Rep. Mark Udall (D) Elected 1998, 3d term
Born:	July 18, 1950, Tucson, AZ
Home:	Boulder
Education:	Williams Col., B.A. 1972
Religion:	no religious affiliation
Marital Status:	married (Maggie L. Fox)
Elected  Office:	CO House of Reps., 1996-98.
Professional Career:	CO Outward Bound Course Dir., 1975-85, Exec. Dir., 1985-95.
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Nestled right up against the Front Range of the Rockies, Boulder, the home of the 28,000-student University of Colorado, once billed by its convention bureau as ''a combination of lycra-clad athletes, New Age artists, and thoughtful intellectuals sipping cappuccinos.'' It has been called the nation's number one town for outdoor sports by Outdoor magazine, and an ''international mecca for people who thrive on physical challenge and risk'' by journalist Clifford May. Boulder, dubbed the "adventure capital of the U.S.," is one of the nation's leading centers for bungee jumping, mountain biking, snowshoe running, rock and ice climbing, downhill skiing, land surfing and hot-air ballooning. It is also the home of the Buddhist Naropa Institute and the Boulder School of Massage Therapy. All of which is suggested by the terrain: The grid streets of Boulder literally look up at erose peaks rising to 14,000 feet from a mile-high plain stretching farther than the eye can see. But not all is pleasant in this paradise: Boulder is where child model JonBenet Ramsey was murdered in 1996, and the supermarket tabloids are still full of the story though the Ramseys have long since moved away.

The 2d Congressional District is centered on Boulder. It includes most of Boulder County and extends west along Interstate 70 on its awesome course through the mountains as it takes in some lightly-populated but picturesque Rocky Mountains acreage, including the old mining town of Central City and the lodges and resorts of Vail. The district contains some of the northwest suburbs of Denver--Northglenn, Federal Heights, Lafayette and most of Westminster and Thornton--and the old Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant, now being converted to a national wildlife refuge. The plant, where plutonium triggers were once manufactured, was home to the notorious Building 771--once known as the "most dangerous building in America" because of its immeasurably high levels of radioactive contamination. Also in the district is Broomfield County, which separated from Boulder County to become Colorado's 64th and newest county in November 2001. Greater Boulder has grappled with the effects of commercial and residential ''growth management,'' as development is restricted to just 1% annually and open space is protected by a ''blue line'' barrier, causing housing prices to soar. Politically, the Metro North area is marginal while Boulder is heavily Democratic. Overall, this remains one of half a dozen Democratic districts in the Rocky Mountain states.

The congressman from the 2d District is Mark Udall, a Democrat elected in a close race in 1998. Udall is the son of longtime (1961-91) Arizona Congressman Morris Udall, who ran for president in 1976 and died in December 1998, and the nephew of Stewart Udall, who served in the House before his brother and was Interior secretary from 1961-68. ''I can remember the excitement I felt sitting in a corner of Stewart's kitchen listening to my father, Stewart, Bob McNamara, Bobby Kennedy and Justice Douglas talk about the issues of the day, and there was a sense of optimism and sense of involvement and sense of meaning,'' Mark has said. He is also a cousin of Oregon Senator Gordon Smith, a Republican, and of New Mexico Congressman Tom Udall, a Democrat also elected in 1998. Another Udall ran in 2002, but lost in the new Arizona 1st District. ''Vote for the Udall nearest you,'' as Mark put it.

Soon after college, Udall moved to Boulder to work for the Colorado Outward Bound School and headed it for 10 years. He is an accomplished mountaineer (though he didn't quite make it to the top of Mount Everest), rock climber and kayaker. In 1996, he ran for the state House, and with his family and ideological connections raised 40% of his money out of state and won. In October 1997, Udall was one of several candidates spurred to run when incumbent Democratic Congressman David Skaggs retired. Republicans nominated Bob Greenlee, mayor of Boulder, who put more than $1 million of his own money into his campaign; Udall stressed environmental protection, growth management and education. Greenlee ran well in the Metro North suburbs, but even with all his involvement in local government and charities in Boulder, he still lost Boulder County, where nearly half the votes were cast, 56%-41%. That gave Udall a 50%-47% victory.

With seats on the Resources and Science Committees and his co-chairmanship of the Renewable Energy Caucus, Udall focuses on the West and environmental issues. Three months after George W. Bush took office, Udall called his energy policy a "war on the West." While the huge Hayman wildfire--the largest in state history--burned close to 138,000 acres in June-July 2002, he urged greater cooperation among key players to reduce the risk of future disasters. In response to complaints from seniors, he filed a bill to separate from the U.S. gross domestic product the reimbursement rate for Medicare payments to physicians. He cited his father's regret over supporting the Tonkin Gulf resolution in 1964, as he explained his October 2002 opposition to the resolution authorizing force against Iraq.

Udall has had relatively easy re-elections. His 2000 challenger spent $450,000 of her own money, but national Republicans did not target the district, and Udall won 55%-39%. Redistricting made the district a bit more Democratic, and Udall's 2002 challenger, Boulder County Treasurer--and Sierra Club member--Sandy Hume ran a campaign that The Denver Post reported was "marked by uncommon civility." Udall won 60%-37%. During the fall campaign, he complained when a TV commercial for Senator Wayne Allard showed Udall standing next to him; they had worked together on making Rocky Flats a national wildlife refuge. Udall is often mentioned as a contender for statewide office, perhaps for Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell's seat in 2004, though he seems much more likely to run if Campbell retires than if he runs for reelection. The redistricting plan passed in May 2003 added several thousand more Democrats to the district by swapping small parts of the Denver suburbs, further entrenching the seat's Democratic trend.

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DC Office
115 CHOB 20515, 202-225-2161; Fax: 202-226-7840; Web site: www.house.gov/markudall

State Offices
Westminster, 303-650-7820.

Committees

• Agriculture (22d of 24 D): Livestock & Horticulture.
• Resources (13th of 24 D): Forests & Forest Health; National Parks, Recreation & Public Lands.
• Science (8th of 22 D): Environment, Technology & Standards (RMM); Space & Aeronautics.

Group Ratings (More Info)
	ADA	ACLU	AFS	LCV	CON	ITIC	NTU	COC	ACU	NTLC	CHC
2002	95	93	89	100	70	25	23	40	4	0	8
2001	100	--	100	100	--	--	14	35	0	--	--

National Journal Ratings (More Info)
	2001 LIB	--	2001 CONS		2002 LIB	--	2002 CONS
Economic	74%	--	25%		66%	--	33%
Social	90%	--	0%		94%	--	6%
Foreign	90%	--	10%		76%	--	23%
For National Journal's complete 2002 Vote Ratings, as well as previous ratings dating back to 1995, please click here.

Key Votes Of The 107th Congress (More Info)
1. Approve Bush Tax Cuts N 2. Limit Patients' Bill of Rights N 3. Campaign Finance Reform Y 4. Ban ANWR Development Y 5. Faith-Based Charities N 6. Bar Gays in the Boy Scouts N		7. Ban Partial-Birth Abortion N  8. Arm Commercial Pilots N  9. Trade Promotion Authority N 10. Bar Funds for Intl. Court N 11. Authorize Force in Iraq N 12. Deny Home. Sec. Dept. Union N

Election Results (More Info)
	Candidate	Total Votes	Percent	Expenditures
2002 general	Mark Udall (D)	123,504	60%	$776,268
	Sandy Hume (R)	75,564	37%	$34,430
	Other	6,454	3%
2002 primary	Mark Udall (D)	unopposed
2000 general	Mark Udall (D)	155,725	55%	$1,330,529
	Carolyn Cox (R)	109,338	39%	$512,085
	Ronald N. Forthofer (Green)	12,398	4%	$37,912
	Other	5,655	2%
Prior winning percentages: 1998 (50%)

2000 presidential
	Gore (D)	126,607	52%
	Bush (R)	103,518	43%
	Other	13,107	5%
For 1992 and 1996 presidential results in the Second District, please see the Almanac 2000 online. Please note that these older returns reflect district lines as they existed prior to 2002 redistricting.

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: D + 5
• District Size: 5,664 square miles
• Population in 2000: 614,465; 87.3% urban; 12.7% rural
• Median Household Income: $55,204; 7.4% are below the poverty line
• Occupation: 20.2% blue collar; 66.3% white collar; 13.5% gray collar; 11.2% military veterans
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 78.9% White, 1.0% Black, 3.2% Asian, 0.5% Amer. Indian, 0.1% Hawaiian, 1.5% Two+ races, 0.1% Other, 14.7% Hispanic origin
• Ancestry: 16.9% German, 9.8% Irish, 9.1% English
• Click here for statewide demographic data.