Edwin George Perlmutter (born May 1, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Colorado's 7th congressional district from 2007 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, his district was located in the northern and western suburbs of the Denver metropolitan area. He previously served as the Colorado state senator from the 20th district from 1995 to 2003. On January 10, 2022, he announced he would not seek re-election in 2022.[1]

Ed Perlmutter
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Colorado's 7th district
In office
January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2023
Preceded byBob Beauprez
Succeeded byBrittany Pettersen
Member of the Colorado Senate
from the 20th district
In office
January 9, 1995 – January 8, 2003
Preceded byClaire Traylor
Succeeded byMaryanne Keller
Personal details
Born
Edwin George Perlmutter

(1953-05-01) May 1, 1953 (age 71)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
Deana Perlmutter
(m. 1981; div. 2008)
Nancy Henderson
(m. 2010)
Children3
EducationUniversity of Colorado, Boulder (BA, JD)
WebsiteHouse website

Early life, education, and career

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Perlmutter was born in Denver, the son of Alice Love (née Bristow) and Leonard Michael Perlmutter on May 1, 1953.[2] His father was Jewish, the son of immigrants from Poland; his mother was Christian, and was of English and Irish descent.[3] Perlmutter describes himself as a Christian.[4][5][6] Perlmutter graduated from Jefferson High School in Edgewater, Colorado and went on to graduate from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1975.[citation needed] He received his Juris Doctor at Colorado in 1978.[citation needed]

Colorado Senate

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Perlmutter was a Colorado State Senator from 1995 to 2003. He was elected to two four-year terms to represent central Jefferson County as State Senator from 1995 to 2003—the first Democrat elected in the district in 30 years.

He has assisted numerous campaigns and in was co-chair of the John Kerry 2004 presidential campaign in Colorado.[citation needed]

U.S. House of Representatives

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Committee assignments

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Caucus memberships

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  • New Democrat Coalition[11]
  • Aerospace Caucus
  • Cannabis Caucus
  • Gun Violence Prevention Task Force
  • Equality Caucus
  • Labor Caucus
  • NASA Caucus
  • National Parks Caucus
  • National Wildlife Refuge Caucus
  • Olympic and Paralympic Caucus
  • Pro-Choice Caucus
  • Science and National Labs Caucus
  • Sustainable Energy and Environment Caucus
  • Climate Solutions Caucus

Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act

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Since 2013, Perlmutter and Rep. Denny Heck have introduced legislation to improve access to banking and financial services for cannabis businesses.[12][13] Initially known as the Marijuana Business Access to Banking Act, it was rebranded as the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in 2017.[14] On September 25, 2019, the House of Representatives passed the SAFE Banking Act by a 321–103 vote, marking the first time that a standalone cannabis reform bill had passed either chamber of Congress.[15][16]

Political campaigns

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2006

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Perlmutter won the Democratic nomination for the 7th district by defeating former State Representative Peggy Lamm and college professor Herb Rubenstein, with 53% of the vote in the primary. State education chairman Rick O'Donnell was unopposed for the Republican nomination. Dave Chandler, a Green, was also a candidate.

The seat was held by Republican Bob Beauprez, who was reelected to a second term in 2004 with 55% of the vote, after winning his first term by only 121 votes. He left the seat at the end of the 2004–2006 term, having failed in his bid to become Governor of Colorado.

In late September, O'Donnell was put on the defensive when ads appeared noting that he had previously supported abolishing Social Security. A Survey USA poll soon after that showed Perlmutter with a 54 to 37 percent lead, although GOP consultants guessed that the support was "soft".[17] An October 4 poll released by Zogby showed Perlmutter ahead of O'Donnell by 45-34 percent.[18] Cook Political Report rating: Republican Toss Up. CQPolitics rating: No Clear Favorite.

In the end, Perlmutter (54%) soundly defeated O'Donnell (42%) for the congressional seat, helping Democrats to regain the majority in the U.S. House.

2008

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Perlmutter won against Republican nominee John W. Lerew.[citation needed]

2010

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Perlmutter defeated Republican nominee Ryan Frazier and Libertarian nominee Buck Bailey on November 2, 2010. The 7th Congressional district had been cited as a GOP target in 2010.[19]

2012

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Perlmutter defeated Republican nominee Joe Coors Jr. on November 6, 2012. Perlmutter's victory came despite new congressional boundaries that made his district 4 percent less Democratic. Perlmutter was ahead by 9 percentage points in Jefferson County, where 60 percent of the voters live. Perlmutter led Coors by 17 percentage points in Adams County, where 40 percent of the constituents in the newly drawn 7th district live.[20]

2014

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Perlmutter defeated Republican nominee Don Ytterberg in the 2014 general election. He won with 55.1% of the vote.[21]

2016

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Perlmutter defeated Republican nominee George Athanasopoulos and Libertarian nominee Martin L. Buchanan in the 2016 general election. He won with 55.18% of the vote.[22]

2018

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On April 9, 2017, Perlmutter announced his candidacy for Governor of Colorado in the 2018 election.[23][24] On July 10, 2017, Perlmutter announced that he was dropping out of the gubernatorial race and would not seek reelection to his congressional seat.[25] However, on August 21, 2017, he announced he had reversed his decision again and ran for reelection for his congressional seat.[26] He defeated Republican nominee Mark Barrington, winning re-election with 60.42% of the vote.

2020

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Perlmutter defeated Republican nominee Casper Stockham, Libertarian nominee Ken Biles, and Unity nominee Dave Olszta in the 2020 general election. He won with 59.1% of the vote.

Personal life

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Perlmutter has three children. He and his first wife Deana divorced in 2008. In November 2010, Perlmutter married Nancy Henderson.[27] His uncle was Denver real estate developer Jordon Perlmutter.[28]

References

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  1. ^ "Ed Perlmutter says he won't seek reelection in 2022". Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  2. ^ "Congressman Ed Perlmutter - About". Facebook. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  3. ^ "Ancestry® | Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records". freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-20. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  4. ^ Jeralyn Merritt (April 7, 2006). "An Interview With Ed Perlmutter". 5280. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
  5. ^ "111th Congress - Meet The New Members | Legislator | US Representative Ed Perlmutter". 111th.illumen.org. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
  6. ^ "In the Senate, still 13 tribesmen-UPDATE | Capital J | JTA - Jewish & Israel News". Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2011-05-24.
  7. ^ "Committee Membership | Financial Services Committee". financialservices.house.gov. Archived from the original on 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  8. ^ "Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy | Financial Services Committee". financialservices.house.gov.
  9. ^ "Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations | Financial Services Committee". financialservices.house.gov.
  10. ^ "Membership". Select Committee on the Modernization on the Congress. U.S. House Of Representatives. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Members". New Democrat Coalition. Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  12. ^ "SAFE Banking Act Introduced as Congress Looks to Address Cannabis Banking Issue" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: house.gov. March 7, 2019. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020.
  13. ^ "Perlmutter, Heck Introduce Commonsense Marijuana Business Access to Banking Act" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: house.gov. July 10, 2013. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020.
  14. ^ Wallace, Alicia (April 27, 2017). "New federal bill would allow banking for marijuana businesses". The Cannabist. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  15. ^ "SAFE Banking Act Passes U.S. House of Representatives with Overwhelming, Bipartisan Support" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: house.gov. September 25, 2019. Archived from the original on October 8, 2020.
  16. ^ Jaeger, Kyle (September 25, 2019). "House Approves Marijuana Banking Bill In Historic Vote". Marijuana Moment. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  17. ^ [1] Archived March 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ "Results in key House races: Reuters poll". Washington Post. Reuters. 2006-10-04. Archived from the original on 2012-10-24.
  19. ^ Zeleny, Roger (2010-05-09). "Democrats See Hopes for West Dim in Colorado". New York Times. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  20. ^ Bartels, Lynn (2012-06-11). "Perlmutter wins fourth term, Coors tapped out in 7th district". Denver Post. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  21. ^ "U.S. Representatives". Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  22. ^ "Official Certified Results, November 8, 2016 General Election". Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  23. ^ Marcus, Peter (March 23, 2017). "Ed Perlmutter expected to announce a run for governor". ColoradoPolitics.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  24. ^ James Anderson (April 9, 2017). "Democratic congressman announces run for Colorado governor". Associated Press. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  25. ^ "Ed Perlmutter to announce that he is dropping out of governor's race". coloradopolitics.com. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  26. ^ Bunch, Joey (2018-08-21). "Perlmutter is back in congressional race, Moreno and Pettersen suspend campaigns". Colorado Politics. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
  27. ^ "Perlmutters getting married on Friday". Denver Post. 2010-11-25.
  28. ^ Westminster Window: "Longtime businessman Jordan Perlmutter helped develop Northglenn area" by Corrie Sahling December 14, 2015
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Colorado Senate
Preceded by
Claire Traylor
Member of the Colorado Senate
from the 20th district

1995–2003
Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Colorado's 7th congressional district

2007–2023
Succeeded by
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas former U.S. Representative Order of precedence of the United States
as former U.S. Representative
Succeeded byas former U.S. Representative

to