Jim Oberstar
James Louis Oberstar (born September 10 1934), is a United States politician. Oberstar has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1975, representing the 8th District of Minnesota (map), based in Duluth and taking in most of the northeastern part of the state.
He was born in Chisholm, Minnesota and received his B.A. at College of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He also received a Master's degree in European Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. He is the senior Democrat on the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Oberstar served as an administrative assistant to Congressman John Blatnik for 12 years. When Blatnik didn't run for reelection in 1974, he endorsed Oberstar as his successor. Oberstar won handily in November and has never faced a credible challenge in the heavily Democratic 8th. His lowest winning percentage was 59 percent in 1992.
He was elected to his 16th term in 2004, making him the longest serving member of either house of Congress in Minnesota's history.