2008 Presidential Election Coverage

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Mike Gravel

Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel  (born May 13, 1930), is a former Democratic United States Senator from Alaska for two terms, from 1969 to 1981. He is primarily known for his efforts in ending the draft following the Vietnam War and for having put into the public record the Pentagon Papers in 1971. He is currently a candidate for the 2008 Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

Gravel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts to French-Canadian immigrant parents, Marie Bourassa and Alphonse Gravel. There, he was raised and educated (in parochial schools) as a Roman Catholic. Gravel enlisted in the United States Army in 1951 and served in the Counter Intelligence Corps until 1954. He attended Columbia University's School of General Studies, where he studied economics. Gravel was married to the former Rita Martin from 1958 until around 1980.

Gravel moved to Alaska with the specific intent of running for the U.S. Senate. He drove up the Alaska Highway and had several jobs before he was able to get into politics, including real estate sales, brakeman for the Alaska Railroad, and a successful property developer on the Kenai Peninsula.

Gravel served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1962 to 1966. During the last two years of his term, he served as the Speaker of the House. He left that body to run for Alaska's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, losing to incumbent Ralph Rivers.

Between 1963 and 1966 Gravel initiated electronic voting in Alaska.[citation needed]

In 1968 he ran against incumbent Democratic Senator Ernest Gruening, a popular former governor, for his party's nomination to the U.S. Senate, unexpectedly beating him in the primary and going on to win the general election.

Gravel served on the Environment and Public Works Committee throughout his Senate career. He also served on the Finance and Interior Committees and he chaired the Energy, Water Resources, and Environmental Pollution subcommittees

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