Politics Up Close: Congressman Jim Matheson

Democrat for District 2

Posted Oct 24, 2008 12:58 PM by Jeff Robinson

Congressman Jim Matheson currently represents Utah's 2nd Congressional District. He was first elected in 2000, and has since survived three Republican challenges even after his district was re-drawn to include more traditional Republican strongholds. Before joining Congress, Matheson was an energy consultant. Now, he sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, as well as the House Science and Technology committee. Matheson's a member of a moderate group of fiscally conservative Democrats called the Blue Dogs. One of his recent accomplishments is adding a provision to a recent spending bill lifting the moratorium on leasing federal lands for oil shale development. His opponent is Republican Bill Dew.