Rod Grams

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Rod Grams
United States Senator
from Minnesota
In office
January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2001
Preceded byDavid Durenberger
Succeeded byMark Dayton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Minnesota's 6th district
In office
January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byGerry Sikorski
Succeeded byBill Luther
Personal details
Born
Rodney Dwight Grams

(1948-02-04)February 4, 1948
Princeton, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedOctober 8, 2013(2013-10-08) (aged 65)
Crown, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseChristine Gunhus
Alma materBrown College
Anoka-Ramsey Community College
Carroll University
Signature

Rodney Dwight Grams (February 4, 1948 – October 8, 2013) was an American politician and television news anchor who served in both the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. A local news anchor, Grams became well known for working at Twin Cities station KMSP-TV from 1982 until 1991. He was a member of the Republican Party.

Grams was born on a farm in Princeton, Minnesota, and worked at several other news stations throughout the Midwest and Great Plains before serving as KMSP's senior news anchor. After retiring from television, he launched a successful bid for Congress in Minnesota's 6th congressional district against embattled Democratic incumbent Gerry Sikorski in 1992. He served one term, opting to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican David Durenberger in 1994. He won the 1994 Senate election and was defeated for reelection by Mark Dayton in 2000.

Grams sought election to his old Senate seat in 2006, but dropped out before the Republican primary. He also ran again for election to the House in Minnesota's 8th congressional district in 2006 as the Republican-endorsed candidate but lost to incumbent Democrat Jim Oberstar.

Early life

Grams was born on a farm in

Brown Institute (1966–1968), Anoka-Ramsey Community College (1970–1972), and Carroll College (1974–1975).[1]

Grams spent 23 years in television and radio broadcasting before launching a career in politics. From 1982 to 1991 he was the senior news anchor at

WIFR-TV in Rockford, Illinois. Before entering broadcasting, Grams worked at an engineering consulting firm for seven years. In 1985, he formed Sun Ridge Builders, a Twin Cities construction and residential development company, serving as its president and CEO. He was involved in architectural design and the use of solar energy in residential homes.[citation needed
]

Early political career

Grams launched his political career by winning the 1992 Republican nomination in

U.S. Senate
.

U.S. Senate

After

gubernatorial race
. Weeks before the state Republican convention, McFarland dropped out of the Senate race after endorsing Quist for governor and joining his ticket as Quist's running mate.

After numerous ballots at the convention in St. Paul, Grams won the Republican endorsement over Olson and McKasy. He also won the Republican primary against

Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley, Grams won, 49% to 44%.[2]

Grams ran for reelection in 2000, losing to

Mike Ciresi from her home computer.[3] She received a fine and suspended sentence for violating political advertising regulations.[4]
The Grams campaign also ran a commercial during the campaign featuring Grams's mother, Audrey Grams, that ended with her saying, "Uffda, vote for Rod."

Post-Senate career

After his 2000 reelection defeat, Grams went back into private business and in 2004 became the owner of three radio stations in

2006 U.S. House election, challenging the incumbent Jim Oberstar in Minnesota's 8th congressional district
. Oberstar defeated Grams handily.

Grams remained active in politics and interested in running for public office. In 2008, he considered challenging incumbent Norm Coleman for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination but was too busy in his private life to make a run, saying, "And my wife (Chris) would have killed me if I would have, because of some things that we're doing."[7] It also became unclear whether Grams would run as a Republican. In an interview, he expressed disappointment at the perceived failings of the party, going as far as to wonder whether he could still call himself a Republican or vote for Republican candidates.[7]

Grams considered a 2010 run for governor of Minnesota, saying, "I'm so damn unhappy with the Republicans right now ... I'm so unhappy with the candidates that we have I could puke. I wanted to get out there and mix it up."[8] But Grams endorsed Republican Tom Emmer in the 2010 campaign for governor.[9][10] Emmer lost the election to Mark Dayton.

Illness and death

On September 4, 2013, it was announced that Grams had been battling

colon cancer since 2012 and was receiving hospice care at his home.[11] He died on October 8, 2013, aged 65, at his home in Crown, Minnesota.[12]

Electoral history

Minnesota 8th Congressional District Election 2006
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Jim Oberstar (incumbent) 180,670 63.61
Republican Rod Grams 97,683 34.39
Minnesota U.S. Senate Election 2000
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Mark Dayton 1,181,553 48.83
Republican Rod Grams (incumbent) 1,047,474 43.29
Independence
 Jim Gibson 140,583 5.81
Minnesota U.S. Senate Election 1994
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican
 		Rod Grams 869,653 49.05
Democratic
 Ann Wynia 781,860 44.10
Independence
 Dean Barkley 95,400 5.38
Minnesota U.S. Senate Election 1994 - Republican Primary
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican
 		Rod Grams 269,931 58.17
Republican
 Joanell Dyrstad 163,205 35.17
Republican
 Harold Stassen 22,430 4.83
Minnesota 6th Congressional District Election 1992
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican
 		Rod Grams 133,564 44.37
Democratic
 Gerry Sikorski (incumbent) 100,016 33.23
Reform Dean Barkley 48,329 16.06
Minnesota 6th Congressional District Election 1992 - Republican Primary
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican
 		Rod Grams 11,818 68.62
Republican
 Jim Hillegass 5,404 31.38

References

  1. ^ "Rod Grams profile at". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  2. ^ "U.S. SENATE ELECTION 1994". The Baltimore Sun. 10 November 1994. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  3. ^ Declan McCullagh. "The Wrong Way to Do Dirty Tricks". Wired. Wired.com. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
  4. ^ Poli Sigh. (Christine Gunhus gets fine and suspended sentence), 2001-08-01
  5. ^ Changing Hands - 5/17/2004 - Broadcasting & Cable Archived 2006-11-26 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "MPR: Campaign 2006: U.S. Congress: 8th District: Rod Grams". Minnesota.publicradio.org. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
  7. ^ a b "from ECM Publishers, Inc". Hometown Source. Archived from the original on 2008-10-19. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
  8. ^ "Rod Grams Thinking About Running for Governor|". Archived from the original on 2010-03-28. Retrieved 2010-03-28.
  9. ^ "Grams backs Emmer". Minnesota.publicradio.org. 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
  10. ^ "News | FOX 21 News, KQDS-DT". Fox21online.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-27. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
  11. ^ "Former U.S. Sen. Rod Grams, battling cancer, is in hospice care". Star Tribune. 2013-09-04. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
  12. ^ Joey Mcleister, Star Tribune. "Former U.S. Sen. Rod Grams dies of cancer". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2013-10-09.

Further reading

Party political offices
Preceded by
Class 1)
1994, 2000
 Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Minnesota's 6th congressional district
1993–1995 		Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 1) from Minnesota
1995–2001
Served alongside: Paul Wellstone 		Succeeded by
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