Rodney Alexander

Rodney Alexander
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 5th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2003
Preceded by	John Cooksey
Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the 13th district
In office 1988–2002
Preceded by	Mike Tinnerello
Succeeded by	James R. Fannin
Jackson Parish Police Juror
In office 1972–1988
Personal details
Born	Rodney McKinnie Alexander (1946-12-05) December 5, 1946 Bienville, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, USA
Political party	Democratic (1988–2004) Republican (2004– present)
Spouse(s)	Nancy Sutton Alexander
Children	three
Residence	Quitman, Jackson Parish, Louisiana
Alma mater	Jonesboro-Hodge High School Louisiana Tech University University of Louisiana at Monroe
Occupation	Insurance agent
Religion	Southern Baptist
Military service
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1965–1971
Unit	Reserves

Rodney McKinnie Alexander (born December 5, 1946) is the U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 5th congressional district, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district covers twenty-two parishes in roughly the northeast quadrant of the state. As of the start of the 112th Congress, he is the dean of Louisiana's House delegation.

Early life, education and career

Alexander was born in the village of Bienville, in Bienville Parish to the former Mary Crawford and James Earl Alexander. In 1964, he graduated from Jonesboro-Hodge High School in Jonesboro in Jackson Parish. He then attended Louisiana Tech University but left school to work for his family construction company so his wife could earn a degree.

Alexander was an insurance agent prior to entering Congress. He also owned a construction company from 1964–1981. He served his country in the U.S. Air Force Reserve from 1965–1971.^{[citation needed]} He was a member of the Jackson Parish Police Jury (equivalent to county commission in other states) from 1972–1988.

Alexander left the police jury to represent District 13 in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1988 until his election to Congress. While in the House, he served as the chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee. In this position, Alexander shepherded through the Louisiana Children’s Health Insurance Program (LaCHIP) legislation, which assists mothers and children with basic health care and insurance needs.

Alexander took college courses on and off for 45 years. When the University of Louisiana at Monroe started offering online courses, Alexander took the online classes for two years and graduated with a general studies degree from ULM in 2009. d

U.S. House of Representatives

Alexander won his seat in 2002 as a Democrat, but ran in 2004 as a Republican, changing parties only three months before the election.

At the commencement of the 111th Congress, Alexander received new subcommittee assignments including the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS), and he retained his seat on the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administrations, and Related Agencies (Agriculture). Alexander’s Interest group ratings are high in pro-life, agriculture, budgeting and business. He has very low ratings by the NAACP and ACLU and other civil rights oriented groups or groups for minorities. Alexander also has low ratings by environmental groups. His recent speeches include “Party of Paychecks” were he speaks on the nations food-stamp necessity increase and speaks against "out-of-control government spending" and unemployment. Many of Alexander’s other speeches include warning against tax increases, as well as religious freedom and prayer in public.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
  • Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Vice Chair)

Caucus membership

• Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans
• Congressional Diabetes Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• Republican Study Committee
• Sportsmen's Caucus
• Tea Party Caucus

Interest Group Ratings

Alexander has received favorable ratings from pro-life groups such as the Right to Life Committee and received low ratings from pro-choice groups such as Planned Parenthood. Alexander has also received favorable reviews from business groups such as the Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business. In addition he has strong support from agricultural groups such as the American Farm Bureau Federation which gave him a 100% rating in 2011 and the Sportsman and Animal Owners Voting Alliance. Alexander has been given low ratings by civil rights groups such as the NAACP and the ACLU as well as environmental groups like the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund.

Endorsements

Alexander is endorsed by Americans for Legal Immigration, Louisiana National Federation of Independent Business, National Federation of Independent Business, Chamber of Commerce, and National Rifle Association. On September the National Federation for Independent Business named Alexander a “Guardian of Small Business” to acknowledge his strong voting record in favor of small businesses.

Recent Voting Record

Alexander's voting record shows a history of voting against tax law amendments on a variety of matters. He has also voted “Nay” on many extensions for relief or aid, regulations, and has voted “Yay” to prohibition of tax increase. In 2012 he voted for several pro-business, anti-environmental bills such as the Stop the War on Coal Act and the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act. He has also voted to support small business through the Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Job Creation Act. Cumulatively, Alexander has missed 266 of 7521 roll call votes during his time in office. This 4% miss rate is slightly higher than the national median of 2.5%.

Political campaigns

Alexander was first elected to Congress in 2002 as a Democrat. On August 4, 2004, he registered to run as a Democrat, but changed his registration to republican two days later. He then defeated fellow Republican Jock Scott of Alexandria in the open primary that November</ref name=econ>. In 2006, he defeated the Democrat Gloria Williams Hearn, wife of the psychologist George E. Hearn of Pineville, Louisiana.

2010

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Louisiana, 2010#District 5

Alexander defeated Richard Todd Slavant of Monroe in the Republican closed primary by a margin of nearly 9-1. He faced Independent Tom Gibbs, Jr., of Ouachita Parish in the November 2 general election and won easily. No Democratic candidate had filed for the position, once held by such long-serving party members as Jerry Huckaby and Otto Passman.

Alexander joined the Tea Party Caucus during this campaign.

2012

Alexander drew two last-minute challengers in his successful 2012 bid for a sixth term in the U.S. House. Alexander handily prevailed with 202,531 votes (77.8 percent). The Libertarian Clay Steven Grant received 20,194 votes (7.8 percent), and the No-Party candidate, Ron Ceasar, polled 37,486 votes (14.4 percent).

2012 Campaign Finance

During the 2012 election Alexander’s campaign raised a total of $1,235,114. $942,083 were spent leaving the campaign with a surplus of $295,079 and no debt. Major contributors to Alexander’s campaign came from a variety of business interests including the crop production industry, the oil and gas industry, commercial banks, and general contractors. Top individual contributors include Adams and Reese, the Livingston Group, O’Neal Gas, and Kadav Inc.

Personal life

Alexander's wife, the former Nancy Sutton, is a long-time educator. They have three children and several grandchildren.

On January 30, 2010, Alexander, along with the late Charlton Lyons of Shreveport, former state Representative Risley C. Triche of Napoleonville, and former State Senator Randy Ewing, also of Jackson Parish, was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield.

External links

• Congressman Rodney Alexander official U.S. House site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• 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
• Profile at SourceWatch
• Story on Alexander's Party Switch
• http://www.enlou.com/officeholders/housedistrict13.htm
• http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070103/NEWS01/701030329
• http://www.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcms2&rqsdta=110502

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by John Cooksey	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 5th congressional district 2003–present	Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Joe Wilson R-South Carolina	United States Representatives by seniority 146th	Succeeded by Rob Bishop R-Utah
Louisiana House of Representatives
Preceded by Mike Tinnerello	Louisiana State Representative from Jackson Parish 1988–2002	Succeeded by James R. Fannin