Joe Donnelly

Joseph Simon Donnelly Sr. (born September 29, 1955) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who has served as the United States Ambassador to the Holy See since 2022.

He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Arts in government in 1977, and earned his Juris Doctor from Notre Dame Law School in 1981.

Donnelly served on the Indiana Election Commission from 1988 to 1989.

He ran for Indiana attorney general in 1988, but lost at the Democratic state convention.

He also ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Indiana Senate in 1990.

He practiced at the law firm Nemeth, Feeney and Masters until 1996, when he opened Marking Solutions, a printing and rubber-stamp company.

From 1997 to 2001 he was on the Mishawaka Marian School Board, serving as its president from 2000 to 2001.

He was a member of the Mishawaka Marian School Board from 1997 to 2001 and its president from 2000 to 2001.

In 2004, he won the Democratic nomination for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, losing to Republican incumbent Chris Chocola in the general election.

In 2004, Donnelly ran for the U.S. Congress from Indiana's 2nd congressional district.

He won the Democratic nomination unopposed, but lost the election to incumbent Republican Chris Chocola, 54%–45%.

In 2006, he challenged Chocola again, and won election with 54% of the vote.

On May 2, 2006, Donnelly defeated Steve Francis for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Congress from Indiana's 2nd district, setting up a rematch against incumbent Chris Chocola.

Because of President George W. Bush's waning popularity, the race was expected to be competitive.

The website MoveOn.org targeted Chocola and ran advertising against him.

Chocola maintained a decisive lead in fundraising, raising $3.2 million to Donnelly's $1.5 million.

The campaign was heated, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sponsoring ads attacking Chocola as beholden to moneyed interests in the insurance, pharmaceutical, and energy industries.

Chocola returned fire by attacking Donnelly over a late tax filing and attempting to link him to Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi.

On November 7, 2006, Donnelly defeated Chocola 54%–46%, a difference of 15,145 votes.

The key difference between the 2006 and 2004 elections lay in the results in St. Joseph County, the location of South Bend and by far the district's largest county.

Donnelly won that county with 58% of the vote.

Donnelly ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

In the general election, he won reelection to a second term with 67% of the vote.

Donnelly ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

In the general election, he was challenged by Republican nominee State Representative Jackie Walorski.

A Democrat, he represented Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2013 and in the U.S. Senate from 2013 to 2019.

Born in Massapequa, New York, Donnelly graduated from the University of Notre Dame.

He began his political career on the Indiana State Election Board while working as an attorney in practice.

He represented Indiana's 2nd congressional district from 2007 to 2013, winning reelection in 2008 and 2010.

Despite the Republican wave in the 2010 midterm elections, Donnelly won reelection to a third term, defeating Walorski 48%–46%.

In May 2011, Donnelly announced his intention to run for the U.S. Senate, winning the Democratic nomination one year later in an uncontested primary.

He then faced Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock who had defeated 36-year incumbent Richard Lugar in the Republican primary.

Donnelly was named to the House Financial Services Committee for the 110th Congress.

On November 6, 2012, Donnelly defeated Mourdock in the general election with 50% of the vote to Mourdock's 44%; Mourdock's loss was attributed by some to his controversial comments about sexual assault.

On May 8, 2012, Donnelly ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate after acknowledging the difficulty of winning reelection in his new home district drawn per the 2010 census.

In 2018, Donnelly ran for reelection to a second term, but he was defeated by former Republican state representative Mike Braun.

On October 8, 2021, President Joe Biden announced he would nominate Donnelly to serve as the United States ambassador to the Holy See.

He presented his letters of credence to Pope Francis on April 11, 2022.

Donnelly was born and raised in Massapequa, New York.

His mother died when he was 10, and he was raised by his father.