Jay Rockefeller

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Jay Rockefeller
United States Senator
from West Virginia
In office
January 15, 1985 – January 3, 2015
Preceded byJennings Randolph
Succeeded byShelley Moore Capito
Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee
In office
January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2015
Preceded byDaniel Inouye
Succeeded byJohn Thune
Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee
In office
January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2009
Preceded byPat Roberts
Succeeded byDianne Feinstein
Chair of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee
In office
June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003
Preceded byArlen Specter
Succeeded byArlen Specter
In office
January 3, 2001 – January 20, 2001
Preceded byArlen Specter
Succeeded byArlen Specter
In office
January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byAlan Cranston
Succeeded byAlan Simpson
29th Governor of West Virginia
In office
January 17, 1977 – January 14, 1985
Preceded byArch A. Moore Jr.
Succeeded byArch A. Moore Jr.
22nd Secretary of State of West Virginia
In office
January 13, 1969 – January 15, 1973
GovernorArch Moore
Preceded byRobert D. Bailey Jr.
Succeeded byEdgar Heiskell
Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates
In office
1966–1968
Personal details
Born
John Davison Rockefeller IV

(1937-06-18) June 18, 1937 (age 86)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic (1966–present)
Other political
affiliations
Republican (before 1966)
Spouse(s)
Sharon Percy (m. 1967)
Children4, including Justin
ParentsJohn D. Rockefeller III
Blanchette Ferry Hooker
RelativesSee Rockefeller family
EducationHarvard University (BA)
International Christian University
Yale University
Signature

John D. Rockefeller IV (born June 18, 1937) is a retired American Democratic politician. He served as a United States senator of West Virginia from 1985 to 2015.[1] Before becoming a U.S. Senator, he was Governor of West Virginia from 1977 to 1985.

In April 1992, he was the Democratic Party's finance chairman. He considered running for president, but decided not to after asking friends and advisors. He went on to strongly endorse Bill Clinton as the Democratic candidate.[2]

He is the great-grandson of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller. He is the only member of the Rockefeller family who was a government official to not be a Republican as the family dynasty are mostly left-wing Republicans.

He accused President Obama's critics of racism.[3]

On January 11, 2013, Rockefeller announced that he would not seek reelection for the United States Senate in 2014.[4]

References[change | change source]

  1. "Jay Rockefeller". Archived from the original on 2005-12-23. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
  2. By R. W. Apple Jr. (1992-04-10). "THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: The Front-Runner; Like Voters, Superdelegates Have Doubts About Clinton". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  3. "Sen. Jay Rockefeller plays the race card". www.cbsnews.com.
  4. Weiner, Rachel (2013-01-11). "Jay Rockefeller won't run in 2014". Washington Post. Retrieved 2013-09-21.