Melissa Hart
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Not to be confused with Melissa Joan Hart.
| Melissa Hart | |
 |
|
|
|
|
| In office January 3, 2001–January 4, 2007 |
|
| Preceded by | Ron Klink |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Jason Altmire |
|
|
|
| In office January 1, 1991–January 2, 2001 |
|
| Preceded by | John W. Regoli |
| Succeeded by | Jane Orie |
|
|
|
| Born | April 4, 1962 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Single |
| Residence | Bradford Woods, Pennsylvania |
| Alma mater | Washington and Jefferson College, University of Pittsburgh |
| Occupation | attorney |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Melissa A. Hart (born April 4, 1962) is an American politician who is a former member of the United States House of Representatives for the Fourth Congressional District of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Hart became the first Republican woman in history to represent Pennsylvania at the federal level. Prior to her Congressional tenure, Hart served in the Pennsylvania State Senate, where she chaired the finance committee. She was defeated for re-election to the 4th Congressional District in the 2006 election, and her term ended on January 3, 2007. Hart challenged Altmire again in the 2008 election, but was defeated again by a wider margin than in 2006.
Contents |
[edit] Biography and political views
Hart is an Italian-American, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[1] She graduated from North Allegheny High School and Washington and Jefferson College before entering law school.
After graduating the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and being admitted to the Bar, Hart joined a major Pittsburgh law firm.
She is Catholic and pro-life. She is also firmly opposed to federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. In January 2006, she addressed a pro-life rally in Washington, D.C., urging young pro-lifers to enter public service.
[edit] Political career
In November 2000, Hart was elected to the House of Representatives from the Fourth District of the State of Pennsylvania, winning an open seat previously held by a Democrat. She had served as a senator in the Pennsylvania Senate from 1991 to 2000. She was later appointed co-chair of the Platform Committee for the 2004 Republican National Convention. [2]
In 2002, her campaign website was praised as being among the best of the election cycle.[3]
Hart co-chaired the Republican Party platform of 2004. In 2005, Hart won an appointment on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
Hart also played an active role in the race for majority leader in early 2006. As a top whip for the successful candidacy of Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), she worked to secure votes for him in the race. She was one of a handful of GOP members who called for a full set of new leadership elections for whip, conference chair, and other offices below the majority leader position, but that motion narrowly failed the day before the majority leader race. Had this motion passed, Hart may very well have challenged Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-OH) for House Republican Conference Chairman, the No. 4 leadership spot.
In December 2002, Hart was a candidate for Conference Vice-Chair, the No. 5 leadership spot, but lost to Jack Kingston (R-GA). In a 2002 PoliticsPA feature story designating politicians with yearbook superlatives, he was named the "Most Likely to Succeed."[4]
[edit] 2006 election
As the 2006 campaign season approached, Hart's congressional seat was not considered vulnerable, and Hart herself was described in media accounts as a "rising star" in Republican politics, who had never lost an election and who had demonstrated a unique ability to appeal to non-conservative voters even while maintaining a generally conservative voting record.[5] In late 2005, her predecessor in the House of Representatives, Democrat Ron Klink, publicly mulled over the possibility of challenging Hart for his old seat. However, in late December, Klink announced that he would not run. Jason Altmire, a 38-year-old health care executive and political unknown (and, by coincidence, a neighbor of Hart's brother, [6]) ultimately won the Democratic nomination for the seat.
For most of 2006, the Altmire campaign was viewed as a long shot, however, in the last weeks of the campaign his poll numbers surged, while Hart's dropped. A Susquehanna poll conducted in October 2006 showed Hart with what was then a surprisingly narrow 46%-42% lead over Altmire. [7]. Altmire's continued to climb as Hart's stalled, and five days before the November 7, 2006 election, the Cook Political Report altered its rating of the race from "Likely Republican" to "Toss up." [8]
On Election Day, Altmire was elected by a margin of 52%-48%[9].
Hart's was part of a generalized Republican meltdown in Pennsylvania that saw the defeat of three other incumbent Republican members of Congress, Democratic victories for the U. S. Senate and governor, and Democratic gains in the state legislature.
[edit] 2008 election
Hart announced in July 2007 that she would run against Altmire in 2008. Despite speculation that retired athlete and former Gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann would run for the seat[10], Hart was unopposed for the Republican nomination.[11] In the general election, she was again defeated by Altmire, this time by a much larger margin.
[edit] References
- ^ Order Sons of Italy in America
- ^ Remarks by The Honorable Melissa Hart, Co-Chair of the 2004 Platform Committee, as Prepared for Delivery at the 2004 Republican National Convention August 30, 2004. Retrieved February 10, 2008
- ^ Drulis, Michael (2002). "Best & Worst Websites". PoliticsPA. The Publius Group. Archived from the original on 2002-10-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20021017215729/www.politicspa.com/FEATURES/websites.htm.
- ^ "Keystone State Yearbook Committee". PoliticsPA. The Publius Group. 2001. Archived from the original on 2002-08-31. http://web.archive.org/web/20020803170058/www.politicspa.com/yearbookcommittee.htm.
- ^ Hart GOP's rising star Brown, David M. Pittsburgh Tribune Review September 11, 2005
- ^ http://www.politicspa.com/FEATURES/Interviews/hart.htm
- ^ kdka.com - New Poll Shows Hart-Altmire Race Is A Dead-Heat
- ^ http://www.coldheartedtruth.com/index.php/Senate/2006/10/06/latest_house_polling_chart_2?template=popup
- ^ CNN.com - Elections 2006
- ^ 88 in '08?
- ^ Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Unofficial List of Candidates
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Melissa Hart |
- Official Campaign site
- Melissa Hart at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by the Washington Post
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ronald Klink |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district 2001–2007 |
Succeeded by Jason Altmire |
| Pennsylvania State Senate | ||
| Preceded by John W. Regoli |
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 40th District 1991–2001 |
Succeeded by Jane Orie |
