Russ Carnahan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Russ Carnahan
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Dick Gephardt |
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Member of the Missouri House of Representatives
from the 59th district |
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| In office January 2001 – January 2005 |
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| Succeeded by | Jeanette Mott Oxford |
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| Born | July 10, 1958 Columbia, Missouri |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Debra Carnahan |
| Residence | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Alma mater | University of Missouri - Columbia |
| Occupation | attorney |
| Religion | Methodist |
John Russell "Russ" Carnahan (born July 10, 1958) is an American politician and a member of the Democratic party from the state of Missouri. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in November 2004 to represent Missouri's 3rd congressional district (map). The district includes the southern third of St. Louis and most of that city's southern suburbs.
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[edit] Biography
John Russell Carnahan was born on July 10, 1958 in Columbia, Missouri[1] and raised in Rolla, Missouri[2], Carnahan is the son of the late Mel Carnahan, a former Missouri governor and posthumously a U.S. Senator-elect, and Jean Carnahan, a former U.S. Senator. He is a recipient of the Eagle Scout award. His sister, Robin Carnahan was elected as Missouri Secretary of State in 2004; brother Randy was killed in the same plane crash that claimed his father. Russ Carnahan received a bachelor's degree and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Missouri–Columbia. He worked as a private practice attorney prior to entering politics.
Carnahan is a member of the New Democrat Coalition.
[edit] Election history
Carnahan's first run for political office was in 1990, when he ran an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in the 8th district against then-Rep. Bill Emerson, losing by a margin of 57% to 43%. He then moved to St. Louis, where in 2000 he was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives. He narrowly defeated political activist Jeanette Mott Oxford in the Democratic primary election[3]by a scant 64 votes, but went on to win the general election by a wide margin.[4] He was re-elected to the Missouri House in 2002.
In 2004, Carnahan ran for the 3rd district seat in the U.S. House, which was being vacated by retiring Representative, former House Democratic Leader and co-founder of the New Democratic Coalition Dick Gephardt. Carnahan narrowly won a ten-candidate Democratic primary election in 2004 with 22.9% of the vote, finishing less than 1,800 votes ahead of his nearest rival, political activist Jeff Smith, who garnered 21.3%. In the general election Carnahan faced Republican candidate William J. Federer, an author and Religious Right activist, who had previously run against Gephardt on several occasions. The election was somewhat closer than expected. However, St. Louis' strong Democratic tilt (a Republican has not represented this district or its predecessors since 1949) helped Carnahan win with 53 percent of the vote. The district reverted to form in 2006, and Carnahan was easily reelected with 65% of the vote.
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | |||||
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| 2004 | Russ Carnahan | 146,894 | 52.9% | Bill Federer | 125,422 | 45.1% | Kevin C. Babcock | Libertarian | 4,367 | 1.6% | William J. Renaud | Constitution | 1,222 | 0.4% | * | ||||
| 2006 | Russ Carnahan | 145,219 | 65.6% | David Bertelsen | 70,189 | 31.7% | R. Christophel | Libertarian | 4,213 | 1.7% | David Sladky | Progressive | 1,827 | 0.8% |
[edit] Congressional record
Carnahan introduced a law designed to force oil companies to pay their fair share of taxes in 2006 and co-authored a bill that would combat methamphetamine use through education research and proactive prevention.
[edit] Committee assignments
- Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Committee on Science and Technology
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
[edit] References
- ^ "Carnahan, Russ - Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. U.S. House of Representatives. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C001060.
- ^ "Biography". Congressman Russ Carnahan Congressional website. http://carnahan.house.gov/biography.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-08-31.
- ^ "State of Missouri Primary Election — Tuesday, August 08, 2000". Election Night Reporting. State of Missouri. http://www.sos.mo.gov/enrweb/raceresults.asp?eid=13&oid=3817&arc=1.
- ^ "Official Election Returns, State of Missouri General Election, Tuesday, November 07, 2000". Election Night Reporting. State of Missouri. http://www.sos.mo.gov/enrweb/raceresults.asp?eid=14&oid=4122&arc=1.
- ^ "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-03-17.
[edit] External links
- U.S. Congressman Russ Carnahan official site
- 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
- Russ Carnahan for Congress official campaign site
- Russ Carnahan Campaign Blog
| United States House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by Dick Gephardt |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 3rd congressional district 2005–Present |
Incumbent |
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