CQToday, Thursday, November 4, 2004
Page 27
CALIFORNIA (3)
CALIFORNIA (20)
COLORADO (3)
Dan Lungren, R
Jim Costa, D
John Salazar, D
Election: Defeated Gabe Castillo, D, to
succeed Doug Ose, R, who retired
Home: Gold River
Born: Sept. 22, 1946, Long Beach, Calif.
Religion: Roman Catholic
Family: Wife, Bobbi Lungren; three
children
Education: U. of Notre Dame, B.A. 1968;
Georgetown U., J.D. 1971
Career: Lawyer
Political Highlights: Republican nominee
for U.S. House, 1976; U.S. House, 197989; Calif. attorney general, 1991-99;
Republican nominee for governor, 1998
Sixteen years ago, Republicans were mired
deep in the House minority, Ronald Reagan
was in the twilight of
his presidency — and
41-year-old Dan Lungren of Long Beach
was preparing to give up a promising
House career in the hope of becoming
California’s treasurer.
Now, Lungren is returning to Washington, this time to represent an agriculturally rich portion of central California around Sacramento.
It has been a long road back. Unable
to win state Senate confirmation as California treasurer, even though at one
point he sued to win the job, he was
elected state attorney general in 1990.
Eight years later, he won the GOP gubernatorial nomination but was trounced by
Democrat Gray Davis.
Lungren said his desire for public service was rekindled by the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks. And, while his constituents are
concerned about national security, Lungren says, their main concern appears to
be suburban sprawl.
The son of Richard M. Nixon’s personal physician, he was an attorney for
seven years before coming to Congress,
where he was a harbinger of the “angry
young man” style of conservative that
has become common in the GOP Conference. He rose to be the No. 4 Republican on the Judiciary Committee —
where he aspires to return, perhaps with
credit for at least some of his past seniority. His signature issue was immigration:
He pushed for sanctions against employers who hire illegal immigrants, but also
supported limited amnesty programs for
some illegal aliens. He said he hopes to
play an active role in that area again.
Election: Defeated Roy Ashburn, R, to
succeed Cal Dooley, D, who retired
Home: Fresno
Born: April 13, 1952, Fresno, Calif.
Religion: Roman Catholic
Family: Single
Education: California State U., Fresno,
B.A. 1974
Career: Lobbyist; state legislative aide;
congressional district aide
Political Highlights: Calif. Assembly,
1978-94; Democratic nominee for Calif.
Senate, 1993; Calif. Senate, 1994-2002
Jim Costa likes to say
he is joining an elite
and growing club of
members elected from
California’s Central
Valley who trace their
origins to Portugal’s
Azores Islands.
His grandparents emigrated from
Portugal decades ago, settling in the
Central Valley as farmers. His family
sold off its dairy farming business in the
1970s, but he still owns a 240-acre almond orchard. That makes him a good
fit in the agriculture-heavy 20th District, where he has represented some of
the voters since first serving as a state
legislator at the age of 26.
Costa developed a reputation for expertise in issues of concern to local
farmers, particularly water, though his
moderate pro-business positions have
not always endeared him to local labor
leaders and environmentalists.
Term limits forced him out of the
state Legislature in 2002, though he
stayed involved in Sacramento politics
by opening his own lobbying firm.
Having flirted with a House run three
previous times, Costa quickly declared
his candidacy after Democrat Cal Dooley announced he would not run again.
Costa said he hopes to continue focusing on the same issues that drew his
attention in the state Legislature —
water and agriculture — and on building inter-city rail networks. He has his
eye on the Transportation and Infrastructure and Agriculture committees.
Costa said he also would like to
have a hand in changing the partisan
tone in Washington. “I’m not pollyannish about it, but I would like to be part
of the force helping bipartisanship in
Congress,” he said.
Election: Defeated Greg Walcher, R, to
succeed Scott McInnis, R, who retired
Home: Manassa
Born: July 21, 1953, Alamosa, Colo.
Religion: Roman Catholic
Family: Wife, Mary Lou; three children
Education: Colorado State U., attended
1971-72; Adams State College, B.S. 1981
Military: Army, 1973-76
Career: Farmer; rancher; seed potato
business owner
Political Highlights: Colo. Agricultural
Commission, 1999-2002; Colo. House,
2003-present
John Salazar’s top priority will be ensuring
that water derived
from the snowmelt of
Colorado’s Western
Slope will be retained
for his district —
which is larger than
Florida — instead of being sent to
growing populations in California and
Nevada. He says the water is needed for
use by local ranchers and farmers.
Salazar already has proposed a federally funded water easement program
for Colorado’s agricultural land. Because of his interest in water and farm
issues, he is seeking membership on
the Resources and Agriculture committees.
Salazar is a centrist who is expected
to part from Democratic leadership at
times for the sake of his rural constituents. The lifelong farmer and
rancher opposes further gun control efforts and supports permanent repeal of
the estate tax.
But he will be an advocate for allowing Americans to buy cheaper prescription drugs from Canada. He previously has led efforts to allow Colorado state agencies to pool their resources to negotiate for lower drug
purchases.
Salazar also says that rural schools
need additional funding to meet the requirements under the 2001 Elementary
and Secondary Education Act.
A military veteran, Salazar has been
especially vocal against cuts on veterans’ health care, as well as the demands
placed upon families of National Guard
members and reservists serving in Iraq.
The latter issue is personal for Salazar:
He has a son serving in the Colorado
National Guard.
Page 28
CQToday, Thursday, November 4, 2004
FLORIDA (14)
FLORIDA (20)
GEORGIA (4)
Connie Mack, R
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D
Cynthia A. McKinney, D
Election: Defeated Robert M. Neeld, D, to
succeed Porter J. Goss, R, who resigned
Home: Fort Myers
Born: Aug. 12, 1967, Fort Myers, Fla.
Religion: Roman Catholic
Family: Wife, Ann Mack; two children
Education: U. of Florida, B.S. 1993
Career: Marketing consultant; health
products sales representative
Political Highlights: Fla. House, 2000-03
Election: Defeated Margaret Hostetter, R,
to succeed Peter Deutsch, D, who ran for
Senate
Home: Weston
Born: Sept. 27, 1966, Queens, N.Y.
Religion: Jewish
Family: Husband, Steve Schultz; three
children
Education: U. of Florida, B.A. 1988, M.A.
1990
Career: University program administrator;
college instructor; state legislative aide
Political Highlights: Fla. House, 19922000; Fla. Senate, 2000-present
Election: Defeated Catherine Davis, R, to
succeed Denise L. Majette, D, who ran for
Senate
Home: Decatur
Born: March 17, 1955, Atlanta, Ga.
Religion: Roman Catholic
Family: Divorced; one child
Education: U. of Southern California, B.A.
1978; Tufts U., M.A. 1994
Career: Professor
Political Highlights: Democratic nominee
for Ga. House, 1986; Ga. House, 1989-93;
U.S. House, 1993-2003; defeated in
primary for re-election to U.S. House, 2002
Connie Mack is carrying on a strong family
tradition of congressional service — and
returning to the House
rolls one of baseball’s
most famous names.
His namesake father represented much of the same solidly Republican parts of Florida’s west
coast in the House for six years before
winning two terms in the Senate starting
in 1988. A great-grandfather — the first
in the line to informalize the given name
of Cornelius McGillicuddy — was a Hall
of Fame manager and owner of the
Philadelphia Athletics baseball team.
Another great-grandfather was Sen.
Morris Sheppard, D-Texas (1913-41); a
step-great-grandfather was Sen. Tom
Connally, D-Texas (1929-53.)
Mack says his own interest in political office sprang from his decision to
start a family. “I wanted to be where the
decisions were being made so I could
make sure that my children and grandchildren have opportunity,” he said.
During almost four years representing Fort Lauderdale in the state House
— he quit and moved back to his native Fort Myers last year soon after
Porter J. Goss announced his plans to
retire — Mack organized a group of
members dedicated to opposing all proposals to raise additional state revenue.
He also pushed to limit the amount of
money that attorneys may receive in
medical malpractice cases.
Like many Republicans in a state
where health care is a dominant political issue, Mack has broken with the party line to support expanded federal
funding of stem cell research and proposals to permit seniors to import prescription medications from Canada.
Debbie Wasserman
Schultz describes herself as almost always
in agreement with
her predecessor, Florida Democrat Peter
Deutsch, on major issues. That may be no
coincidence: Their
political relationship dates to 1989,
when Deutsch, then a state legislator,
picked her as his legislative aide. She
won Deutsch’s state House seat when he
was elected to Congress in 1992. The
two still speak almost daily.
But while Deutsch was known for a
hard-driving partisan style, Schultz says
she tries to build relationships across
party lines. “Although I am liberal
philosophically, I think you don’t always have to wear that on your sleeve,”
she said. “There is a lot to be said in
terms of being nice.”
Schultz had such an easy time winning her seat that she was able to use
$100,000 from her own campaign treasury to help other House candidates —
largess that is is sure to be remembered
as Schultz pursues her plan to take
Deutsch’s seat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, which she concedes
might not come in her freshman term.
Arriving in Tallahassee at age 26,
she served on several business-oriented
committees in the state legislature. Her
interest in health and safety issues is
longstanding: In the 1990s, she helped
push through one of the nation’s first
laws banning “drive-through deliveries” by requiring insurers to cover
longer hospital stays for new mothers.
More recently, she sponsored a law that
requires new residential swimming
pools sold in the state to include safeguards to prevent infant drownings.
After a decade representing DeKalb County in the House, Cynthia A. McKinney’s
reputation for intemperate outspokenness
caught up with her in
2002 and she lost the
Democratic nomination for a sixth
term to Denise L. Majette. But Majette
decided to run for the Senate this year,
opening the way for McKinney’s return.
This year, McKinney worked to
moderate her image, stressing her support of local projects during her first
House tenure and striking a more reserved posture at candidate forums
around the district. But she also pointed
to recent revelations about the government’s pre-Sept. 11 actions as vindication for her comments in a 2002 radio
interview widely construed as suggesting that the Bush administration had
advance knowledge of the attacks.
McKinney served on the Armed Services and International Relations committees at the end of her previous House
tenure. She was a sometimes vituperative critic of policies she saw as hurting
ethnic minorities, union members and
the poor. And she reserved a special passion for international human rights.
She had a rocky relationship with
the congressional press corps then, and
she declined repeated requests to discuss her legislative priorities now.
McKinney had an unusual start in
politics. Her father, a veteran civil
rights leader and Georgia legislator, decided to get back at a political rival by
putting his daughter’s name on the primary ballot against him — without her
knowledge. She lost soundly, but her
interest was piqued and she won a state
House seat two years later.
CQToday, Thursday, November 4, 2004
Page 29
GEORGIA (6)
GEORGIA (8)
GEORGIA (12)
Tom Price, R
Lynn Westmoreland, R
John Barrow, D
Election: Unopposed in general election
to succeed Johnny Isakson, R, who ran for
Senate
Home: Roswell
Born: Oct. 8, 1954, Lansing, Mich.
Religion: Presbyterian
Family: Wife, Elizabeth Clark Price; one
child
Education: U. of Michigan, B.A. 1976,
M.D. 1979
Career: Surgeon
Political Highlights: Ga. Senate, 1997present (minority whip, 1999-2002;
majority leader, 2003)
Election: Defeated Silvia Delamar, D, to
succeed Mac Collins, R, who ran for Senate
Home: Sharpsburg
Born: April 2, 1950, Atlanta, Ga.
Religion: Baptist
Family: Wife, Joan; three children
Education: Georgia State U., attended
1969-71
Career: Construction company owner;
real estate developer
Political Highlights: Sought Republican
nomination for Ga. Senate, 1988; GOP
nominee for Ga. Senate, 1990; Ga. House,
1993-present (minority leader, 2001-03)
Pronounced: BEAR-oh
Election: Defeated Rep. Max Burns, R
Home: Athens
Born: Oct. 31, 1955, Athens, Ga.
Religion: Baptist
Family: Wife, Victoria Pentlarge; two
children
Education: U. of Georgia, B.A. 1976;
Harvard U., J.D. 1979
Career: Lawyer
Political Highlights: Sought Democratic
nomination for Ga. House, 1986; AthensClarke County Commission, 1991-present
Like many physicianpoliticians, Tom Price
says that limiting the
exposure of doctors to
medical malpractice
lawsuits will be a major
priority of his in Washington. But Price describes himself as an advocate of “big
idea” conservatism, and says he would
prefer that efforts to limit doctors’ liability become part of a more sweeping
package to reduce the cost of health
care. In his view, individuals should be
allowed to buy medical insurance in the
free market, with employers and the government continuing to subsidize whatever plan an individual chooses.
Price advocates an equally sweeping
tax code overhaul. He would replace
virtually all existing taxes — including
payroll, income, corporate, dividend,
capital gains and inheritance taxes —
with a 23 percent national sales tax.
Price’s interests in tax and health
policy have him coveting a seat on the
Ways and Means Committee, a long
shot for a freshman in a politically safe
seat. For the short term, Price has set
his sights on Transportation and Infrastructure, from which he could pursue
efforts to reduce gridlock in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
Price, who spent years as a behindthe-scenes organizer and fundraiser, was
encouraged to enter the political arena
by a retiring state senator who urged
him to run for her seat in 1996. Last
year he became the first Republican majority leader in Georgia Senate history
— after his party captured control of
the chamber in 2002 — but state law
required him to relinquish the post after
several months when he decided to pursue his congressional bid.
Lynn Westmoreland
says his professional
background as a
homebuilder gives
him firsthand knowledge of the problems
created by high taxes
and government regulation. With that perspective, he figures to be a reliable vote for the GOP
leadership on tax and regulatory issues.
Westmoreland says parochial matters will be a high priority in his first
term, and so he is aiming for an assignment to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. His district —
which includes some of the fastestgrowing suburbs south of Atlanta — is
home to thousands of airline employees
based at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, many of whom are worried about the financial stability of
their industry.
Westmoreland is also a fiscal hawk
who says he will buck the party line if
Republican leaders fail to take a
tougher stand against federal spending
increases. “I know it is going to be terribly hard to do, but I think that every
dime that we spend on the federal level, we need to prioritize it,” he said.
Using rhetoric that could mark him
as a maverick if he follows through, he
says spending decisions should be made
“not just based on who the chairman is,
or the most senior member of the committee, or who is in political trouble,
but based on need.”
Like many Southern Republicans,
Westmoreland grew up in a family of
conservative Democrats. He says he
committed to the GOP only after he
decided to pursue a state Senate seat.
He failed in 1988 and 1990, and instead won a state House seat in 1992.
John Barrow heads to
Washington with a
specific legislative
goal: reworking the
2003 Medicare prescription drug bill to
ensure that oncologists receive adequate
compensation for treating cancer patients.
“It is a major, major problem. I’ve
talked and worked with oncologists in
the district to understand the problem,” said Barrow. Oncologists have
argued since the law’s passage that its
funding formula for cancer drugs will
force them to limit treatment for Medicare patients starting in 2005.
Barrow plans to look out for the educational interests in his district, a
sprawling swath of eastern Georgia
that encompasses the University of
Georgia and numerous smaller state
colleges. But he plans to focus on securing funding for existing educational
programs instead of establishing new
ones. “We ought to devote more of our
resources to implementing programs
that we all agree work. They haven’t
failed because they’ve been tried and
found wanting, they’ve failed for lack
of effort,” Barrow said.
In keeping with his legislative priorities, Barrow intends to seek seats on
the Transportation and Infrastructure
and Education panels. Over the longer
term he hopes to win a coveted spot on
the Appropriations Committee.
Barrow — whose résumé includes
14 years as a county commissioner —
referred to himself as a “flaming moderate” on the campaign trail and plans
to add his name to the ranks of the
House Blue Dog Caucus, a group of fiscally conservative Democrats.
Page 30
CQToday, Thursday, November 4, 2004
ILLINOIS (3)
ILLINOIS (8)
INDIANA (9)
Dan Lipinski, D
Melissa Bean, D
Mike Sodrel, R
Election: Defeated Rep. Philip M. Crane, R
Home: Barrington
Born: Jan. 22, 1962, Chicago, Ill.
Religion: Serbian Orthodox
Family: Husband, Alan Bean; two children
Education: Oakton Community College,
A.A. 1982; Roosevelt U., B.A. 2002
Career: Technology consulting firm
president; telecommunications sales
manager
Political Highlights: Democratic nominee
for U.S. House, 2002
Pronounced: SOD-drell
Election: Defeated Rep. Baron P. Hill, D
Home: New Albany
Born: Dec. 17, 1945, Louisville, Ky.
Religion: Christian
Family: Wife, Keta Sodrel; two children
Education: New Albany High School,
graduated 1963
Military: Ind. National Guard, 1966-73
Career: Trucking, shipping and motor
coach company owner
Political Highlights: Republican nominee
for U.S. House, 2002
Melissa Bean brings to
Congress the perspective of a 20-year suburban
businesswoman: “I’ve always
said I’d like to be a
voice for the smalland medium-sized
business community,” she said.
A self-described “fiscal conservative” whose thinking was influenced by
Adam Smith and Milton Friedman,
Bean advocates pay-as-you-go budget
rules that require offsets for tax cuts
and spending increases. She said the
2003 tax law included too little relief
for small businesses.
Bean will advocate a tighter rein on
spending than most of her Democratic
colleagues. She opposed both the 2003
Medicare prescription drug law and an
alternative Democratic plan as too expensive. “I think we could have found
a middle ground that was better-priced,
better for taxpayers and still eased the
burden of the rising price of prescription drugs,” she said.
Budgetary concerns underpin Bean’s
opposition to private accounts under
Social Security, which she said is “not
even remotely fiscally responsible.”
A top priority is helping businesses
afford health insurance for their employees. One way to ease the cost burden, she said, is to establish buying
pools for small companies. “Every employer I talk to . . . their No. 1 expense
item that is becoming insurmountable
to keep up with is the rising cost of
health care,” she said.
Some of Bean’s more parochial interests include environmental protections for the Great Lakes and transportation initiatives for her burgeoning
district.
“Jobs, taxes and values” became something of a campaigntrail mantra for Mike
Sodrel as he cruised
southern Indiana,
driving his own 18wheeler on the campaign tour.
But he also made use of more traditional methods of communicating with
voters when he was given some podium
time at the Republican National Convention in New York.
“I know America’s stronger when
we create family-supporting jobs here
in America. I know America’s stronger
when government takes less money
from our nation’s families. And I know
America’s stronger when we defend
traditional moral values,” he said in
August.
A consummate party man, whose
fundraisers featured Vice President Dick
Cheney and House Speaker J. Dennis
Hastert, R-Ill., Sodrel said he looks forward to working with the leadership to
permanently repeal the inheritance tax
and the so-called marriage penalty.
Realistic about the slim chances of
spending his freshman term on the
Ways and Means Committee, Sodrel
hopes to find his way onto the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The assignment would be a perfect
fit for a self-made millionaire owner of
three trucking companies representing
a district about to embark on a $1.9 billion project to link suburban southeastern Indiana and Louisville, Ky., with
two new bridges over the Ohio River.
Indiana’s 9th District is one of the
nation’s top tobacco producers, and an
assignment to the Agriculture Committee would suit Sodrel as well.
Election: Defeated Ryan Chlada, R, to
succeed William O. Lipinski, D, who
retired
Home: Western Springs
Born: July 15, 1966, Chicago, Ill.
Religion: Roman Catholic
Family: Wife, Judy Lipinski
Education: Northwestern U., B.S. 1988;
Stanford U., M.S. 1989; Duke U., Ph.D.
1998
Career: Professor; congressional aide;
campaign aide
Political Highlights: No previous office
As the nomenclature
might suggest, the people of Chicago’s southwest side and its adjacent suburbs can expect a smooth transition to their new congressman.
Like his retiring father, William O.
Lipinski, who has held the seat for 22
years, Dan Lipinski is an economic populist, conservative on some social issues
and devoted to the parochial transportation issues important to Chicago.
Although the elder Lipinski attended
college for just two years and trained for
Congress as a city councilman and ward
boss — a classic career path for an Illinois
Democrat of his generation — the newcomer holds a master’s degree in economic engineering and a doctorate in political
science — and has never before sought
elective office. He has worked behind the
scenes on numerous Illinois campaigns,
though, and has served as a congressional
aide to both Rod R. Blagojevich, who is
now the governor, and former House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt of
Missouri.
“I don’t want to sound arrogant,
but I think that I’ll be one of the bestprepared first-term members,” he said.
Lipinski said he is confident he can
obtain a seat on the Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee, where his father has served during his entire time
in the House. He intends to work to increase funding for public transportation, a local road project called the
Central Avenue underpass and Chicago’s Midway Airport.
Lipinski said he also wants to focus
on health care, particularly on making
prescription drugs more affordable by
introducing competition.
CQToday, Thursday, November 4, 2004
Page 31
KENTUCKY (4)
LOUISIANA (1)
MICHIGAN (7)
Geoff Davis, R
Bobby Jindal, R
Joe Schwarz, R
Election: Defeated Nick Clooney, D, to
succeed Ken Lucas, D, who retired
Home: Hebron
Born: Oct. 26, 1958, Montreal, Canada
Religion: Baptist
Family: Wife, Pat Davis; six children
Education: U.S. Military Academy, B.S.
1981
Military: Army, 1976-87
Career: Manufacturing productivity
consulting firm owner; aerospace
technology consultant
Political Highlights: Republican nominee
for U.S. House, 2002
Pronounced: JIN-dle
Election: Defeated Steve Scalise, R, to
succeed David Vitter, R, who ran for Senate
Home: Kenner
Born: June 10, 1971, Baton Rouge, La.
Religion: Roman Catholic
Family: Wife, Supriya Jindal; two children
Education: Brown U., B.S. 1991; Oxford
U., M.Litt. 1994
Career: State university system president;
management consultant
Political Highlights: La. Health & Hospitals
secretary, 1996-98; U.S. HHS asst. secy.,
2001-03; candidate for governor, 2003
Election: Defeated Sharon Marie Renier,
D, to succeed Nick Smith, R, who retired
Home: Battle Creek
Born: Nov. 15, 1937, Chicago, Ill.
Religion: Roman Catholic
Family: Divorced; one child
Education: U. of Michigan, B.A. 1959;
Wayne State U., M.D. 1964
Military: Navy, 1965-67
Career: Physician; CIA attache
Political Highlights: Battle Creek City
Commission, 1979-87; Mich. Senate,
1987-2002; sought Republican nomination
for U.S. House, 1992, for governor, 2002
Geoff Davis says his
experience as a business consultant and
Army veteran will
help him pursue his
agenda in the House.
Davis said he
hopes that experience
will lead House Republican leaders to
support his bid for appointment to the
Armed Services Committee and its
Terrorism, Unconventional Threats
and Capabilities Subcommittee.
A West Point graduate, Davis was a
flight commander with the 82nd Airborne Division in the Middle East. At
West Point, he studied Arabic and the
cultures of Southwest Asia and Eastern
Europe.
He is also aiming for a seat on the Financial Services Committee so he can
work on issues ranging from insurance to
financial market regulation. His goal is
to apply his experience as a businessman
to help encourage job creation.
Coming from a competitive district,
Davis uses the words “conservative” and
“populist” to characterize his views on
the role of government. Limited government is desirable, he said. But he said Social Security survivor benefits helped his
family make ends meet after his stepfather died, and a government-subsidized
loan made it possible for his mother to
buy a house.
Davis describes himself as strongly
opposed to abortion and to efforts to
restrict gun ownership. He supports extending tax cuts and proposes to reduce
health care costs by curbing lawsuits
and offering tax credits that would help
individuals purchase insurance.
After leaving the military, Davis founded and ran a manufacturing consulting
firm.
A series of high-level
appointments in state
and federal agencies
marked Bobby Jindal
as a rising Republican
star in Louisiana
while still in his 20s.
His ambition was apparent then, too, so it was not surprising that he aimed high in his first run
for public office — an unsuccessful bid
for governor last year.
Jindal will make history when he is
sworn in. The son of immigrants from
India, he will be only the second member of Congress — and the first Republican — with roots in that nation:
Dalip Singh Saund, a California Democrat born in India in 1899, served in
the House from 1957 to 1963.
Although freshmen from politically
safe districts rarely get plum committee
assignments, Jindal’s credentials might
someday earn him a spot on the Energy
and Commerce or Ways and Means
committees, the two panels with dominant jurisdiction over health care.
A self-described policy wonk, Jindal’s résumé includes a stint as head of
Louisiana’s Health and Hospitals Department. He served in Washington as
executive director of a bipartisan commission on the future of Medicare, returned to Louisiana to serve as president of the state’s university system,
then was appointed by President Bush
as assistant secretary for planning and
evaluation at the Department of
Health and Human Services.
Jindal bills himself as a conservative
Republican who wants to work in a bipartisan fashion. “Louisiana is a state
where members from both parties work
together, and I want to bring that to
D.C.,” Jindal said.
Joe Schwarz is among
the few unambiguously
moderate Republicans
in the House freshman
class. He is also among
the most experienced,
having spent 16 years
as an influential state
senator.
“I understand I’ll be a freshman,”
Schwarz said. “I understand the system is
built on seniority and I’ll take what committee assignments I get and do the best I
can.”
Schwarz supports abortion rights, professes a willingness to consider tax increases and strongly advocates an increased federal presence in several areas,
particularly higher education and transportation.
But he takes a position much more in
line with Republican leaders on revising
the nation’s medical malpractice laws,
which he says lead to frivolous lawsuits
and force doctors to demur from treating
patients. He speaks from personal experience; he has been an ear, nose and throat
doctor for 30 years.
That experience, Schwarz said, has also
placed him firmly in the party’s moderate
wing on the issues of health care accessibility and embryonic stem cell research — an
area in which he says the United States
risks falling behind the rest of the world unless federal spending is significantly increased.
Getting his GOP-leaning district to
adjust to his ideological style will determine whether he has a relatively easy run
for re-election in 2006 — or faces a stiff
primary challenge from the right. His
moderation cost him the seat when he
first ran for it a dozen years ago; he was
outflanked on the right by Nick Smith,
the GOP incumbent who is now retiring.
Page 32
CQToday, Thursday, November 4, 2004
MISSOURI (3)
MISSOURI (5)
NEBRASKA (1)
Russ Carnahan, D
Emanuel Cleaver II, D
Jeff Fortenberry, R
Election: Defeated Bill Federer, R, to
succeed Richard A. Gephardt, D, who ran
for president
Home: St. Louis
Born: July 10, 1958, Columbia, Mo.
Religion: Methodist
Family: Wife, Debra; two children
Education: U. of Missouri, B.S. 1979, J.D.
1983
Career: Lawyer; campaign aide; state
legislative aide
Political Highlights: Democratic nominee
for U.S. House, 1990; Mo. House, 2001present
Election: Defeated Jeanne Patterson, R, to
succeed Karen McCarthy, D, who retired
Home: Kansas City
Born: Oct. 26, 1944, Waxahachie, Texas
Religion: Methodist
Family: Wife, Dianne; four children
Education: Prairie View A&M U., B.S. 1972;
St. Paul School of Theology, M.Div. 1974
Career: Pastor; radio talk show host; civil
rights group chapter founder
Political Highlights: Sought nomination
for Mo. House, 1970; ran for Kansas City
Council, 1975; Kansas City Council, 197991; mayor of Kansas City, 1991-99
Election: Defeated Matt Connealy, D, to
succeed Doug Bereuter, R, who resigned
Home: Lincoln
Born: Dec. 27, 1960, Baton Rouge, La.
Religion: Roman Catholic
Family: Wife, Celeste Gregory; four
children
Education: Louisiana State U., B.A. 1982;
Georgetown U., M.P.P. 1986; Franciscan U.
of Steubenville, M.Div. 1996
Career: Publishing firm public relations
manager; economist; congressional aide
Political Highlights: Lincoln City Council,
1997-2001
Russ Carnahan said he
knows how it feels not
to have health insurance; when his wife
had complications
during her second
pregnancy, the bills
started adding up.
“It’s one thing to talk about health
care in abstract terms,” said Carnahan,
who later spent nine years as an attorney at BJC HealthCare in St. Louis.
“Certainly, my personal experience has
shaped me.”
Carnahan’s family name is wellknown in political circles. His grandfather served in Congress. His father
Mel, a former Missouri governor, was
running for the Senate four years ago
when he was killed in a plane crash
that also took the life of Russ’ brother
Roger. Mel Carnahan was elected
posthumously over Republican Sen.
John Ashcroft, and Russ’ mother, Jean
Carnahan, was appointed to serve in
her husband’s place.
Jean Carnahan was unseated in
2002 by Republican Jim Talent.
“My last name has always been and
always will be a two-edged sword, but
the positives outweigh the negatives,”
said Carnahan.
Carnahan will be a reliable Democratic vote on many issues. He supports
stem cell research, expanding medical
services to the uninsured, allowing the
importation of prescription drugs from
Canada, and increasing the minimum
wage.
Carnahan has been endorsed by local unions as well as his predecessor,
Richard A. Gephardt, who is retiring
from Congress.
Carnahan is an avid traveler, and
enjoys antique cars and motorcycles.
Emanuel Cleaver II is
coming to the House
as a strong opponent
of the occupation of
Iraq. He is ready to
bring the troops home
immediately.
“There is no question that the people
in Northwest Missouri are no longer
just opposed to the war, they are now
against its continuation,” he said.
As a minister, talk-show host and
former mayor, Cleaver is one of the
most familiar faces in Kansas City politics. He is the first African-American
to represent the historically Democratic 5th District, which extends from
Kansas City to Johnson and Cass counties, including Harry S Truman’s hometown, Independence, since Alan D.
Wheat (1983-95).
Cleaver’s goals are ambitious but focused on local needs: overhauling the
nation’s health care system, bringing
more high-paying jobs to Missouri and
preventing companies from “outsourcing” jobs to other countries.
His campaign borrowed from President Bill Clinton’s 1992 playbook,
stressing economic security and job
creation. He also emphasized his
record as mayor from 1991 to 1999,
when he helped bring such firms as
Citicorp and Harley Davidson to the
region.
Cleaver’s agenda includes increased
funding for education, higher taxes for
those earning more than $200,000 a
year and offering average citizens health
care coverage that matches the plan
provided for members of Congress.
His committee preferences include
Appropriations, Financial Services or
Small Business.
Jeff Fortenberry, the
father of four young
girls, will come to
Washington after winning one of the most
hotly contested seats
in the election.
For more than a
quarter-century, fellow Republican
Doug Bereuter represented the 1st District, which includes Lincoln and much
of the eastern third of the state.
Though born in Louisiana, Fortenberry has a mild-mannered persona that
makes him a comfortable fit in a state
known for its basic pleasures like corn
on the cob and the state fair in late summer. He supported President Bush’s tax
cuts and says he would like to hold down
spending to reduce the deficit.
Fortenberry said he wants to help
small businesses by creating a “business
investment account,” which would provide a tax break to help people start a
business or expand an existing one.
Another area of interest is the transformation of governments in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Fortenberry said the United States underestimated the difficulty
for these nations to transform into a
Western-style democracy. “We may
have been naive because they have different economic and societal values and
levels of resources than us, and it may
take some time,” he said. “We are moving forward in Afghanistan and we will
eventually get there in Iraq.”
His interest in politics stems from an
early age: When he was in the fifth
grade, he wrote to President Richard
Nixon about Nixon’s trip to China.
He would like to serve on two of
Bereuter’s committees: International
Relations and Transportation and Infrastructure.
CQToday, Thursday, November 4, 2004
Page 33
NEW YORK (27)
NEW YORK (29)
Brian Higgins, D
Randy Kuhl, R
Virginia Foxx, R
Election: Defeated Nancy Naples, R, to
succeed Jack Quinn, R, who retired
Home: Buffalo
Born: Oct. 6, 1959, Buffalo, N.Y.
Religion: Roman Catholic
Family: Wife, Mary Jane Hannon; two
children
Education: State U. of N.Y., Buffalo, B.A.
1984, M.A. 1985; Harvard U., M.P.A. 1996
Career: County and state legislative aide
Political Highlights: Buffalo Common
Council, 1988-94; Democratic nominee
for Erie County comptroller, 1993; N.Y.
Assembly, 1999-present
Pronounced: COOL
Election: Defeated Samara Barend, D, to
succeed Amo Houghton, R, who retired
Home: Hammondsport
Born: April 19, 1943, Bath, N.Y.
Religion: Episcopalian
Family: Divorced; three children
Education: Union College, B.S. 1966;
Syracuse U., J.D. 1969
Career: Lawyer
Political Highlights: N.Y. Assembly,
1981-87; N.Y. Senate, 1987-present
Election: Defeated J. Harrell, D, to succeed
Richard M. Burr, R, who ran for Senate
Home: Banner Elk
Born: June 29, 1943, Bronx, N.Y.
Religion: Roman Catholic
Family: Husband, Tom Foxx; one child
Education: U. of North Carolina, B.A.
1968, M.A.C.T. 1972; U. of North Carolina,
Greensboro, Ed.D. 1985
Career: Community college president;
nursery owner; professor
Political Highlights: Watauga County
Board of Education, 1977-89; N.C.
Senate, 1995-present
Brian Higgins delivered the 27th District
for the Democrats for
the first time since
1992, when his predecessor, Republican
Jack Quinn, was
elected.
Democratic presidential nominee
Al Gore won the New York district
with 55 percent of the vote in 2000,
even as Quinn simultaneously enjoyed
strong support by positioning himself as
a pro-union GOP moderate.
The district was made more Republican following redistricting in 2002,
but Higgins won by painting his opponent, Republican Nancy Naples, as too
conservative. The unions agreed.
Higgins describes himself as a moderate who will look after the district’s
interests, including spurring job
growth.
Higgins’ district is near Canada, and
he said he supports allowing seniors to
import prescription drugs from across the
border. “Ten miles from where I am
standing right now, drugs are $60 to $70
cheaper than they are here in the United
States,” he said in a telephone interview.
Higgins said one of his priorities in
Congress would be to push for a “real”
prescription drug benefit that allows
the government to negotiate volume
discounts to bring down costs.
He also said he wants Congress to
repeal President Bush’s tax cuts for the
nation’s wealthiest individuals.
Higgins was elected to the state Assembly in 1998 and served on the Transportation and Environmental Conservation committees. He wants to continue
his work on transportation issues by
seeking a seat on the Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee.
Randy Kuhl was a
37-year-old attorney
when he won his first
election, to the New
York State Assembly
in 1980. After a quarter-century in Albany,
he will be among the
oldest — and most legislatively experienced — freshmen next year.
Kuhl won with the endorsement of
organized labor and his predecessor,
Amo Houghton, who co-founded the
Republican Main Street Partnership to
help moderates exert influence in the
mostly conservative House Republican
Conference. Yet Kuhl says he may not
join the Main Street group, and in fact
his record as a state legislator was a reliably conservative collection of votes
against abortion rights, gun control
and tax increases.
Kuhl said his top priority in his
freshman term will be local job creation in a district where employment
options have narrowed recently as the
region’s two largest employers —
Corning Inc. and Eastman Kodak Co.
— have reduced payrolls. And, to
make his political future more secure
by cementing a reputation for constituent service, he plans to hold a
town hall meeting each year in each of
the 143 towns that dot the 5,600
square miles he will represent.
Kuhl hopes eventually to serve on the
Ways and Means Committee, where
Houghton has been since 1993. In the
meantime, he said he wants to become
the only Northeastern Republican to
serve on the Transportation and Infrastructure panel, so that he can seek money for his region’s aging highways. He has
chaired both the Agriculture and Education committees in the state Senate.
“I’m the eldest child of
a very poor family, and
I take everything I do
seriously,” Virginia
Foxx says in describing
her attitude about
public life.
Foxx prides herself
on her hardworking habits in the state
Senate, where she has been for a
decade, and said she routinely stays at
her desk after 10 p.m. to field calls from
constituents or read briefing books.
Her top legislative priority, she said,
will be permitting people to shield
themselves from the automated,
recorded political telephone messages
that have become a staple of many
campaigns — including her particularly
bitter GOP primary contest. Political
campaigns are now exempt from the
federal “do not call” list that otherwise
restricts telemarketers.
The rising cost of medical insurance
will be her other top priority. WinstonSalem, the 5th District’s major city, is
home to a number of regional hospitals
and medical technology companies,
while the rural western part of the district has a large elderly population.
Foxx said she will seek assignments to
committees that have no other North
Carolinian on the roster. Her long-term
goal is a Ways and Means seat.
After a dozen years on her county
school board, Foxx stepped down in
1988, a year after she was named president of a local community college. But
she re-entered politics in 1994 with her
successful bid for the state Senate, winning in a district that had not been
held by a Republican in modern times.
She has held the seat with ease ever
since, while operating a local nursery
business with her husband, Tom.
NORTH CAROLINA (5)
Page 34
CQToday, Thursday, November 4, 2004
NORTH CAROLINA (10)
OKLAHOMA (2)
PENNSYLVANIA (8)
Patrick McHenry, R
Dan Boren, D
Mike Fitzpatrick, R
Election: Defeated Anne N. Fischer, D, to
succeed Cass Ballenger, R, who retired
Home: Cherryville
Born: Oct. 22, 1975, Charlotte, N.C.
Religion: Roman Catholic
Family: Single
Education: North Carolina State U.,
attended 1994-97; Belmont Abbey
College, B.A. 2000
Career: Real estate broker; U.S. Labor
Department aide; campaign aide
Political Highlights: Republican nominee
for N.C. House, 1998; N.C. House, 2003present
Election: Defeated Wayland Smalley, R, to
succeed Brad Carson, D, who ran for
Senate
Home: Paden
Born: Aug. 2, 1973, Shawnee, Okla.
Religion: Methodist
Family: Single
Education: Texas Christian U., B.A. 1997;
U. of Oklahoma, M.B.A. 2001
Career: College fundraiser; congressional
district aide; bank teller; state utility
regulation commission aide
Political Highlights: Okla. House, 2002present
Election: Defeated Virginia Waters
Schrader, D, to succeed James C.
Greenwood, R, who retired
Home: Levittown
Born: June 28, 1963, Philadelphia, Pa.
Religion: Roman Catholic
Family: Wife, Kathy Fitzpatrick; six
children
Education: St. Thomas U. (Fla.), B.A.
1985; Dickinson School of Law, J.D. 1988
Career: Lawyer
Political Highlights: Republican nominee
for Pa. House, 1990, 1994; Bucks County
Board of Commissioners, 1995-present
Patrick McHenry will
be the youngest member of the 109th Congress; his 29th birthday
was just 11 days before
his election.
McHenry said he
intends to side with
most House Republicans on social as
well as fiscal policy; his upset win in
the GOP primary came with a strong
boost from the Club For Growth, the
Washington-based group that supports
fiscally conservative candidates.
Worker retraining and economic
development initiatives will be among
his top priorities, a logical move given
that his mainly rural constituency has
been hit hard by manufacturing job
losses. He said he would like a seat on
the Financial Services Committee, also
a logical choice because the banking
industry is an important sector of
North Carolina’s economy.
He cites his youth in explaining his
support for private savings accounts
within Social Security, calling it a necessary move to ensure that the program
remains viable for future generations.
Though a state legislator only since
last year, McHenry made a very early
commitment to a career in politics. He
took time off from college to work for
the 1996 gubernatorial campaign of
Robin Hayes, now a North Carolina
congressman. McHenry served as president of the state College Republicans
and as treasurer for the national College Republicans in the late 1990s. After a losing bid for the state House in
1998, he worked on George W. Bush’s
presidential campaign in 2000 and
briefly served as a political appointee in
the Labor Department before returning
to North Carolina.
Dan Boren first got an
insider’s view of the
Capitol when he was 6
years old — in 1979,
when his father, David
L. Boren, began his
long career as an Oklahoma senator.
When Dan Boren
returns in January, at age 31, he will represent the state’s eastern side — and he will
be the third generation of his family to
serve as a Democratic member of Congress from the state. His father was a senator until 1994, when he resigned to become president of the University of Oklahoma. His grandfather, Lyle Boren, was a
House member from 1937 to 1947.
Dan Boren’s preparation for Congress
is one term in the Oklahoma Legislature,
where he compiled a center-right record
as a proponent of tax cuts and backer of
efforts to make it more difficult for trial
lawyers to press what he termed frivolous
lawsuits.
He calls himself a fiscally conservative “pro-business, pro-gun Democrat,”
and says being a Democrat in the state’s
GOP-dominated delegation would not
hinder him from working with his homestate colleagues on issues of parochial
importance.
The No. 1 concern among voters, he
said, is the need to create jobs in his district, where incomes run well below the
state’s average. Oklahoma is a leading energy-producing state, and Boren eventually aspires to a seat on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Initially, though, he
said he would be happy with an assignment to Resources.
Hoping to demonstrate constituent
service as a high priority, Boren held
100 town hall meetings throughout the
sprawling district during the campaign.
Mike Fitzpatrick believes that government services work
best at the local level
and that Washington
should allow more local flexibility in
spending federal aid.
He said too often, local governments in
need of help “leave the table” because
federal programs come with too many
mandates attached.
His service as Bucks County commissioner might give him insight into
how to improve the relationship between Washington and local governments. When Hurricane Floyd ravaged
the area in 1999, Fitzpatrick not only
aggressively pursued the county’s “fair
share” of federal disaster funds, he also
helped institute an innovative floodproofing program that includes elevating houses above the flood plain. The
program may become a federal model
for other counties.
Creating similar programs is something he plans to continue in Congress.
He advocates basing homeland security grants more on risk and less on
population so first-responders in his
county — a major corridor close to
Philadelphia — could receive more
aid. He also plans to meet with health
care providers on malpractice liability
costs that he said are causing good doctors to flee the state.
When Rep. James C. Greenwood
announced his retirement after the filing deadline had passed, local Republican leaders all agreed on the more conservative Fitzpatrick for the race.
He has an eye on a Transportation
and Infrastructure Committee assignment or Greenwood’s Energy and
Commerce seat.
CQToday, Thursday, November 4, 2004
Page 35
PENNSYLVANIA (13)
PENNSYLVANIA (15)
SOUTH CAROLINA (4)
Allyson Schwartz, D
Charlie Dent, R
Bob Inglis, R
Election: Defeated Melissa Brown, R, to
succeed Joseph M. Hoeffel, D, who ran for
Senate
Home: Jenkintown
Born: Oct. 3, 1948, Queens, N.Y.
Religion: Jewish
Family: Husband, David; two children
Education: Simmons College, B.A. 1970;
Bryn Mawr College, M.S.W. 1972
Career: City child and elderly welfare
official; women’s health center founder
Political Highlights: Pa. Senate, 1991present; sought Democratic nomination
for U.S. Senate, 2000
Election: Defeated Joe Driscoll, D, to
succeed Patrick J. Toomey, R, who ran for
Senate
Home: Allentown
Born: May 24, 1960, Allentown, Pa.
Religion: Presbyterian
Family: Wife, Pamela Dent; three children
Education: Penn State U., B.A. 1982;
Lehigh U., M.P.A. 1993
Career: College fundraiser; electronics
salesman; hotel clerk; congressional aide
Political Highlights: Pa. House, 1991-99;
Pa. Senate, 1999-present
Pronounced: ING-lis
Election: Defeated Brandon Brown, D, to
succeed Jim DeMint, R, who ran for Senate
Home: Travelers Rest
Born: Oct. 11, 1959, Savannah, Ga.
Religion: Presbyterian
Family: Wife, Mary Anne Inglis; five
children
Education: Duke U., B.A. 1981; U. of
Virginia, J.D. 1984
Career: Lawyer
Political Highlights: U.S. House, 199399; Republican nominee for U.S. Senate,
1998
Democrat Allyson
Schwartz will arrive
in Congress already a
legislative veteran of
14 years in the Pennsylvania Senate, with
a lengthy record on
health care, education and jobs.
Democrats were the minority party
during most of her years in the state’s
upper chamber. With that experience
in hand, Schwartz says she plans to
continue her focus on social policy in
the GOP-controlled House.
Schwartz, who calls her state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program “one
of my proudest accomplishments,”
wants to expand child health care coverage for working families. She says she
also wants to make it easier for small
businesses to band together to reduce
their health care costs.
Congress should retool the Medicare prescription drug benefit enacted
in 2003 to make it “simpler” for recipients, Schwartz says. She also favors allowing Medicare to negotiate with
drug companies for bulk discounts.
On education, she says she will work
to increase funding for Head Start and
for “quality” child care.
Schwartz said she ran for Congress
because she believes the federal government can “do a better job investing
in our priorities,” and it should be helping “to make sure our states can meet
their obligations” on issues such as
health care and education. At the same
time, she says she will “ask the hard
questions” to make sure the government is “fiscally responsible.”
Schwartz also favors eliminating
tax “incentives” for U.S. companies to
send jobs overseas.
Charlie Dent has no
illusions of writing
major legislation as a
freshman, but the Republican does have
plenty of parochial
concerns he would
like to see Congress
address in his first term.
That list includes preventing other
states from shipping waste to Pennsylvania and providing funds to build a
new bridge across the Lehigh River in
his hometown of Allentown. Dent also
believes the federal government has
gotten too involved in managing state
voter registration rules. For example,
he opposes the 1993 “motor voter” law,
which requires states to let citizens register to vote when they obtain or renew
their driver’s licenses.
“Some of them may not be great
campaign issues, but they’re important
issues nonetheless,” said Dent, a 13year veteran of the state legislature.
“We have continuing infrastructure
needs in the city of Bethlehem. We
need to make improvements along the
Route 412 corridor.”
His eagerness to help direct federal
money to his district is one of a several
important ways Dent differs from his
predecessor, Republican Patrick J.
Toomey, who took deeply conservative
stances on fiscal and social issues.
Also unlike Toomey, Dent supports
abortion rights and expanding embryonic stem cell research. Dent said he
wants to focus less on ideological issues
and more on serving constituents.
“I will probably be a congressman
who is really going to pay attention the
details in the community. I’ll be looking for opportunities and ways to solve
problems,” he said.
In the six years since
he left the House, Bob
Inglis has changed his
mind about several of
the things that propelled him toward
Washington the first
time around.
Inglis first was elected in 1992, part
of the early wave of “revolutionary” Republicans who won control of the
chamber two years later. Like many candidates then, he campaigned vigorously
against many of the practices of the institution he wanted to join, vowed to
stay no more than three terms and advocated the elimination of political action committees. But this year, he neither promised to limit his congressional
tenure nor spoke out against the campaign finance system.
Inglis kept to the letter of his initial
term limits pledge by running for the
Senate in 1998, losing to Democrat
Ernest F. Hollings. He then returned to
his lucrative commercial law practice
in Greenville, S.C. A soft-spoken, invariably polite man, he says his six
years back in business gave him a different perspective on his former office.
“Things are perceived very differently
at home than in Congress,” he said.
Inglis sat on the Judiciary and Budget committees during his first House
tenure but is now angling for a seat on
either the Energy and Commerce or
Transportation and Infrastructure panels, which could help him focus on
some district issues.
“We are quick to criticize Democrats for being tax-and-spend liberals,”
he said. “But that may be more honest
than being no-tax-and-spend Republicans. We’ve got to be real clear that we
are the party of fiscal responsibility.”
Page 36
CQToday, Thursday, November 4, 2004
TEXAS (1)
TEXAS (2)
TEXAS (9)
Louie Gohmert, R
Ted Poe, R
Al Green, D
Election: Defeated Rep. Nick Lampson, D
Home: Humble
Born: Sept. 10, 1948, Temple, Texas
Religion: United Church of Christ
Family: Wife, Carol Poe; four children
Education: Abilene Christian College, B.A.
1970; U. of Houston, J.D. 1973
Military: Air Force Reserve, 1970-76
Career: County prosecutor; college
instructor
Political Highlights: Harris County
District Court judge, 1981-2003
Election: Defeated Arlette Molina, R, after
defeating Rep. Chris Bell in the primary
Home: Houston
Born: Sept. 1, 1947, New Orleans, La.
Religion: Christian
Family: Divorced
Education: Florida A&M U., attended
1966-71; Tuskegee Institute of Technology,
attended; Texas Southern U., J.D. 1973
Career: Lawyer; NAACP chapter president
Political Highlights: Harris County
Justice of the Peace Court judge, 19772004; candidate for mayor of Houston,
1981
A former state district
judge and assistant district attorney, Republican Ted Poe has been
serving Harris County,
Texas, for the last 31
years.
Poe has been wellknown in Harris County for his unusual sentences, called “Poe-etic justice”
by many. Poe said he saw 25,000 court
cases over 20 years on the bench and
used all aspects of the criminal justice
system to make first offenders pay for
their crimes.
One of his more famous punishments required a convicted auto thief
to serve jail time — and to hand over
the keys of his Trans Am to a 75-yearold grandmother, who drove the car
until the vehicle stolen by the thief was
recovered and repaired.
Poe also made a burglar stand in
front of a store wearing an “I stole
from this store” sign, and he has required convicted killers to put up pictures of their victims in their jail cells
for years.
Poe said he would use that same creativity to solve some of the most pressing problems facing Congress, including a rising deficit and increased costs
in health care.
He said he also wants to create a national sex registry for pedophiles. Currently, child molesters are required to
register with the state after completing
their sentences, but there is nothing
preventing them from moving to a different state and failing to register.
Poe said he has been too focused on
his election to consider which committees he would like to serve on and preferred to leave the decision up to the
House leadership.
To help boost the
number of GOP-held
congressional seats in
Texas, the state legislature last year concentrated Democratic voters in three districts
without resident incumbents and with demographics that
could elect a new African-American and
two new Hispanics to Congress.
But only the black Democrat is moving to Washington: Al Green, a justice
of the peace in Houston for the past 27
years and a veteran civil rights advocate
who was the city’s NAACP chapter
president for a decade, ending in 1996.
In a portion of the city and its suburbs
where blacks account for two-fifths of
the population, he won the primary
with two-thirds of the vote against
freshman Rep. Chris Bell.
In January, Texas will have three
African-Americans in its delegation for
the first time. The others are Democrats
Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas and
Sheila Jackson-Lee of Houston.
Shaking things up in Washington
does not appear to be a high priority for
Green, who exhibited a subdued and deliberate manner in his campaign and in
discussions since then about his new career. His comments suggest he is likely to
stay close to the party line as a freshman.
He says he has no preferred committee
assignment and is happy to serve wherever party leaders place him.
Green said a main focus in Congress
would be fortifying Social Security, the
primary income for many in a district
that has a large low-income population. He also said he would like to see
Congress help emerging businesses succeed, making sure “small businesses not
only survive but thrive.”
Election: Defeated Rep. Max Sandlin, D
Home: Tyler
Born: Aug. 18, 1953, Pittsburg, Texas
Religion: Baptist
Family: Wife, Kathy Gohmert; three
children
Education: Texas A&M U., B.A. 1975;
Baylor U., J.D. 1977
Military: Army, 1978-82
Career: Lawyer; state prosecutor
Political Highlights: Smith County
District Court judge, 1993-2002; Texas
Court of Appeals chief justice, 2002-03
With the odds in the
redistricted 1st district in his favor,
Louis Gohmert overcame Democratic
Rep. Max Sandlin to
represent the east
Texas district.
Gohmert heads to Washington with
the war on terror uppermost in his
mind and an itch to help the Republican leadership do what is necessary to
protect the country. Gohmert said he
considers national defense to be the
federal government’s No. 1 priority and
said he would work in Congress to ensure that the fight against terrorists
stays overseas instead of “in our own
streets.”
Gohmert said a key component of
keeping the country safe is further securing the borders.
Gohmert, a former Army captain,
said he is reluctant to use the military
to protect the borders.
But the emergency nature of the war
on terrorism has changed the world in
which we live, he said, so he would
support the use of soldiers to protect
the borders until enough border agents
are trained to do the job effectively.
As with most Republican freshmen,
Gohmert stressed the need to cut income taxes, eliminate the inheritance
tax and further reduce the “marriage
penalty.”
Gohmert said the current tax code
is broken and needs to be replaced with
a system that is simpler, fairer and lower. He said he would be willing to consider a flat tax or a national sales tax
that would meet those goals.
Gohmert said his background as a
judge has him considering asking for a
seat on the Judiciary Committee.
CQToday, Thursday, November 4, 2004
Page 37
TEXAS (10)
TEXAS (11)
TEXAS (24)
Michael McCaul, R
Mike Conaway, R
Kenny Marchant, R
Election: Defeated Robert Fritsche,
Libertarian, to win new seat
Home: Austin
Born: Jan. 14, 1962, Dallas, Texas
Religion: Roman Catholic
Family: Wife, Linda McCaul; five children
Education: Trinity U., B.A. 1984; St.
Mary’s U. (Texas), J.D. 1987
Career: U.S. Justice Department official;
state prosecutor; federal prosecutor;
lawyer
Political Highlights: No previous office
Election: Defeated Wayne Raasch, D, to
win new seat
Home: Midland
Born: June 11, 1948, Borger, Texas
Religion: Baptist
Family: Wife, Suzanne; four children
Education: East Texas State U., B.B.A.
1970
Military: Army, 1970-72
Career: Accountant; bank chief financial
officer; oil and gas exploration CFO
Political Highlights: Midland school
board, 1985-88; candidate for U.S. House
(special election), 2003
Election: Defeated Gary R. Page, D, to win
new seat
Home: Coppell
Born: Feb. 23, 1951, Bonham, Texas
Religion: Nazarene
Family: Wife, Donna; four children
Education: Southern Nazarene U., B.A.
1974; Nazarene Theological Seminary,
attended 1975-76
Career: Real estate developer;
homebuilding company owner
Political Highlights: Carrollton City
Council, 1980-84; mayor of Carrollton,
1984-86; Texas House, 1987-present
Michael McCaul says
his career path from the
Justice Department to
the Texas attorney general’s office and on to
Congress “stems from
my religious beliefs that
say you have to do
something worthwhile with your life in
the service of others.”
But his most recent step was also
paved by the political largess of the state
legislature, which assembled a district
stretching across central Texas connecting the Austin and Houston suburbs.
The district is so reliably Republican that
no Democrat filed to run. (Only one other open-seat candidate in the nation,
Georgia Republican Tom Price, lacked
any general election opposition.)
McCaul already is planning his next
campaign, for president of the freshman
class of House Republicans, where he
hopes to benefit from the votes of an
unusually large contingent of fellow
Texans.
McCaul describes himself as a “conservative Republican” — he says his
top legislative priority is to make permanent the tax cuts that President
Bush pushed to enactment in 2001 and
2003 — and he clearly has strong partisan instincts. But he said he is willing
to work with Democratic members to
get more accomplished for his district.
McCaul said he will take any committee assignment the Republican leadership gives him — but his first choice
would be a seat on Judiciary, which
would be a logical assignment for a veteran of the Justice Department’s counterterrorism office and a former federal prosecutor. “I have national security experience, and clearances and expertise I can
bring to the table,” he said.
Seventeen months
ago, Mike Conaway
was an asterisk in the
history of the Texas
GOP, having lost a
special congressional
election to fellow
Republican Randy
Neugebauer by 587 votes.
But thanks to the mid-decade redrawing of the state’s congressional
map last fall, Conaway is coming to
Congress to represent a West Texas
district drawn with him in mind.
Powerful GOP legislators wanted to
center a new House seat in Midland,
the economic capital of the oil- and
gas-rich Permian Basin. Increasing
domestic energy production will be
one of Conaway’s top policy priorities.
But the 11th District also includes
significant amounts of farmland, and
Conaway hopes for placement on the
Agriculture Committee so he can work
to make foreign markets more accessible to Texas agricultural products, especially cotton, the principal crop grown
by his new constituents.
As one of the few certified public accountants in the 109th Congress,
Conaway also sees himself as a natural fit
for the Financial Services Committee.
A self-described fiscal and social
conservative, Conaway says his voting
record will reflect a commitment to
lower taxes, smaller government and a
stronger military.
He was helped in his rise as a public
figure by his close ties to George W.
Bush. The two are near the same age
and knew each other socially in Midland. From 1981 until 1986, Conaway
was the chief financial officer of Bush’s
Arbusto Energy Inc.
Kenny Marchant is
proof that a seat in
Congress can come to
those who wait — especially to those fortunate enough to draw
the boundaries of their
own constituency.
A member of the Texas House since
1987, Marchant was planning a bid for
Congress two years ago from suburban
Dallas — until fellow Republican Pete
Sessions, an incumbent, chose to run
there instead. But when the state legislature redrew the congressional boundaries last year, Marchant, as a member of
the state House Redistricting Committee, was ideally positioned to oversee
the drawing of a new seat with his own
ambition in mind. The 24th District is
centered in Carrollton, where
Marchant has been an officeholder for a
quarter-century.
Marchant was a reliable supporter of
George W. Bush during his six years as
governor of Texas; he says the two
agree on social and fiscal policy “99
percent of the time.” He said that in
Congress his top priority would be
pushing down the deficit, because,
“The No. 1 priority in my district is
getting spending under control.”
Having served as chairman of the
state House Banking Committee from
1993 to 1999, Marchant says he would
be a good fit for the Financial Services
Committee. He also would like a seat on
Transportation and Infrastructure so he
could look after the needs of Dallas-Fort
Worth International Airport, which is in
the 24th District.
Marchant also has expressed interest
in representing the freshman class on the
Republican Steering Committee, which
assigns committee seats for the party.
Page 38
CQToday, Thursday, November 4, 2004
TEXAS (28)
VIRGINIA (2)
WASHINGTON (5)
Henry Cuellar, D
Thelma Drake, R
Cathy McMorris, R
Election: Defeated James Hopson, R,
after defeating Rep. Ciro D. Rodriguez in
the primary
Home: Laredo
Born: Sept. 19, 1955, Laredo, Texas
Religion: Roman Catholic
Family: Wife, Imelda Cuellar; two children
Education: Georgetown U., B.S.F.S. 1978;
U. of Texas, J.D. 1981; Laredo State U.,
M.B.A. 1982; U. of Texas, Ph.D. 1998
Career: Lawyer; global trade firm owner
Political Highlights: Texas House, 19872001; Texas secretary of state, 2001;
Democratic nominee for U.S. House, 2002
Election: Defeated David Ashe, D, to
succeed Ed Schrock, R, who retired
Home: Norfolk
Born: Nov. 20, 1949, Elyria, Ohio
Religion: United Church of Christ
Family: Husband, Thomas E. “Ted” Drake;
two children
Education: Elyria H.S., graduated 1967
Career: Realtor; siding company owner
Political Highlights: Republican nominee
for Va. House, 1993; Va. House, 1996present
Election: Defeated Don Barbieri, D, to
succeed George Nethercutt, R, who ran
for Senate
Home: Loon Lake
Born: May 22, 1969, Salem, Ore.
Religion: Christian non-denominational
Family: Single
Education: Pensacola Christian College,
B.A. 1990; U. of Washington, M.B.A. 2002
Career: Fruit orchard worker; state
legislative aide
Political Highlights: Wash. House, 1994present (minority leader, 2002-03)
Though he stands out
as one of the two new
House Democrats
from Texas in a year
dominated by GOP
gains in that state,
Henry Cuellar may
not be as welcomed by
his party as many other freshmen.
Many members of the Hispanic
Caucus believe Cuellar was not the
true winner in his contested, 58-vote
March primary upset of incumbent
Ciro D. Rodriguez, this year’s caucus
chairman, who has already declared he
will seek to regain the seat in 2006.
And other Democrats are suspicious of
Cuellar’s partisan loyalties, given that
as a member of the state House he endorsed George W. Bush for president in
2000 and the next year took a plum job
as secretary of state in the administration of Bush’s successor as governor,
Republican Rick Perry.
Cuellar describes himself as a “moderate conservative” who plans to join the
Blue Dog Coalition of the caucus’ most
conservative members and promises to
reach across the aisle to cut deals. But he
says he has no plans to join the GOP.
His long-term goal is a seat on the
Appropriations Committee, but as a
freshman Cuellar will seek assignments
to Transportation and Infrastructure, to
help repave and widen many roads in
south Texas, and Armed Services, to
help look out for the one Army and
three Air Force bases in San Antonio.
Cuellar won on his second try for
Congress. In 2002, he came within 6,500
votes of unseating GOP incumbent
Henry Bonilla. To protect Bonilla from a
rematch, state Republicans redrew district lines so that the two would be in
separate districts.
Thelma Drake received an early promise from House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert,
R-Ill., of a slot on the
Armed Services Committee — a real boon
for a candidate running in a district with a heavy concentration of military installations. “I
think that will be an excellent opportunity to work on military issues and
policy for military families,” she said.
The big issue, she says, is making
sure “that our military has the most
modern weapons systems, that they’ve
got the armaments and the tools that
they need to be on the front line.”
Shipyards employ thousands of district residents, and Drake supports the
Navy’s next-generation aircraft carrier,
CVN-21. “I think that should move forward,” she said. “I think that people here
are concerned about the number of ships
in our military.”
Drake also sees the military as an instrument of job creation through forming partnerships with local colleges and
universities. She aims to “hopefully
bring some appropriation dollars back
to the 2nd District for that purpose.”
Drake made her anti-tax reputation
in the state House by opposing a tax increase, backed by many GOP legislators, to close a budget shortfall. In Congress, she wants to “continue the tax
cuts to keep our economy going and create new jobs” and overhaul the IRS.
Drake supports a tax code that is
“broad-based, fair and simple,” though
she has not settled on an alternative. “I
don’t have that answer, but I have the
commitment that this is something that
has got to be done and has to be dealt
with as quickly as possible,” she said.
At age 35, Cathy McMorris has been touted as a rising star in
Washington state politics.
She was named minority leader in the
state House last year,
and used that recognition to help land a seat in Congress.
On Capitol Hill, McMorris said
she plans to continue the focus on
health care issues she cultivated in
Olympia. She supports measures that
would limit medical malpractice lawsuits and cap jury awards for pain and
suffering.
Reflecting the needs of her mostly
rural constituency, she also wants to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates
to rural hospitals.
Her priorities probably will make
her a loyal Republican vote on most issues. Eastern Washington is ideologically more aligned with neighboring
Idaho than with the rest of state.
McMorris — whose family owns a
fruit orchard — said she would like to
work on issues that affect small businesses.
She also expresses concern for the
region’s natural resource-based economy, which has suffered recently. The
energy market in the Pacific Northwest has changed for the worse, she
said.
“It wasn’t long ago we had the most
competitive rates in the country,” she
said.
McMorris also said she would also
like to see changes made to the Endangered Species Act. Many Republicans
have complained that enforcement of
the law has prevented projects that
could provide big economic benefits.
CQToday, Thursday, November 4, 2004
Page 39
WASHINGTON (8)
WISCONSIN (4)
PUERTO RICO (AL)
Dave Reichert, R
Gwen Moore, D
Luis Fortuño, R
Pronounced: RIKE-ert
Election: Defeated Dave Ross, D, to
succeed Jennifer Dunn, R, who retired
Home: Auburn
Born: Aug. 29, 1950, Detroit Lakes, Minn.
Religion: Lutheran - Missouri Synod
Family: Wife, Julie; three children
Education: Concordia College, A.A. 1970
Military: Air Force Reserve, 1971-76; Air
Force, 1976
Career: Police officer; grocery warehouse
worker
Political Highlights: King County sheriff,
1997-present
Election: Defeated Gerald H. Boyle, R, to
succeed Gerald D. Kleczka, D, who retired
Home: Milwaukee
Born: April 18, 1951, Racine, Wis.
Religion: Baptist
Family: Single; three children
Education: Marquette U., B.A. 1978
Career: State agency legislative analyst;
city development specialist; VISTA
volunteer
Political Highlights: Wis. Assembly,
1989-92; Wis. Senate, 1993-present
(president pro tempore, 1997-98)
Election: Defeated Roberto L. PratsPalerm, D, to succeed Anibal AcevedoVila, D, who ran for governor
Home: Guaynabo
Born: Oct. 31, 1960, San Juan, P.R.
Religion: Roman Catholic
Family: Wife, Luce Fortuno; three children
Education: Georgetown U., B.S.F.S. 1982;
U. of Virginia, J.D. 1985
Career: Lawyer
Political Highlights: P.R. Tourism
Company executive director, 1993-96;
P.R. Economic Development and
Commerce secretary, 1994-96
Dave Reichert’s claim
to fame comes from
his tenure as King
County Sheriff and
his apprehension of
Green River serial
killer Gary Ridgway,
whom he had pursued
for two decades.
In Congress, Reichert said he hopes
to broaden his profile by playing an active role on the numerous issues facing
his suburban Seattle district. He is also
aware, however, that GOP leaders may
see him as a good public voice on issues
of crime and punishment.
“There will be, I think, some attempt
to draw upon my experience as a local
leader in law enforcement,” he said. “I
want to be thoroughly involved in that,
but I don’t want to get pigeonholed.”
Reichert said his time spent patrolling streets, combating crime and
running the sheriff’s office also showed
him a great deal about the social and
economic problems that create a fertile
environment for crime. Being sheriff
taught him a great deal about fiscal
management and oversight, he said.
One local concern Reichert will be
expected to address is traffic. His district is growing rapidly and many of its
residents commute to and from Seattle
on a daily basis.
He said his constituents will have to
join with him, however, if they want
federal money to expand and improve
the area’s highways — he said he
learned lessons about such collaboration when he and other sheriffs lobbied
Congress for help combating drugs.
“What I believe about transportation is that the community has to come
together and come up with a regional
plan,” he said.
As one of a handful of
African-Americans in
the freshman class, and
as the first black ever
to represent Wisconsin
in Congress, Gwen
Moore should not
have much difficulty
finding a place on the national stage.
But she says she plans to keep her focus
local, advocating programs and policies
that will benefit her largely blue-collar
Milwaukee constituency.
Moore’s voting patterns likely will
not differ from the reliably liberal, party
loyalist record of her predecessor, Democrat Gerald D. Kleczka. But, while he
was best known for his pro-union agenda, she has said she will be more business-friendly in working on issues affecting the urban poor and working class —
the focus of much of her work during 16
years as a state legislator.
“I do get it as a Democrat that businesses create jobs and we’ve got to create incentives for businesses to remain
in our community,” she said. “We’ve
got to help them with health care and
provide tax credits for job creation.”
Still, Moore also holds to the idea
that the federal government should
play a significant role in alleviating local problems, and she hopes to win
more appropriations earmarks for Milwaukee than it has received recently.
Moore says her early career in Wisconsin’s housing and health departments
gave her a familiarity with welfare programs. That in turn has led her to advocate expanding the federal definition of
poverty to include not only income levels but also home heating, prescription
drug and child care costs. She says she
would like a committee assignment that
gives her a voice in the welfare debate.
The only member of
the House with a fouryear term, Luis Fortuño is the first resident commissioner of
the commonwealth to
caucus with the Republicans. GOP leaders hope he will be a conservative voice
for Hispanics both in Puerto Rico and
in the United States.
But Puerto Rico’s territorial status
remains a hot-button issue, and Fortuño plans to push for a congressionally
mandated plebiscite so Puerto Rican
voters can decide among status options
including statehood. “We’ve fought in
every war this century and the last —
we have earned that right to decide,”
he says.
Other parochial issues, such as job
creation and improving Medicare coverage for Puerto Ricans, are also expected to be high on his agenda.
Still, Fortuño maintains he will not
be hemmed in by island politics. His
broader political platform embraces
tax cuts, a balanced budget, strong defense and a continued embargo of
Cuba. He is a strong opponent of abortion.
Volunteer campaign work for
Ronald Reagan in 1980 helped plant
the seeds of Fortuño’s GOP ideals, and
guidance from former Puerto Rican
Gov. Luis A. Ferré, a statehood advocate and influential Republican leader,
further cemented them.
Fortuño keeps a piece of the Berlin
wall on his desk as a memento of an era
when “the world was divided in two —
one was free and the other was not.”
He is interested in both the Resources and Financial Services committees.