Udall, Tom (1948-…), was a member of the United States Senate from 2009 to 2021. He is a Democrat from New Mexico. Prior to his election to the Senate, Udall had served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1999.
Udall comes from a prominent political family. His father, Stewart Udall, served in the U.S. Congress and in the Cabinets of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Tom Udall’s cousin Mark E. Udall, a Democrat from Colorado, was a U.S. senator from 2009 to 2015. Another cousin, Gordon Smith, represented Oregon in the Senate from 1997 to 2009.
Thomas Stewart Udall was born in Tucson, Arizona, on May 18, 1948. He graduated from Prescott College in Arizona in 1970. He earned a Bachelor of Law (LL.B.) degree from Cambridge University in England in 1975 and a Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) degree from the University of New Mexico in 1977. After graduation, Udall worked at a law firm. He was elected New Mexico’s attorney general in 1990 and served until 1999.
Udall was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1998. He served five two-year terms. Udall won election to the U.S. Senate in 2008. He was reelected in 2014. As a senator, Udall focused on issues concerning communications, the environment, and Native American groups. He did not seek reelection to the Senate in 2020. In 2021, the Senate confirmed Udall as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa.
