WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- When the 110th Congress of the United
States is sworn in Jan. 3, it will include 18 Lutherans -- 11
Democrats and 7 Republicans, according to the ELCA Washington
Office, the federal public policy advocacy office of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Three Lutherans will be members of the U.S. Senate:
Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.)
Tim Johnson (D-S.D.)
Fourteen Lutherans will be in the U.S. House of
Representatives:
Michelle Bachman (R-Minn., 6th)
Lois Capps (D-Calif., 23rd)
John R. Carter (R-Texas, 31st)
Norman D. Dicks (D-Wash., 6th)
Stephanie Herseth (D-S.D., at large)
Darlene Hooley (D-Ore. 5th)
Ron Kind (D-Wis., 3rd)
Tom Latham (R-Iowa, 4th)
Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif., 16th)
Collin C. Peterson (D-Minn., 7th)
Thomas E. Petri (R-Wis., 6th)
Dave Reichert (R-Wash., 8th)
John M. Shimkus (R-Ill., 19th)
Bill Shuster (R-Pa., 9th)
Tim Walz (D-Minn., 1st)
All are members of the ELCA, except Reichert and Shimkus,
who are members of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and
Bachman and Kind, who are members of the Wisconsin Evangelical
Lutheran Synod.
The longest-serving Lutheran in Congress is Dicks, who was
first elected to the U.S. House in 1976 and begins his 16th two-
year term in 2007. Bachman and Walz are beginning their first
terms, Bachman filling the seat currently held by Mark Kennedy,
who did not seek re-election in a losing bid for a U.S. Senate
seat, and Walz defeating incumbent Gil Gutknecht. Brown is moving
from the House of Representatives to the Senate, having defeated
incumbent Mike DeWine for the Senate seat.
Four Lutherans in the 109th Congress will not continue in
the 110th. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) lost re-election. Michael
Oxley (R-Ohio, 4th) and Martin Olav Sabo (D-Minn., 5th) announced
they would retire after their current terms and did not seek re-
election. Jim Nussle (R-Iowa, 2nd) made a losing bid for governor
of Iowa and did not seek re-election for his House seat.
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Information about the ELCA Washington Office is at
http://www.ELCA.org/advocacy/ on the ELCA Web site.
* Annie Lynsen is director for grassroots advocacy and
communication, ELCA Washington Office.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
