Becky Lourey

Becky Lourey
Member of the Minnesota Senate
from the 8th district
In office
January 7, 1997 – January 2, 2007
Preceded by Florian Chmielewski
Succeeded by Tony Lourey
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 14B and 8B district
In office
January 8, 1991 – January 6, 1997
Preceded by Doug Carlson
Succeeded by Bill Hilty
Personal details
Born (1943-09-24) September 24, 1943
Little Falls, Minnesota
Political party Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
Spouse(s) Gene (deceased 2008)
Children 12
Residence Kerrick, Minnesota
Alma mater Asbury College
University of Minnesota
Occupation activist, homemaker, legislator

Becky Lourey (born September 24, 1943) is an American politician, a former Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) state senator and state representative, and a former Minnesota gubernatorial candidate. Her son, Matt, served in the U.S. Army and was killed on May 27, 2005, as a result of injuries received in combat over Buhriz, Iraq, where he was serving in his second tour of duty.

Lourey was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1990, running against a long-time incumbent Republican, and became the first woman to represent her rural district. She was re-elected in 1992 and 1994. She ran for and was elected to the Minnesota Senate in 1996, again defeating a veteran incumbent, later becoming chair of the Senate Health and Family Security Committee and earning a reputation as an expert on health care.

Lourey did not run for re-election in 2006. Her son, Tony, currently holds her former seat.

2006 Campaign for Governor

Lourey announced her candidacy for Governor in November 2005. She lost the DFL Party endorsement to Attorney General Mike Hatch, gaining the support of 31% of the delegates on the first ballot, with 38% voting for Hatch and 29% voting for Steve Kelley. She withdrew from the endorsement process after the third ballot after falling behind Kelley, with Hatch's vote total increasing. She subsequently ran an opposition campaign against Hatch in the September primary, losing with 24% of the popular vote.

Lourey's gubernatorial campaign health care platform was the Health Care Security Plan, which included the details to put a universal health coverage system in place in Minnesota by 2010. That system would have been voluntary, not mandatory as was the Massachusetts health program that was enacted into law in Spring 2006. The platform also included other state-level health reform proposals, including the current Minnesota Medical Association's proposal.

At the heart of the Lourey health care plan was an expanded and reformed MinnesotaCare, a state program providing health insurance coverage for low-income Minnesotans that she, along with several others, had authored in the state legislature in 1993. Under her Health Care Security Plan, all Minnesotans would have been eligible to join the new MinnesotaCare by 2010. Employers could participate by offering their employer plan via the new BusinessCare program to be created as part of the revised MinnesotaCare. There were several cost containment measures in Lourey's Health Care Security Plan, including a requirement that any HMOs, private health insurers or Third Party Administrators receiving contracts to administer state-funded health plans spend no more than 5% on administrative expenses.

Electoral history

External links

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