# Betty McCollum *American politician; U.S. representative for Minnesota's 4th congressional district since 2001* Betty Louise McCollum (born July 12, 1954) has represented [[Minnesota]]'s 4th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2001. GovTrack lists her as Rep. Betty McCollum, D-MN4, 2001–2026.[^1] She belongs to the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), and her district is centered on St. Paul, the state capital.[^2] She was the second woman Minnesota elected to Congress. She became dean of the state's congressional delegation in 2021, after Representative Collin Peterson lost his reelection race.[^2] Before Congress, McCollum held a seat in the [[Minnesota House of Representatives]] for four terms, from 1993 to 2001.[^2][^3] Her statement honoring the 30th anniversary of Rondo Days is dated July 8, 2013.[^4] ## Biography Born in [[Minneapolis]], McCollum completed an Associate of Arts at Inver Hills Community College in 1980. In 1987 the College of St. Catherine awarded her a bachelor's degree in social studies and education, with a minor in political science.[^3] Before her political career she taught social studies at the high school level and managed retail stores for Dayton's and Sears.[^3] Her first campaign, for the North St. Paul city council in 1984, was unsuccessful, and she won election to the council in 1986. She entered the Minnesota House in 1992 by defeating an incumbent state representative in the DFL primary. She served four terms there before her election to Congress in 2000.[^3] ## U.S. House of Representatives ### Campaigns In 2000, Bruce Vento, the 4th district's representative, chose not to run for a 13th term because of illness, and he died before the election. McCollum won the DFL nomination for the open seat.[^5] The DFL has held the district continuously since 1949. Among the state's congressional districts, only the neighboring Minneapolis-based 5th district is rated more Democratic.[^5] Her principal opponents in 2000 were Republican State Senator Linda Runbeck and Independence Party candidate Tom Foley. Foley had earlier served as Ramsey County [[county attorney]] as a Democrat.[^5] McCollum finished 17 points ahead of Runbeck, and Foley placed a distant third. Her 48 percent share made her the only Democrat to fall short of 50 percent in the district since the party's dominance there began. Wikipedia's account states that she has since been reelected nine times without substantive opposition.[^5] ### Tenure Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy gave McCollum a Bipartisan Index Score of −0.1 for 2019, in the 116th Congress. That score ranked her 219th of 435 members.[^6] FiveThirtyEight's congressional vote tracker at ABC News recorded her voting with Donald Trump's stated public policy positions 11.4 percent of the time in that Congress. In the 117th Congress, her votes matched President Joe Biden's stated position 100 percent of the time.[^6] ## Political positions Wikipedia's account describes McCollum as pro-choice. It also lists her as a supporter of Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America and the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association.[^7] On the 2002 National Political Awareness Test, her answers indicated that abortion should always be legally available, but only in the first trimester.[^7] In a speech opposing the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, she said, "Gay and lesbian Americans are citizens who must never be treated as second-class citizens".[^7] On Social Security, she wrote in a position paper: "We can secure the future of Social Security with common sense and a shared, bipartisan commitment to economic security and fiscal responsibility for all Americans."[^7] ## Awards McCollum received the Joan and [[Walter Mondale]] Award for Public Service at the Humphrey–Mondale Awards in 2017.[^8] ## Personal life McCollum is a Roman Catholic and has a diagnosis of celiac disease.[^9] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Betty Louise McCollum, DFL member of the U.S. House for Minnesota's 4th district, listed by GovTrack as D-MN4.[^1][^2] ### What - *Congresswoman McCollum's Statement Honoring the 30th Anniversary of Rondo Days*.[^4] ### When - Born July 12, 1954.[^2] - Served in the Minnesota House from 1993 to 2001, was elected to Congress in 2000, and has served in the House since 2001.[^2][^1] - The Rondo Days statement is dated July 8, 2013.[^4] ### Where - Her district is centered on St. Paul.[^2] ## Notes [^1]: GovTrack, *Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN4, 2001-2026)* (n.d.) — Congressional member profile: party, district (MN-4) and service span 2001–2026. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/betty_mccollum/400259 [^2]: Wikipedia, *Betty McCollum*, lead section (revision 1378410979, retrieved 2026-10-26) — Birth date, DFL membership, district centered on St. Paul, Minnesota House service 1993–2001, second woman elected to Congress from Minnesota, dean of the delegation since 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_McCollum [^3]: Wikipedia, *Betty McCollum*, "Biography" (revision 1378410979, retrieved 2026-10-26) — Birthplace, education, prior occupations, city council and Minnesota House campaigns, four terms before the 2000 congressional election. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_McCollum [^4]: Office of Congresswoman Betty McCollum, *Congresswoman McCollum's Statement Honoring the 30th Anniversary of Rondo Days* (July 8, 2013) — The statement's title and date. https://mccollum.house.gov/taxonomy/statements-for-the-record/congresswoman-mccollums-statement-honoring-30th-anniversary-rondo [^5]: Wikipedia, *Betty McCollum*, "U.S. House of Representatives — Campaigns" (revision 1378410979, retrieved 2026-10-26) — Vento succession, DFL hold since 1949, the 2000 race (Runbeck, Foley, 17-point margin, 48 percent), and nine reelections. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_McCollum [^6]: Wikipedia, *Betty McCollum*, "U.S. House of Representatives — Tenure" (revision 1378410979, retrieved 2026-10-26) — Bipartisan Index Score and FiveThirtyEight/ABC News vote-agreement figures for the 116th and 117th Congresses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_McCollum [^7]: Wikipedia, *Betty McCollum*, "Political positions" (revision 1378410979, retrieved 2026-10-26) — Abortion, LGBTQ and Social Security positions and quoted statements. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_McCollum [^8]: Wikipedia, *Betty McCollum*, "Awards" (revision 1378410979, retrieved 2026-10-26) — 2017 Joan and Walter Mondale Award for Public Service. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_McCollum [^9]: Wikipedia, *Betty McCollum*, "Personal life" (revision 1378410979, retrieved 2026-10-26) — Religion and celiac diagnosis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_McCollum