60.
Joe Donnelly has voted for a 20-week abortion ban and co-sponsored a bill that would prohibit transporting a minor across state lines for an abortion.
61.
Joe Donnelly voted to defund Planned Parenthood before 2015, but has since voted in support of Planned Parenthood.
62.
Joe Donnelly was one of only two Democratic Senators who voted to defund Planned Parenthood on this occasion, the other being Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
63.
In November 2017, Joe Donnelly was criticized by pro-life groups when he did not speak out against the DNC's presentation of a lifetime achievement award to the CEO of Planned Parenthood.
64.
In 2007, Joe Donnelly cosponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, but in 2009, he voted against the Matthew Shepard Act.
65.
In December 2010, Joe Donnelly voted for the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010.
66.
Joe Donnelly was one of 17 Democratic Representatives to vote for H Amdt 1416 the Prohibits Use of Funds in Contravention of the Defense of Marriage Act in July 2012.
67.
In 2013, Joe Donnelly co-sponsored the Senate bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.
68.
Joe Donnelly was one of four Democrats to vote against the Stream Protection Rule.
69.
Joe Donnelly was one of three Democrats to vote to confirm President Trump's first Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, and the second Democrat to announce that he would meet with Brett Kavanaugh, Trump's second Supreme Court nominee.
70.
Joe Donnelly ultimately voted against confirming Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
71.
Joe Donnelly is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One.
72.
On October 8,2021, President Biden nominated Joe Donnelly to be the ambassador to the Holy See.
73.
On January 20,2022, Joe Donnelly was confirmed by the US Senate via voice vote.
74.
Joe Donnelly presented his credentials to Pope Francis on April 11,2022.
75.
Joe Donnelly met his wife, Jill, while attending the University of Notre Dame; the two married in 1979.
76.
In 2016, Joe Donnelly owned up to $50,000 in company stock and between $15,001 and $50,000 in dividends.