Joseph Robert "Bob" Kerrey (27 August 1943-) was the Democratic Governor of Nebraska from 6 January 1983 to 9 January 1987 (succeeding Charles Thone and preceding Kay A. Orr) and a US Senator from 3 January 1989 to 3 January 2001 (succeeding David Karnes and preceding Ben Nelson).
Biography[]
Joseph Robert Kerrey was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1943, and he served in the US Navy SEALs during the Vietnam War and was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism in combat in 1969. From 1972 to 1982, he owned a restaurant chain known as Grandmother's Skillet, and he also became involved with Democratic political organizing. He served as Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987, pursuing welfare reform, education reform, job training, and environmental conservation; he also served in the US Senate from 1989 to 2001. Kerrey failed to win the Democratic nomination for President in 1992, and, from 2001 to 2010, he served as President of The New School in New York City. In 2012, he was defeated by the Republican Deb Fischer when he ran for re-election in his old Senate seat, and he became a lobbyist.