Mike DeWine
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| Richard Michael "Mike" DeWine | |
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| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Howard Metzenbaum |
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| Succeeded by | Sherrod Brown |
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| In office 1991–1994 |
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| Governor | George Voinovich |
| Preceded by | Paul Leonard |
| Succeeded by | Nancy Hollister |
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| In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1991 |
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| Preceded by | Clarence J. "Bud" Brown Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Dave Hobson |
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| Born | January 5, 1947 Springfield, Ohio |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Frances Struewing |
| Residence | Cedarville, Ohio |
| Alma mater | Miami University (B.S.) Ohio Northern University (J.D.) |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Richard Michael "Mike" DeWine (born January 5, 1947) is a former two-term Republican senator from Ohio, serving from 1995 to 2007.
Born in Springfield, Ohio, to Jean and Richard L. DeWine,[1] DeWine lives in Cedarville, Ohio but grew up in neighboring Yellow Springs, Ohio. DeWine earned his Bachelor of Science degree in education from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 1969 and a Juris Doctor from Ohio Northern University in 1972.
On July 22, 2009, DeWine announced his candidacy for Attorney General of the state of Ohio.[2]
He and his wife Frances have had eight children, one of whom died in an automobile accident in 1993. Current Hamilton County, Ohio Common Pleas Court Judge R. Patrick DeWine is Mike DeWine's son. Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine (R-Fairborn) is DeWine's second cousin.
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[edit] Political career
At age 25, DeWine started working as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Greene County, Ohio, and in 1976 was elected County Prosecutor. In 1980 he was elected to the Ohio State Senate and served one term.
Only two years later, 7th District Congressman Bud Brown retired after 26 years in Congress; his father, Clarence Brown, Sr., had held the seat for 26 years before that. DeWine won the Republican nomination, assuring him of election in November. He was reelected three more times from this district, which stretches from his home in Springfield to the Columbus suburbs. He even ran unopposed in 1986 during what is regarded as a bad year for Republicans nationally.
DeWine gave up his seat in 1990 to run for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio as the running mate of George Voinovich. The Voinovich-DeWine ticket was easily elected.
In 1992, DeWine unsuccessfully ran against the former astronaut and incumbent Senator John Glenn. His campaign used the phrase, "What on earth has John Glenn done?"[3].
In 1994, DeWine ran for the United States Senate, defeating prominent attorney Joel Hyatt (the son-in-law of the then-incumbent U.S. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum) by a solid 14-point margin, largely on the coattails of Voinovich's landslide reelection bid for governor. DeWine was reelected in 2000, defeating former U.S. Rep. Frank Cremeans in the primary and Ted Celeste (brother of former Ohio Gov. Dick Celeste) in the general election.
DeWine was defeated in the 2006 midterm elections by Democrat Sherrod Brown.
On July 22, 2009, DeWine announced his intention to run for Attorney General of the State of Ohio.[4]
[edit] Political positions
[edit] Social issues
DeWine is known for his pro-life voting record. In the Senate, he wrote the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. The bill prohibits violent acts against unborn babies to be disregarded under federal law.[5]
DeWine sponsored the Federal Marriage Amendment but opposed State Issue 1, Ohio's Defense of Marriage Amendment, due to the technical wording of the measure, which he felt would restrict the rights of heterosexual partnerships as well.[citation needed]
In 2004 DeWine co-sponsored an amendment to renew the ban on common semi-automatic weapons[6]. He was one of only two Republican senators to vote against the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act [7], which banned lawsuits against gun manufacturers, distributors and dealers for criminal misuse of their products.
DeWine has also broken with his party on issues such as funding for Head Start programs,[citation needed] the federal minimum wage[citation needed] and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).[8]
After President George W. Bush nominated White House Counsel Harriet Miers on October 3, 2005, for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, DeWine said "I think the fact she doesn't have judicial experience will add to the diversity of the Supreme Court... There is no reason everyone has to have that same (judicial) background."[9] Opposition from conservative groups unhappy with Miers' resume ultimately sank her nomination.
[edit] Other Issues
DeWine sponsored the "Stars on Cars" legislation, which appeared in the 2005 highway bill. The rule requires that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration star safety rating information be displayed on part of the window sticker on new cars beginning with the 2008 model year.[10]
[edit] Senate Committees
DeWine sat on both the Senate Judiciary and Select Intelligence committees.
[edit] 2006 bid for re-election
DeWine faced conservative Republican challengers William G. Pierce and David R. Smith for the nomination of the Republican Party in the May 2006 primary. DeWine won with 71.82% of the votes.[11]
DeWine's Democratic opponent in the November 2006 general election was 13th District Congressman Sherrod Brown, who won 78.05% of Democrats' votes in the primary, defeating truck driver Merrill Samuel Keiser, Jr.[12] Iraq War veteran Paul Hackett dropped out of the Democratic race earlier in the election cycle.
Most political watchers believed DeWine was one of the Senate's most vulnerable incumbents in the 2006 elections. Democrats poured resources into the Ohio race due to considerable anger at corruption in the Bob Taft administration. In addition, many conservative Republicans felt that DeWine was too "liberal" and "out of touch with conservative values" for their liking.
At first, the GOP worked hard to keep DeWine in office. However, according to an article in the October 16, 2006, edition of The New York Times, top Republican officials on the national level determined that DeWine would probably be defeated and moved financial support from his race to other Republican senatorial candidates they felt were more likely to win.[13]
DeWine lost by a margin of almost 12%, as below:
| 2006 United States Senate election, Ohio | |||||
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| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Sherrod Brown | 2,138,432 | 55.88% | +20.01% | |
| Republican | Mike DeWine (incumbent) | 1,686,857 | 44.08% | -15.82% | |
| Independent | Richard Duncan | 1,540 | 0.04% | n/a | |
| Majority | 451,575 | 11.8% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | Swing | ||||
DeWine did well in most of his home region of western Ohio, but Brown dominated almost all of the eastern half of the state, along with the Lake Erie shore out to Toledo.[14]
[edit] Post-Senate Career
DeWine accepted positions teaching government courses at Cedarville University, Ohio Northern University and Miami University. In 2007, he joined the law firm Keating Muething & Klekamp as corporate investigations group co-chair.[15] He also advised the Ohio campaign of John McCain's 2008 presidential bid.[16]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ 1
- ^ http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/greenecountynews/entries/2009/07/22/dewine_launches_bid_for_attorn.html
- ^ Clifford Krauss "In Big Re-election Fight, Glenn Tests Hero Image". New York Times. 1992-10-15. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE7D81E3EF936A25753C1A964958260. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
- ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gj3ge8erzB5Oz5v565IOO1ALC6uQD99JHKS80
- ^ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,115189,00.html
- ^ "Senate considers protecting gunmakers". Associated Press. 2004-02-25. http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/02/25/senate.guns.ap/index.html. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
- ^ "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109th Congress — 1st Session — Vote Summary on Passage of S. 397, As Amended". U.S. Senate. 2005-07-29. http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00219. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
- ^ "Mike DeWine OntheIssues". http://ontheissues.org/Senate/Mike_DeWine.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- ^ The Enquirer - This article is no longer available
- ^ http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/template.MAXIMIZE/menuitem.f2217bee37fb302f6d7c121046108a0c/?javax.portlet.tpst=1e51531b2220b0f8ea14201046108a0c_ws_MX&javax.portlet.prp_1e51531b2220b0f8ea14201046108a0c_viewID=detail_view&itemID=1b4d409cc648d010VgnVCM1000002c567798RCRD&pressReleaseYearSelect=2006
- ^ 2006 Election Results
- ^ 2006 Election Results, retrieved 11/7/06.
- ^ Adam Nagourney, "In Final Weeks, G.O.P. Focuses on Best Bets", The New York Times, October 16, 2006.
- ^ CNN.com - Elections 2006
- ^ Eaton, Sabrina (2007-05-05). "Mike DeWine joins Cincinnati law firm". The Plain Dealer. http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2007/05/former_ohio_gop_sen_mike.html. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
- ^ Riskind, Jonathan (2007-01-10). "DeWine to start teaching two courses on politics". Columbus Dispatch. http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/01/10/20070110-C2-02.html. Retrieved 2007-01-10.
[edit] External links
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Clarence J. "Bud" Brown Jr. |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 7th congressional district 1983–1991 |
Succeeded by Dave Hobson |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Paul R. Leonard |
Lieutenant Governor of Ohio 1991–1994 |
Succeeded by Nancy P. Hollister |
| United States Senate | ||
| Preceded by Howard M. Metzenbaum |
United States Senator (Class 1) from Ohio 1995–2007 Served alongside: John Glenn, George Voinovich |
Succeeded by Sherrod Brown |
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