Nina Mitchell Wells

Last updated
Ted Wells
(m. 1971)
Nina Mitchell Wells
32nd Secretary of State of New Jersey
In office
January 17, 2006 January 19, 2010
Education Mount St. Joseph University
Newton College of the Sacred Heart (BA)
Suffolk University (JD)

Nina Mitchell Wells (born September 9, 1950) is an American attorney and politician who served as Secretary of State of New Jersey in the cabinet of Governor Jon Corzine. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Wells was born in Washington, D.C., where she attended Immaculate Conception Academy. Wells began college at Mount St. Joseph University before graduating from Newton College of the Sacred Heart with a B.A. in 1972. Wells then received her Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts. [2]

Career

Prior to assuming her cabinet post in January 2006, Wells served as a vice president at Schering-Plough and assistant dean at Rutgers Law School.

As Secretary of State, Wells served one four-year term, concurrent to the term of the governor. Her term expired on January 19, 2010. As Secretary, she was the state's chief elections officer and oversaw tourism, historical affairs, cultural and arts programs, Native American affairs, literacy, volunteerism, the state archives.

In 2008, Wells was named as a defendant in the case Donofrio v. Wells , an attempt to force her to stay the presidential election in New Jersey pending investigations into the citizenship of Barack Obama. The case was ultimately unsuccessful. [3]

In July 2024, after U.S. Senator Bob Menendez announced his resignation following his corruption conviction, Governor Phil Murphy began to consider appointing Wells to the Senate seat. [4]

Personal life

She and her husband, criminal defense lawyer Ted Wells, reside in Livingston, New Jersey. [5] Wells is a Democrat. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Granholm</span> American politician (born 1959)

Jennifer Mulhern Granholm is a Canadian born, American politician. Since 2021, she has served as the 16th United States Secretary of Energy. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the Attorney General of Michigan from 1999 to 2003 and as the 47th Governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2011, as the first woman to hold both offices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathleen Sebelius</span> American politician (born 1948)

Kathleen Sebelius is an American politician who served as the 21st United States Secretary of Health and Human Services from 2009 until 2014. As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sebelius was instrumental in overseeing the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Before becoming secretary, she served as the 44th governor of Kansas from 2003 to 2009, the second woman to hold that office. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Sebelius was the Democratic respondent to the 2008 State of the Union address and is chair-emerita of the Democratic Governors Association. She is CEO of Sebelius Resources LLC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Codey</span> American politician (born 1946)

Richard James Codey is an American politician who served as the 53rd governor of New Jersey from 2004 to 2006. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the New Jersey Senate from 1982 to 2024 and as the President of the Senate from 2002 to 2010. He represented the 27th Legislative District, which covered the western portions of Essex County and the southeastern portion of Morris County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Menendez</span> American politician (born 1954)

Robert Menendez is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Jersey, a seat he has held since 2006. A member of the Democratic Party and the Cuban–American lobby, he was first appointed to the U.S. Senate by Governor Jon Corzine, and chaired the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations from 2013 to 2015 and from 2021 to 2023. On July 16, 2024, he was convicted in a political corruption case.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Livingston, New Jersey</span> Township in Essex County, New Jersey, US

Livingston is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 31,330, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 1,964 (+6.7%) from 29,366 recorded at the 2010 census, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,975 (+7.2%) from the 27,391 counted in the 2000 census. In 2023, the Population Estimates Program by the United States Census Bureau calculated that the township had a population of 31,089.

This article covers the history of women in the United States Senate and various milestones achieved by female senators. It includes a list of all women who have served in the Senate, a list of current female senators, and a list of states represented by women in the Senate. The first female U.S. senator, Rebecca Latimer Felton, represented Georgia for a single day in 1922, and the first woman elected to the Senate, Hattie Caraway, was elected from Arkansas in 1932. Sixty women have served in the upper house of the United States Congress since its establishment in 1789. As of October 3, 2023, there are 25 women serving as U.S. senators out of 100 possible seats. Additionally, Kamala Harris as vice president serves as President of the Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Kean Jr.</span> American politician (born 1968)

Thomas Howard Kean Jr. is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from New Jersey's 7th congressional district since 2023. He represented New Jersey's 21st legislative district in the New Jersey Senate from 2003 to 2022, serving as minority leader from 2008 to 2022. A member of the Republican Party, Kean is the son of former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheila Oliver</span> American politician (1952–2023)

Sheila Yvette Oliver was an American politician who served as the second lieutenant governor of New Jersey from 2018 until her death in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Oliver was the first Black woman to serve as lieutenant governor of New Jersey and was the first woman of color elected to statewide office in New Jersey.

Theodore Von Wells, Jr. is an American trial lawyer and defense attorney. He is a partner at the New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, where he is co-chair of its litigation department. For his practice in white-collar criminal cases, he has been considered one of the most prominent litigators in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandra Bolden Cunningham</span> Member of the New Jersey Senate

Sandra Bolden Cunningham is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey State Senate from 2007 to 2024, where she represented the 31st Legislative District. She was sworn into office on November 8, 2007. She is the widow of former Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham, who died in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tahesha Way</span> American politician

Tahesha Leila Way is an American politician, lawyer, and judge from New Jersey. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served as the state's third lieutenant governor since 2023, and as its 34th secretary of State since 2018. She was previously a member and director of the Board of Chosen Freeholders in Passaic County, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Holton</span> American lawyer, judge and politician

Anne Bright Holton is an American lawyer and judge who served as the Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2014 to 2016. She is married to United States Senator and former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, the vice presidential running mate of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

Barbara Wright McConnell was an American Democratic Party politician from New Jersey, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1978 to 1982 and in the cabinet of former Governor James Florio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabinet of Barack Obama</span> Overview of the confirmations of Barack Obamas Cabinet

Barack Obama assumed office as President of the United States on January 20, 2009, and his term ended on January 20, 2017. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Locke</span> 21st governor of Washington

Gary Faye Locke is an American politician, attorney, and former diplomat from the state of Washington. Locke served as the 21st governor of Washington from 1997 to 2005, where he was the first Chinese-American governor as well as the first Asian American governor in the continental U.S. During the Obama administration, Locke served as Secretary of Commerce from 2009 to 2011, and as Ambassador to China from 2011 to 2014, the first Chinese American to serve in the role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 United States Senate elections</span>

The 2018 United States Senate elections were held on November 6, 2018. Among the 100 seats, the 33 of Class 1 were contested in regular elections while 2 others were contested in special elections due to Senate vacancies in Minnesota and Mississippi. The regular election winners were elected to 6-year terms running from January 3, 2019, to January 3, 2025. Senate Democrats had 26 seats up for election, while Senate Republicans had 9 seats up for election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tammy Murphy</span> American homemaker, former real estate analyst and First Lady of New Jersey

Tammy Murphy is an American political activist and former real estate financial analyst who has been the first lady of New Jersey since 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, she was a candidate in the 2024 United States Senate election in New Jersey. She co-owns the professional women's soccer team NJ/NY Gotham FC with her husband, New Jersey governor Phil Murphy, and chairs the organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deb Haaland</span> 54th United States Secretary of the Interior (born 1960)

Debra Anne Haaland is an American politician serving as the 54th United States Secretary of the Interior. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 1st congressional district from 2019 to 2021 and as chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party from 2015 to 2017. Haaland, a Native American, is an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Kim (politician)</span> American politician and diplomat (born 1982)

Andrew Kim is an American politician and former diplomat who has served as the U.S. representative from New Jersey's 3rd congressional district since 2019. The district encompasses Philadelphia's eastern suburbs along southern and central New Jersey. A member of the Democratic Party, he worked in the U.S. State Department prior to his election to Congress in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United States Senate elections</span>

The 2024 United States Senate elections are scheduled to be held on November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections. 33 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate will be contested in regular elections. Senators are divided into three classes whose six-year terms are staggered so that a different class is elected every two years. Class 1 senators will face election in 2024.

References

  1. "Nina M. Wells's Biography".
  2. "Nina M. Wells's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  3. Obama Citizenship - Supreme Court Declines To Hear Challenge Washington Post
  4. Fandos, Nicholas; Tully, Tracey (July 23, 2024). "Who Will Replace Robert Menendez in the Senate?". The New York Times . Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  5. State of New Jersey biography for Nina Mitchell Wells, State of New Jersey, backed up by the Internet Archive as of December 31, 2007. Accessed February 24, 2011. "Secretary Wells and her husband, Ted Wells, Esq. reside in Livingston, NJ and have two grown children, Teresa and Phillip."
  6. "Nina Wells". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State of New Jersey
2006–2010
Succeeded by