Biography:

Rush Holt was born in West Virginia, where his father, also named Rush Holt, served one term as a U.S. senator from 1935 to 1941. His mother served as secretary of state of West Virginia. The younger Holt now resides in Hopewell Township, N.J.

Holt received a bachelor's degree in physics from Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., and master's and doctorate degrees in physics from New York University.

He worked as assistant director of Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, 1989-1997. He was acting chief of the nuclear & scientific division in the Office of Strategic Forces Analysis in the U.S. State Department, 1987-1989. He conducted research on solar wind and received a patent for a solar energy device. He was also a five-time winner on the television game show "Jeopardy."

Holt was first elected to the U.S. House in 1998.

He and his wife, Margaret Lancefield, have three children.

Past Campaigns:

Rush Holt, ran unsuccessfully in the 1996 Democratic primary for the same seat.

He won in 1998, unseating Republican Rep. Mike Pappas, 50 percent to 47 percent. He was re-elected in 2000 in a close race against Dick Zimmer, 49 percent to 48 percent.

In 2002, he was re-elected with 60 percent of the vote.

Election Information by State: Select a State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware DC Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Mass. Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hamp. New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming -------------------------   Candidate Search Find candidate running for federal and state offices. Candidate Last Name State (Optional) All Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware DC Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Mass. Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hamp. New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming ------------------------- Office Type (Optional) All President U.S. Senate U.S. House Governor State Office Local Office