them." Campaign finance In 2002, Moua spent $45,852 on her campaign, including $11,200 in campaign matching funds. Her opponent in the 2002 race for MN Senate district 67, David Racer (R), received matching funds in the amount of $7,706. In order to receive matching funds a candidate must also raise a specified amount in individual contributions and agree to campaign spending limits. Moua received individual donor contributions in the amount of $21,599 in 2006. In 2006 she only had a single donor who contributed the $500 maximum under Minnesota campaign finance laws. The majority, $18,899 of her $21,599 in individual contributions, were from individual contributors donating $100 or less. She received matching funds in the amount of $15,794. Her Republican challenger, Richard Mulkern, received $9,982 in matching funds. Per diem criticism In 2008, Minnesota public records indicated that Moua claimed $21,954 in per diem, the most of any senator, and effectively increased her compensation by 71 percent. In response to Moua leading the senate with her per diem claims, Republican Senator Dick Day stated "I don't know how someone like Sen. Moua who lives a few miles from the Capitol can justify to her constituents spending taxpayer dollars so recklessly." A study looking at per diem claims from 2009–10, Moua topped the list at $35,136. Also in 2010, CBS News noted that Moua as the top per diem taker. Personal She is married to Yee Chang, with whom she has three children. See also History of the Hmong in Minneapolis–Saint Paul Asian Americans Advancing Justice References External links Election of Mee Moua to the Minnesota Senate, 2002 in MNopedia, the Minnesota Encyclopedia Senator Moua Web Page Who's Who of Asian Americans: Mee Moua Biography Mpls-St. Paul Magazine Article: Mee Moua in the Age of Obama (February 2009) Minnesota Public Radio: New senator makes history (January 30, 2002) 1969 births Living people Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota American politicians of Hmong descent Asian-American people in Minnesota politics Brown University alumni Democratic Party Minnesota state senators Women state legislators in Minnesota University of Minnesota Law School alumni 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians People from Xiangkhouang province Laotian emigrants to the United States Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs alumni Xavier High School (Appleton, Wisconsin) alumni Hmong American