Monica Tranel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tranel in a 2022 Vlogbrothers video | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Monica Joan Tranel May 4, 1966 Big Horn, Wyoming, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Democratic Republican (formerly) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Gonzaga University (BA) Rutgers University, Camden (JD) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | monicatranel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sports career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Monica Joan Tranel (also Tranel-Michini; born May 4, 1966) is an American rower, lawyer, and former political candidate. She competed at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics. A member of the Democratic Party, Tranel ran unsuccessfully for Montana's 1st congressional district in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Montana. Previously, she was twice a candidate for the Montana Public Service Commission and sought election to the Helena City Commission.
Tranel was born in Big Horn, Wyoming,[1] on May 4, 1966.[2][3][4] She grew up across Montana, including in Miles City, Ashland, and Billings.[3] She graduated from Billings Central Catholic High School, where she competed in basketball and track.[5]
In 1988, Tranel earned a Bachelor of Arts from Gonzaga University. In 1991, she earned her Juris Doctor from Rutgers University–Camden.[6]
In 1991, Tranel started rowing in competition. In 1993, Tranel won a bronze medal in women's coxed four at the World Rowing Championships.[5]
In 1994, she was rowing in the Fairmount Rowing Association. She competed in the World Rowing Championships in Tampere, Finland, that year, where her team won gold.[7][8] In 1995, Tranel won a silver media in women's coxed eights at the World Championships at the Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course in Saint Catharines, Ontario.[5]
She finished 4th in the women's eight at the 1996 Summer Olympics.[9][10][11][12] She also competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics, where she finished 12th in women's singles scull races.[13]
The University of Montana named one of their 40-foot (12 m) four-seat competition boats "The Tranel" in her honor.[14]
In 2015, Tranel placed 23rd in the Head of the Charles Regatta in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[5]
In 2004, as a Republican, Tranel sought election to the Montana Public Service Commission while working as a staff attorney at the commission.[15][16][17][18] She was defeated in the Republican primary.[19][15]
After working at the commission for four years, Tranel worked for Republican Senator Conrad Burns in Washington, D.C., for a short time, before returning to Butte, Montana, in 2005 and opening a private practice in 2006.[17][20] She later left the Republican Party.[20]
From 2010 to 2013, Tranel served as a trustee for the Montana Bar Association. In 2015, Tranel ran for the Helena City Commission.[21][22]
In 2020, as a Democrat, Tranel again sought election to the Montana Public Service Commission.[15][23][24] She was defeated in the general election by Montana Senator Jennifer Fielder, a Republican.[25]
Tranel was the Democratic candidate for Montana's western congressional district, running against Ryan Zinke and John Lamb.[26][27][28][29][30] During the lead-up to the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Montana, American vlogger Hank Green interviewed Tranel in Missoula and Bozeman.[31] Tranel lost to Zinke in the general election, receiving 46% of the vote to Zinke's 50%.[32]
Tranel has nine siblings. She and her second husband, Jack Morris, had two daughters. Tranel described herself as "a single mother" in 2015.[2][21][33]
Starting in 2001, she lived in Helena, Montana, for several years.[5] She currently lives in Missoula with her husband, former state senator Greg Lind, and her three daughters.[34][35]
