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Harold Eugene Ford, Jr. (born . A Democrat , he is currently his party's leading candidate for the Senate seat of retiring Majority Leader Bill Frist . EARLY HISTORY Ford is the son of former Congressman Harold Ford, Sr. and Dorothy Ford. He has three brothers--Jake, Isaac, and Andrew--and one sister, Ava. His family has long been prominent in Memphis' black community; the Fords' influence dates to the days when E.H. Crump 's Political Machine dominated the city and much of the state. He graduated from St. Albans School for Boys in Washington, D.C. and received a B.A. from the University Of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1992 and a J.D. from the University Of Michigan Law School in 1996 . He sat for and failed to pass the Tennessee Bar Exam in 1998, but he has publicly acknowledged that he will try again. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MEMBER In 1992 he was a staff aide to the Senate Budget Committee and in 1993 he was special assistant to the United States Department Of Commerce . Harold, Sr. had long groomed Harold, Jr. as his successor. When Harold, Sr. decided not to seek a 12th term in Congress in 1996 , Harold, Jr. wasted little time entering the race. Although the race for the Democratic nomination was essentially over as soon as he jumped in, he arranged his schedule for his last semester at Michigan so he would not have Monday or Friday classes. He was thus able to fly home to Memphis for an extended weekend each week to continue his campaign. As expected, he easily won the Democratic primary, which was tantamount to election in the heavily Democratic, black-majority 9th. He has been reelected four times without serious Republican opposition. In 2000 , Ford was the Keynote speaker for the 2000 Democratic National Convention supporting then Vice President Al Gore for the Democratic nomination for President . Ford's voting record is considered much more Moderate than conventional wisdom would suggest for a district like the 9th, even though Republicans have not seriously contested the district since 1978 (Harold, Sr. ran unopposed in 1980 , and the district was redrawn as a black-majority district after that year's census). He has supported many bills that fall across the usual Conservative / Liberal spectrum. He supported a ban on benefits for same-sex couples, as well as the Federal Marriage Amendment (which would ban same-sex marriage). He has told Democrats they should be more supportive of George W. Bush on the war in Iraq and criticized Senate Democrats who attempted to filibuster Samuel Alito . He was one of the few Democrats who voted for the Bankruptcy Bill, and supports some restrictions on Abortion . However, he has also opposed Bush's energy proposals (including oil drilling in ANWR ), has demonstrated support for Adoption rights of same-sex couples, and indicates a willingness to reform illegal drug policy. His popularity among white voters in the Memphis area has steadily increased during his decade in Congress; in 2000 , for instance, he won 40% of the white vote. Most whites in the Memphis area began to support Republicans in the 1960s. When Ohio Republican Congresswoman Jean Schmidt called Pennsylvania Democrat John Murtha a "coward" in response to Murtha's proposal for a redeployment of American forces in Iraq , Ford charged across the House floor to the Republican side during the resulting uproar in the chamber. He screamed, "Say it to Murtha!" (or "Say Murtha's name!" depending on the source) while waving his finger at Schmidt and other Republicans. Like most other Democrats, Ford believed Schmidt's remarks (which she later withdrew) were an unwarranted "cheap shot" against Murtha, a respected 38-year veteran of the Marine Corps . Ford had to be restrained by fellow Democrat Dave Obey of Wisconsin . Ford is a member of the New Democrat Coalition , the Congressional Black Caucus and the Blue Dog Coalition . After the 2002 elections resulted in Democrats losing Congressional seats, Ford announced his candidacy for House Democratic Leader, challenging then- House Minority Whip Nancy Pelosi , arguing that current leadership was ineffective. Ford was defeated, but exceeded initial expectations in terms of the amount of support he received. A few pundits suggested that he might be considered to be the Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate in 2004 ; however, he was ineligible for the office because he would be four months short of turning 35 on Inauguration Day ( January 20 , 2005 ). 2006 SENATE CAMPAIGN See Also: Tennessee United States Senate election, 2006 On April 6 , 2005, during an interview on C-SPAN 's call-in show '' Washington Journal '', Ford confirmed that he would be running for the Senate. He filed the papers necessary to officially begin his Senate campaign on May 25 , 2005 {Link without Title} . To date, Ford has raised in excess of $3 million for his Senate campaign. Democrat Rosalind Kurita has dropped out of the Democratic Primary, leaving Ford as the nominee. {Link without Title} If elected, Ford would be the first ever popularly elected African-American Senator from the former Confederacy , and would also be the first African-American senator from the Confederacy since Reconstruction . A Rasmussen poll shows 13% of respondents report that friends or family members plan to vote against Ford because he is African-American. {Link without Title} Pundits have speculated that controversies involving Ford's extended family could have some impact on Ford's Senate campaign even though Ford is not involved in any of the controversies himself. {Link without Title} His uncle, former State Senator John Ford , is currently facing federal bribery charges related to the Operation Tennessee Waltz scandal. John Ford resigned his Senate seat upon his indictment. His sister and Harold, Jr.'s aunt, Ophelia , ran for the seat and won it by thirteen votes, but allegations of electoral misconduct, specifically that at least 13 dead individuals voted, caused the Tennessee Senate to unseat her. The seat is currently vacant as the Shelby County Commission decides whether to seat Ophelia, her rival Terry Roland, or another individual. EXTERNAL LINKS
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