Richard Blumenthal is an American politician, currently serving as a senator from Connecticut. He has held this seat since 2011. By profession, Blumenthal is a lawyer. He belongs to Democratic Party and is one of its wealthiest members. His net worth is estimated to be around $100 million. Blumenthal has close to four decades of progressive political career.
His first major win was at the Connecticut 145th State House District General Election in 1984. He won the election by a comfortable margin, getting close to 70% of the votes cast. Next, he won the Connecticut 27th State Senate District General Election in 1988. Here too, he won comfortably by getting 65.88% of the votes.
In 1990, Blumenthal won the Connecticut Attorney General General Election. He retained this position for two decades till 2011. This has been a significant achievement for Blumenthal. The next big thing was in 2010 when Blumenthal took part in Connecticut US Senator (Class III) General Election. He registered a comfortable win, getting more than 55% votes. His nearest rival Linda McMahon of Republican Party received 43.24% votes.
Blumenthal retained the seat in 2016 election, where his vote share increased to 63.19%. He defeated Dan Carter of Republican Party who received 34.62% votes. Blumenthal has been chosen to participate in 2022 elections also. Most poll predictions indicate that Blumenthal will again win the senate seat from Connecticut in 2022 election.
Early life and education
Blumenthal was born on February 13, 1946 in Brooklyn, New York. He comes from a Jewish family background. He was born to Jane and Martin Blumenthal. Martin had immigrated to US from Germany several decades earlier. Blumenthal completed school at Riverdale Country School. Later, he joined Harvard College for his graduation. He also studied at the University of Cambridge in England, as part of Fiske Fellowship.
He received his J.D. degree in 1973 from Yale Law School. He had shared the classroom with notable figures like Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton. His classmates also included Clarence Thomas, who went on to become Supreme Court Justice. Blumenthal married Cynthia Malkin in 1982. They have four children from the marriage.
Political career
During his time serving as attorney general of Connecticut, Blumenthal has participated in various important cases. Some of these include Pequot land annexation bid, settlement with tobacco companies, interstate air pollution, Microsoft lawsuit, Tomasso Group and Rowland corruption, Stanley Works, Charter schools lawsuit, Regional transmission organization, Gina Kolb lawsuit, Big East and ACC, Lyme disease guidelines investigation, internet pornography, prostitution, and sexual predators, terrorist surveillance program and global warming.
As a senator, Blumenthal has spoken on various topics such as gun control, aviation safety, agriculture reforms, child care, drug policy, environment, LGBT rights, railroad safety, healthcare, housing, infrastructure development, immigration, abortion, foreign relations, and telecommunications.
Personal pursuits
Richard Blumenthal remains committed to his professional and political goals in life.