Mary Loretta Landrieu is the senior United States Senator from the State of Louisiana and a member of the Democratic Party. Born in Arlington, Virginia, Landrieu was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is the daughter of former New Orleans mayor and Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Moon Landrieu, and the sister of the current Mayor of New Orleans and former Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana Mitch Landrieu. She received her baccalaureate degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. After working as a real estate agent for several years,... she was elected as a state representative and state treasurer . She won a close race for the U.S. Senate in 1996; she was re-elected by increasing margins in competitive races in 2002 and 2008. Landrieu is one of the most conservative Democrats in the Senate, often opposing her party's positions. Her opposition to the public option played a major role in the crafting of the health insurance reform bills of 2010.
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