Senator Kent Conrad was born on March 12, 1948, in Bismarck and attended Roosevelt Elementary and Hughes Junior High Schools. After graduating from Wheelus High School in Tripoli, Libya, he received his bachelor's degree from Stanford University, and earned an MBA from George Washington University. Kent is married to Lucy Calautti, and has a daughter, Jessamyn Conrad.
A fifth-generation North Dakotan, Senator Kent Conrad began his official career in politics in 1968 when, as a teenager, he headed up a statewide campaign to grant voting rights to 19-year olds. In 1980, Kent won his first statewide race for North Dakota Tax Commissioner. He was reelected to the office in 1984, with what, at the time, was the highest percentage of the vote (79%) in a contested race in state history.
Kent was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986. Following through on a campaign promise, he did not run for a second term in 1992. At the urging of fellow North Dakotans, he entered and won a special election to complete the remaining two years of the late Senator Quentin Burdick's term. In 1994, Kent was overwhelmingly reelected by North Dakotans to a second full term as a U.S. Senator. He currently serves on the Senate Agriculture, Finance, Budget, Indian Affairs, and Ethics Committees.