Bill Nelson Biography
Bill Nelson is an American politician known as the former senior United States Senator from Florida until 2019, first elected to that seat in 2000.
Nelson is a member of the Democratic Party who previously served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1972 to 1978 and also in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1991.
He became the second sitting member of the Congress in January 1986, to fly in space when he served as a payload specialist on the Space Shuttle Columbia. He was also in the army before joining politics.
Bill Nelson Education
Nelson attended Melbourne High School and later, the University of Florida, where he was a member of Florida Blue Key, and the Beta Theta Pi social fraternity.
He later transferred to Yale University, where he was a member of the Book and Snake secret society. Bill also has a law degree from the University of Virginia.
Bill Nelson Age
How Old is Senator Bill Nelson? He is 78 years old as of 2020. He was born on September 29, 1942, in Miami, Florida, United States.
Bill Nelson Family
Nelson is the only son of Clarence William Nelson and Nannie Merle Nelson. Both of his parents are deceased with his mother passing on when he was 24 of Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) and his father of a heart attack when Nelson was 14. Bill is of Scottish, Irish, English and Danish descent.
Bill Nelson Wife
Nelson is married to Grace Cavert since 1972. The two met in college as Nelson spoke at a convention. Grace is a native of Jacksonville, Florida, and has a degree from the University of Georgia.
They have two adult children; a son by the name Charles William “Bill Jr.” Nelson and a daughter called Nan Ellen Nelson.
Bill Nelson Florida
In the year 2000, Bill ran as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by retiring Republican Senator Connie Mack III. He won the election, defeating U.S. Representative Bill McCollum, who ran as the Republican candidate.
2006 Election
Later in 2004, following the 2004 election, in which Republican George W. Bush was re-elected and the Republican Party increased its majority in both the House and the Senate, Bill was seen as vulnerable. He was a Democrat in a state that Bush had won, even though by a margin of only five percentage points.
In the September 5 Republican primary, Katherine Harris, the former Florida Secretary of State and two-term U.S. representative defeated three other candidates. Her role in the 2000 presidential election made her a polarizing figure and many Florida Republicans were eager to reward her for her perceived party loyalty in the Bush-Gore election, while many Florida Democrats were eager to vote against her for the same reason.
When the party, in May, found itself unable to recruit a candidate who could defeat Harris in the primary, many Republican activists admitted that the race was already lost.
However, Bill focused on safety issues, portraying himself as a bipartisan centrist problem-solver and he obtained the endorsement of all 22 of Florida’s daily newspapers. Harris, however, failed to secure the endorsement of Jeb Bush, who publicly stated that she could not win. Also, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which had supported her in her House campaigns, did not endorse her in this race.
As the election approached, polls showed Harris trailing Bill by 26 to 35 points. Bill transferred about $16.5 million in campaign funds to other Democratic candidates and won the election with 60.4% of the vote to Harris’s 38.2%.
2012 Election
Vice President Joe Biden called Bill crucial to President Obama’s chances for winning Florida in 2012 and in March 2011, Biden was reported as having said that if Bill lost in 2012, “it means President Obama and the Democratic presidential ticket won’t win the key battleground state, either.”
Congressman Connie Mack IV, the son of Bill’s direct predecessor in the Senate, won the Republican nomination and Bill eventually defeated Mack with 55.2% of the vote to Mack’s 42.2%.
2018 Election
Bill ran for re-election in 2018 and he ran unopposed in the Democratic Party primary, which took place on August 28, 2018. He faced Republican challenger, incumbent Florida Governor Rick Scott, in the general election on November 6, 2018 and the extremely tight race with a margin of less than 0.25% separating Bill and Scott, triggered a manual recount as mandated by state law.
After a machine and manual recount, Bill conceded to Scott, ending the race, as well as Bill’s Senate career.
Bill Nelson Office
Nelson has served in the office of the Senator of Florida since 2001.
Bill Nelson Net Worth
According to open secrets, as of 2015, Bill had an estimated net worth of $3,682,014.
Bill Nelson Political Party
Nelson is a member of the Democratic Party. He has been a Democrat since the year 2000.
Where Does Bill Nelson Live
There’s no information regarding where he lives, but we will let you know once we get the information.
Bill Nelson Committees
Nelson Nelson has served in the following committees.
Committee on Armed Services
- Subcommittee on Airland
- A subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
- Subcommittee on Seapower
Committee on the Budget
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
- A subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
- Subcommittee on Science and Space (Chairman)
Committee on Finance
- Subcommittee on Health Care
- A Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
- Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy
Special Committee on Aging (Chairman)
- In the 114th United States Congress, Nelson served on the following committees:
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
- Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet
- A Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance and Data Security
- Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
- A Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness
- Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
Committee on Armed Services
- Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities (Ranking Member)
- A Subcommittee on Sea Power
- Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
United States Senate Special Committee on Aging
Committee on Finance
- Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
- A Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness
- Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight
Bill Nelson Twitter
