Kevin McCarthy (California politician)
| Kevin McCarthy | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| House Majority Whip | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2011 |
|
| Leader | Eric Cantor |
| Speaker | John Boehner |
| Preceded by | Jim Clyburn |
| Republican Chief Deputy Whip of the United States House of Representatives | |
| In office January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011 |
|
| Whip | Eric Cantor |
| Preceded by | Eric Cantor |
| Succeeded by | Peter Roskam |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 23rd district |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2013 |
|
| Preceded by | Lois Capps |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 22nd district |
|
| In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2013 |
|
| Preceded by | Bill Thomas |
| Succeeded by | Devin Nunes |
| Minority Leader of the California State Assembly | |
| In office January 5, 2004 – April 17, 2006 |
|
| Preceded by | Dave Cox |
| Succeeded by | George Plescia |
| Member of the California State Assembly from the 32nd district |
|
| In office December 2, 2002 – November 30, 2006 |
|
| Preceded by | Roy Ashburn |
| Succeeded by | Jean Fuller |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 26, 1965 Bakersfield, California |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Judy McCarthy |
| Children | Connor Meghan |
| Residence | Bakersfield, California |
| Alma mater | California State University, Bakersfield |
| Religion | Baptist |
| Website | Congressman Kevin McCarthy Majority Whip website |
Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is the Majority Whip of the United States House of Representatives, having served in that position since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he is a U.S. Congressman for California's 23rd congressional district. The district includes most of Bakersfield, as well as most of the Antelope Valley. He previously served two terms in the California State Assembly, including two years as the Republican Floor Leader.
Contents |
Early life, education and career [edit]
Born in Bakersfield, California, McCarthy is a fourth-generation resident of Kern County. He proudly boasted in one of his first assembly commercials that "Jeremiah McCarthy's house still stands." McCarthy opened his first business, Kevin O's Deli after winning a few thousand dollars from a lottery ticket (which McCarthy describes as "Subway before there was Subway"), at the age of 19.[1] McCarthy sold the deli to raise money to go to California State University, Bakersfield, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in marketing in 1989 and Master of Business Administration in 1994. McCarthy ran several other small businesses prior to his entry into the political field.
In 1995 McCarthy served as Chairman of the California Young Republicans, Inc. McCarthy has opposed efforts to merge the California Young Republicans with a group called the Young Republican Federation of California. In 1993, the California Young Republican faction split into two factions, the California Young Republicans, led by the Kern County GOP organization, headed by Bill Thomas and the Young Republican Faction of California, which was composed of more conservative members critical of the Kern County leadership. In 2012, the lawsuit from sides supporting the McCarthy position was thrown out in a Los Angeles court and both entities merged.
From 1999 to 2001 McCarthy served as Chairman of the Young Republican National Federation. During this time he supported former Santa Barbara Assemblyman Brooks Firestone for California Vice-Chairman and Chairman of the California Republican Party.
From the late 1990s until 2002, McCarthy served as the District Director for U.S. Congressman Bill Thomas, the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
U.S. House of Representatives [edit]
Committee assignments [edit]
Party leadership [edit]
- Majority Whip (2011–present)
- Chief Deputy Republican Whip (2009–2011)
- House Republican Steering Committee
As a freshman, McCarthy was appointed to the Republican Steering Committee. In 2008, Republican Leader John Boehner asked him to serve as Chairman of the Republican Platform Committee during the committee's meetings in Minneapolis in August 2008, which produced the Republican Party Platform for 2008. McCarthy is also one of the three founding members of the GOP Young Guns Program.
After the 2008 elections, McCarthy was chosen as Chief Deputy Minority Whip, the highest-ranking appointed position in the House Republican Caucus. His predecessor, Eric Cantor, was named Minority Whip. On November 17, 2010, he was selected by the House Republican Caucus to be the House Majority Whip in the 112th Congress. In this post, he is the third-ranking House Republican, behind Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Cantor.
After President Barack Obama's Inauguration Speech on January 21, 2013, McCarthy was interviewed on CBS This Morning where he said, "I was hopeful that you'd hear more bipartisanship, I was hoping that we would have a second term different than the first term."[2]
House campaigns [edit]
2006 [edit]
McCarthy entered the Republican primary for the 22nd—the real contest in this heavily Republican district—after his former boss, Thomas, announced his retirement. He won the general election with 70.7% of the vote.
2008 [edit]
McCarthy won unopposed.
2010 [edit]
McCarthy won virtually unopposed, winning 98.8% of the vote, with opposition coming only from a write-in candidate.
McCarthy authored H.R. 1581 Wilderness and Roadless Area Release Act of 2011 (Introduced in House - IH) Releases wilderness study areas administered and forest service road-less areas currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management from protection. The bill was widely opposed by environmentalists and died in committee.
Personal life [edit]
McCarthy and his wife Judy have two children. They are lifelong residents of Bakersfield.[3]
In 2000, McCarthy was elected as a Trustee on the Kern Community College District Board.[3] McCarthy also served on the Board of Directors for Community Action Partnership of Kern.[4]
References [edit]
- ^ http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/278472/young-guns-take-facebook-laura-nichols
- ^ McCarthy, Kevin (2012-01-22). "GOP: Where Was Obama's Outreach in Inaugural Speech?". CBSNews.
- ^ a b "Biography". Office of Congressman Kevin McCarthy.
- ^ "Community Action Partnership of Kern". Capk.org. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
External links [edit]
- Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy official leadership site
- Congressman Kevin McCarthy official House site
- Kevin McCarthy for Congress official campaign site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Profile at Ballotpedia
- Congressional profile at GovTrack
- Congressional profile at OpenCongress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Financial information (federal office) at OpenSecrets.org
- Staff salaries, trips and personal finance (federal office) at LegiStorm.com
- Financial information (state office) at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
- Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
- Voting record at The Washington Post
- Appearances on C-SPAN programs
- Collected news and commentary at The Washington Post
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
