Dennis Cardoza

Dennis Cardoza
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 18th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Gary Condit
Member of the California State Assembly from the 26th district
In office 1996–2002
Preceded by	Sal Cannella
Succeeded by	Greg Aghazarian
Personal details
Born	March 31, 1959 (1959-03-31) Merced, California
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Dr. Kathie McLoughlin
Residence	Atwater, California
Alma mater	California State University, Stanislaus, University of Maryland, College Park
Occupation	rancher, small business owner
Religion	Roman Catholic

Dennis A. Cardoza (born March 31, 1959) is the U.S. Representative for California's 18th congressional district, serving since 2003. The district takes in a large swath of the Central Valley, from Stockton to Fresno. He is a member of the Democratic Party. On October 20th, 2011 he announced he would retire from Congress at the end of 2012.

He first won election to Congress after defeating former Congressman Gary Condit in the March 2002 Democratic Party primary election.

Early life

Cardoza was born in Merced, California, of Portuguese ancestry. He grew up in Atwater, California and graduated from Atwater High School. He was educated at the California State University, Stanislaus in Turlock, California then transferred to University of Maryland, College Park. He is a member of Theta Chi Fraternity.

Political career

Cardoza's interest in public service began in college when he interned on Capitol Hill during the summer of 1979. The first in his family to graduate from college, Cardoza went on to run a successful small business. Cardoza served as a city council member in both Merced and Atwater and was a Member of the California State Assembly from 1996 to 2002. During his six years in the Assembly, he chaired the Rules Committee and helped found the Moderate Democratic Caucus.

Cardoza currently represents California's 18th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. The seat was previously held by Gary Condit. When Cardoza was starting out in politics, he served as Condit's Chief of Staff while Condit was still in the California Assembly. When Condit's career came under a cloud because of his extramarital affair with murdered intern Chandra Levy, Cardoza ran against him in the 2002 Democratic primary and won. Cardoza then faced Republican State Senator Dick Monteith in the November election. This race was considered to be the only potentially competitive House contest in California; redistricting after the 2000 census gave most of the state's 53 congresspersons safe districts. However, the Democratic-controlled state legislature had been concerned about a growing Republican trend in the 18th even before Condit's career imploded. The district and its predecessors had been in Democratic hands since 1955. The legislature shifted a Republican-leaning portion of eastern Stanislaus County to the heavily Republican 19th District. They replaced it with a mostly Democratic spur in and around Stockton, which gave the district a plurality of Latino voters. Cardoza defeated Monteith, 51 percent to 43 percent. He has been reelected four times against only nominal opposition.

Cardoza is considered a conservative Democrat by California standards, which is typical for Democrats from the Central Valley. However, his voting record is slightly more liberal than that of Condit. During the 109th Congress, Cardoza was a co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate to conservative House Democrats of which Condit was a founding member. He was a member of the Resources Committee, Agriculture Committee, and International Relations Committee.

For the 112th Congress, Cardoza sits on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, as well as the Agriculture Committee where he is ranking member of the Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Subcommittee. He remains a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, but his co-chairmanship has been assumed by Congressman Mike Ross.

Media accounts suggest that Cardoza's decision to retire stemmed from the 2012 redistricting map, which substantially altered his district.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
  • Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry
• Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
  • Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Hispanic Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• Moderate Democratic Caucus
• Sportsmen's Caucus

External links

• U.S. Representative Dennis Cardoza official U.S. House site
• Dennis Cardoza Our Congressman official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Profile at SourceWatch

Political offices
Preceded by Sal Cannella	California State Assemblyman, 26th District 1996–2002	Succeeded by Greg Aghazarian
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Gary Condit	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 18th congressional district 2003–present	Succeeded by Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Michael Burgess R-Texas	United States Representatives by seniority 201st	Succeeded by John Carter R-Texas