John Barrow (U.S. politician)
- This article is about the U.S. politician John Barrow. For other uses see John Barrow.
| John Barrow | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 12th district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Max Burns |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 31, 1955 Athens, Georgia |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | divorced |
| Residence | Athens, Georgia (2003-2006) Savannah, Georgia (2006-present) |
| Alma mater | University of Georgia, Harvard University |
| Occupation | attorney |
| Religion | Baptist |
John Jenkins Barrow (born October 31, 1955) is the U.S. Representative for Georgia's 12th congressional district, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district stretches along the eastern portion of the state, from Augusta to Savannah, although redistricting in 2011 will remove Savannah from the district beginning with the 2012 election.
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[edit] Early life, education, and law career
Barrow was born in Athens, Georgia to Phyllis Jenkins and Judge James Barrow, who both served as officers during World War II.[1] His family has deep roots in the Athens area, and according to his staff he is a great great nephew of David Crenshaw Barrow Jr., for whom nearby Barrow County was named. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a political science degree in 1976. While a student, he was a member of the University's Demosthenian Literary Society. In 1979, he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard University.
After graduation, he entered private practice as a lawyer, working in that capacity until his election to public office.
[edit] Athens-Clarke County politics
Barrow was elected to the Athens City Council, representing the city's fourth district, in 1990. That same year, the voters of Athens and Clarke County voted in favor of unifying the two governments. Two years later, Barrow was able to win election to the new unified County Commission. He won re-election again in 1996 and in his final re-election in 2000, he turned away a spirited challenge from young newcomer Michael Le Houllier.
[edit] U.S. House of Representatives
[edit] Elections
- 2004
In 2004, Barrow entered the Democratic primary for Georgia's 12th District. The 12th had been one of the districts Georgia gained as a result of the 2000 United States Census. The district, with its 40% African-American population, had supposedly been drawn for a Democrat. However, Republican college professor Max Burns had won the seat in 2002 because of ethical questions surrounding the Democrat nominee, Charles "Champ" Walker, Jr. Barrow won a four-way primary and went on to defeat Burns by 52% to 48%.
- 2006
At the same time Barrow was elected, the Republicans won control of both houses of the Georgia state legislature for the first time since Reconstruction. One of their first acts was an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting that targeted Barrow and the other white Democrat in the Georgia delegation, Jim Marshall. One proposed map, seriously considered, would have drawn his home in Athens into the heavily Republican 9th District of seven-term incumbent Nathan Deal, while throwing the other half of Athens into the equally Republican 10th District of six-term incumbent Charlie Norwood.
The final plan was somewhat less ambitious, but shifted all of Athens into the 10th District. Rather than face certain defeat, Barrow moved from his ancestral home of Athens to Savannah in the newly redrawn 12th. The new 12th was slightly less Democratic than its predecessor. Although it was five points more African-American than the old 12th, it also included several Republican-leaning Savannah suburbs that had previously been in the heavily Republican 1st District. Barrow faced Burns in the general election and won by only 864 votes — the narrowest margin of any Democratic incumbent nationwide. However, he trounced Burns in Chatham and Richmond counties — home to Democratic-leaning Savannah and Augusta, respectively (as well as more than half the district's population) — by a total of over 17,000 votes.
Barrow's 2006 candidacy faced not only the mid-decade redistricting but also 2 visits by President George W. Bush to the district, campaigning by national figures on behalf of Burns (including RNC Chair Ken Mehlman and U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert) and popular Governor Sonny Perdue's reelection bid.
- 2008
In the 2008 election, Barrow faced a primary challenge from State Senator Regina Thomas, who represents a majority-black district in Savannah.[2] Barrow won the Democratic nomination nomination with 76% of the vote over Thomas with 24% of the vote, 96% of the precincts reporting.[3] He easily defeated his Republican challenger, former congressional aide John Stone, with 66% percent of the vote.[4]
- 2010
Barrow won re-election defeating Republican nominee Ray McKinney 57%-43%.[5]
- 2012
Barrow has decided to run for re-election in the newly redrawn 12th congressional district, despite the fact that the district will more heavily favor the Republican party following redistricting.
[edit] Tenure
Barrow is a Blue Dog Democrat as well as a member of the New Democrat Coalition. Based on Barrow's bill sponsorship, the GovTrack website has classified him as a centrist Democrat.[6] In 2011 he was described as “the last remaining white Democrat in the Deep South.”[7]
In November 2009, Barrow was one of 39 Democrats to vote against the Affordable Health Care for America Act.[8] In March 2010, he was one of 34 to vote against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. The bill passed the House 219-212.[9] In January 2011, Barrow voted against repealing the law.[10]
Barrow has received a 25% rating by the Human Rights Campaign,[when?] which indicates a “mixed record” on gay rights; a 75% rating from the NAACP, which indicates a “mixed record” on civil rights; 83% from U.S. Border Control, indicating a “sealed-border stance”; 25% from Americans United for Separation of Church and State, indicating a “mixed record on church-state separation”; 0% from Citizens for Tax Justice, indicating opposition to progressive tax structure; 100% from the Campaign for America's Future, indicating support for energy independence; -10 from NORML, indicating a "hard-on-drugs" stance; 36% from the National Right to Life Committee, indicating a mixed record on abortion.[11]
Barrow's voting record on abortion is mixed. In 2007, Barrow received a 100% approval rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America, a pro-choice group, and also received a 0% approval rating from the National Right to Life Committee, a pro-Life organization. However, in 2006, he received only a 35% approval rating from NARAL,[12] and in November 2009, he voted to amend the health care reform bill to prohibit private health insurance companies from offering insurance plans covering abortion to subsidized citizens except in the case of rape, incest, and life of the mother.[13]
Barrow voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.[14] He was one of 44 Democrats in the House to vote against the American Clean Energy and Security Act, also known as the cap and trade bill.[15]
In 2011, Rep. Barrow became a co-sponsor of Bill H.R.3261 otherwise known as the Stop Online Piracy Act. [16]
In April 2011, the National Journal named Barrow one of the ten most endangered Democrats.[17]
[edit] Committee assignments
[edit] Personal life
Barrow and his wife Victoria were divorced in 2005. He has two children.
[edit] References
- ^ 1. John Barrow RootsWeb
- ^ RealClearPolitics - Politics Nation - Georgia On Voters' Minds
- ^ WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | 2008 Georgia primary election results
- ^ Georgia: Election Results 2008 The New York Times, December 9, 2008
- ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=488764
- ^ "Rep. John Barrow". Civic Impulse. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=400628. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
- ^ Hirschhorn, Dan. "Georgia redistricting plan imperils John Barrow". Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/61861.html. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
- ^ http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll887.xml
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ The Washington Post. http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/112/house/1/votes/14/?hpid=artslot.
- ^ "Georgia House John Barrow". On the Issues. http://www.issues2000.org/GA/John_Barrow.htm. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
- ^ "Project Vote Smart - Representative John Barrow - Interest Group Ratings". Votesmart.org. http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=31780&type=category&category=2&go.x=11&go.y=5. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives (2009-11-07). "FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 884, Stupak of Michigan Amendment". http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll884.xml#Y.
- ^ "Voting Record". The Political Guide. http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/House/Georgia/John_Barrow/views/Debt,_Deficit,_Spending,_and_the_Size_of_Government. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
- ^ Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives (2009-06-26). "FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 477, American Clean Energy and Security Act". http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll477.xml.
- ^ Bill H.R.3261; GovTrack.us;
- ^ Wasserman, David. "Top 10 Most Endangered Democrats". National Journal. http://www.nationaljournal.com/top-10-most-endangered-democrats-20110420. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
[edit] External links
- U.S. Congressman John Barrow official House site
- John Barrow 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
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- 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
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Max Burns |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 12th congressional district January 3, 2005–Present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by G. K. Butterfield D-North Carolina |
United States Representatives by seniority 229th |
Succeeded by Dan Boren D-Oklahoma |
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- 1955 births
- Living people
- People from Athens, Georgia
- Baptists from the United States
- Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats
- Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers
- Harvard Law School alumni
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state)
- University of Georgia alumni
- Georgia (U.S. state) city council members
