Earl Pomeroy

Early life, education and career

Pomeroy was born in Valley City in Barnes County in eastern North Dakota. He attended Valley City State University where he was initiated as a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity and later transferred to the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and went on to do graduate research in legal history at Durham University in England. Pomeroy returned to North Dakota to attend the University of North Dakota School of Law, having received his Juris Doctor law degree in 1979.

State government

Pomeroy was elected to the North Dakota House of Representatives in 1980, and became North Dakota Insurance Commissioner in 1985, a post that he held until 1992.

Committee assignments

Caucuses and coalitions

Pomeroy was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.

Iraq War

Although he supported authorizing force in Iraq in 2002, he has increasingly spoken out against the war. Earl Pomeroy supported the House resolution opposing George W. Bush's troop surge plan in February 2007. He said in a floor speech, "We take care of our soldiers over [in Iraq] by making sure their deployments are only for acceptable periods and at acceptable intervals, with enough time at home in between to heal, to rest, and to train. But beyond these things, we take care of our soldiers over there when we as a Congress make certain the mission they have sent to perform has a reasonable chance of success.

"In a war where so many tragic mistakes have been made, this Congress must not sit quietly by while additional plans are cooked up in Washington whose only certainty is to accelerate the loss of American lives, compound the already severe strain on our military capabilities, and accelerate the burn rate of American dollars spent in Iraq. ... Without the commitment between the warring parties in Iraq to stop the killing, and create a political agreement upon which a national government can exist, 20,000 more U.S. soldiers are not likely to bring about a lasting peace."

Health care

Pomeroy voted for the Affordable Health Care for America Act in November 2009, stating that the bill was far from perfect, "but so is our present system."

Adoption tax credit

Pomeroy strongly supported legislation allowing parents to deduct adoption expenses they incurred. On the day of the vote, Pomeroy brought his daughter whom he and his wife had adopted from South Korea, onto the House floor.

Political campaigns

Pomeroy was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992. Until recently, he did not gain the victory margins scored by North Dakota's two Democratic Senators, Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan. Until 2004, he never won more than 57 percent of the vote. However, in 2004 he was reelected with almost 60 percent.

2006

Pomeroy faced Republican Matthew Mechtel in the 2006 general election, easily winning re-election to his eighth term. He received a larger percentage of votes (65.68%) than in his previous elections.

2008

In 2008, Pomeroy easily retained his seat in the House of Representatives beating Republican Duane Sand.

2010

Pomeroy was defeated by Republican nominee State Representative Rick Berg. This marks the first time in 30 years that this seat has been held by a Republican.

Pomeroy's election loss has been attributed to his vote for the health care reform bill.

Post-Congressional career

After leaving Congress, Pomeroy joined the K Street firm Alston & Bird, where he works as a lobbyist for hospitals. Pomeroy's move to the private sector was "unusually swift"; by June 2011, he had registered as a lobbyist. Pomeroy joined former Senate Majority Leader and presidential candidate Bob Dole at Alston & Bird.

Personal life

Pomeroy lives in Mandan, North Dakota; he has two children, Kathryn and Scott. On July 2, 2009, Pomeroy married Mary Berglund in a private ceremony at the site of his family's homestead in Valley City, North Dakota.

Earl was a stand out rugby player at UND in the 1970s.