Mike Ross

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Mike Ross
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2001
Preceded by	Jay Dickey
Born	August 2, 1961 (1961-08-02) (age 47) Texarkana, Arkansas
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Holly Ross
Residence	Prescott, Arkansas
Alma mater	University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Occupation	Former Small Business Owner
Religion	Methodist

Michael Avery “Mike” Ross (born August 2, 1961) is an American politician. He has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 2001, representing the 4th District of Arkansas (map). In the 2000 election, he was the only Democrat outside of California to defeat a Republican incumbent. In the 2004 election and the 2008 election, the Republican Party did not run a challenger against him, though in 2008 he did face a Green Party candidate.

[edit] Personal and professional life

Ross was born in Texarkana, Arkansas, the son of two teachers, and he attended high school in Hope, Arkansas. He was educated at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, working his way through college as a local radio announcer. Together with his wife, Ross owned a pharmacy in Prescott, Arkansas, which they sold in May 2007. The Ross family has two children and attend the First United Methodist Church of Prescott.

Before entering the House, Ross served as Chief of staff to then Lieutenant Governor Winston Bryant from 1985 to 1989. In 1990, Ross was elected to the Arkansas State Senate becoming the legislature's youngest member at that time; he served for ten years until his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000.

[edit] Congressional career

Ross is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, and he considers himself a social moderate and fiscal conservative. Ross supports stem cell research but opposes abortion. He also is against gun control, and is one of the few Democratic members of Congress to earn an A+ rating from the National Rife Association's Political Victory Fund.^{[1] [2]}

Ross won a narrow victory against incumbent Jay Dickey in 2000 by portraying himself as a moderate, as is in line with the political tendencies of his district. In contrast, Dickey was seen as a controversial conservative because of his comments on stem cell research and homosexuality. Ross easily defeated Dickey in a 2002 rematch, then ran unopposed in 2004. He picked up an easy victory in the 2006 election, defeating the similarly named Republican, real estate executive Joe Ross, 75 percent-25 percent. In the 2008 election, Ross had no Republican opponent but did face Hot Springs lawyer and Green Party candidate Joshua Drake, who he beat with a decisive 87% of the vote.

Ross considered running for the position of Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman for the 110th Congress; however, he deferred to incumbent John Larson after Rahm Emanuel chose to run for caucus chair, which is the position for which Larson had been running.^[3].

[edit] Committee assignments

• Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Environment
  • Subcommittee on Health
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
• Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment
  • Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
• NATO Parliamentary Assembly

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Congressman Mike Ross official U.S. House website
• Congressman Mike Ross official campaign website

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia