Rush Holt, 53, is a resident of Hopewell Township, N.J. Born in West Virginia, he inherited his interest in politics from his parents. His father was the youngest person ever to be elected to the U.S. Senate, at age 29. His mother served as Secretary of State of West Virginia, the only woman to hold that position.
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Rush received his B.A. in Physics from Carleton College in Minnesota and earned his Master's and Ph.D. at NYU. He has held positions as a teacher, Congressional Scientist Fellow, research scientist, and as an arms control expert for the U.S. State Department. He has conducted research on solar wind and received a patent for a solar energy device. He was also a five-time winner of the game show "Jeopardy."
(left) Rush officially announces he is running for re-election.
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From 1989 until he began his 1998 congressional campaign, Holt was Assistant Director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, the largest research facility of Princeton University and the largest center for research in alternative energy in New Jersey.
Recognizing Rush's standing among his colleagues, he has been appointed to the leadership in Congress as an At-Large Whip. He serves on the Committee on Education and the Workforce, the Committee on Resources and the powerful Committee on the Budget. He served on the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century and has introduced legislation to implement its recommendations. He serves on several caucuses, including those on Alzheimer's, Biomedical Research, India and Indian-Americans, Diabetes, Farmland Protection, Human Rights, Pro-Choice, Renewable Energy, and Sustainable Development. Rush is also a member of the New Democrat Coalition.
In only a short time, Rush has won several significant victories in Washington. He passed an amendment to the Land and Water Conservation Fund providing millions in funding for protecting open space. Rush was instrumental in adding the lower Delaware River to the National Wild and Scenic River program, and helped secure more than $700 million in additional funding for science and technology in the 2001 budget. Rush also secured $400,000 for the 21st Century Science Teachers Skills Project, which helps provide teachers internships in high technology fields.
Rush has developed a reputation as a tireless advocate for his constituents, having opened over three thousand, five hundred formal investigations for constituents who have contacted his office. He has also made over one hundred school visits during his first two year term and held dozens of town meetings and forums on topics such as HMO Reform, Education, Smart Growth, Privacy and Long-Term Care. He has also helped secure millions of dollars for transportation projects in the five counties he represents.
Recognizing his contributions, Rush has received numerous awards and citations, including the Planned Parenthood Community Service Award, induction into the New Jersey High Tech Hall of Fame, the Biotech Legislator of the Year and named the Science Coalition's Champion of Science, which among its members include Princeton and Rutgers Universities.
Rush is married to Margaret Lancefield, a physician and Medical Director of the Princeton charity care clinic. They have three grown children, Michael, Dejan, and Rachel, and three grandchildren, Boaz, Noah and Niala.
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