Todd Akin
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Todd Akin
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Jim Talent |
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| Born | July 5, 1947 New York City, New York |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Lulli Akin |
| Residence | Town and Country, Missouri |
| Alma mater | Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Covenant Theological Seminary |
| Occupation | engineer, plant manager |
| Religion | Presbyterian Church in America |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Army National Guard |
| Years of service | 1972-1980 |
| Unit | Missouri |
W. Todd Akin (born July 5, 1947), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 2001, representing Missouri's 2nd congressional district (map). The district includes the western and northwestern suburbs of St. Louis.
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[edit] Biography
Born in New York City, Akin later moved to St. Louis, and attended John Burroughs School. After graduating, he attended the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he earned a degree in Management Engineering, and in 1984, he earned a Master of Divinity degree at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis. From 1972 to 1980, he served in the Missouri National Guard.[1] After his military career, he took up work at IBM as an engineer, and he later became a manager at Laclede Steel. Akin was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives representing western St. Louis County in 1988. He was re-elected five times.
In 2000, US Representative Jim Talent did not seek re-election because he was running for Governor of Missouri. Akin won a closely contested Republican primary election to replace Talent, defeating former St. Louis County Executive Gene McNary and Missouri State Senator Franc Flotron.[2] He defeated Missouri Senator Ted House in the general election, winning 55% of the vote.[3]
He is currently a member of the Armed Services Committee, Science Committee, and Small Business Committee. In 2009 he was named the Ranking Member of the Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over all Navy and Marine Corps procurement.
Akin lives in Town and Country, a wealthy suburb west of St. Louis. However, he is listed on the House roll as "R-St. Louis." This may be because many areas of the St. Louis County portion of the district (including one of his district offices) have St. Louis addresses even though the district does not include any portion of St. Louis itself.
[edit] Views
As a state representative, Akin earned a reputation as one of the most conservative members of the Republican caucus. Akin was an outspoken opponent of abortion and embryonic stem cell research, a supporter of the right to keep and bear arms, and is generally opposed to increases in taxation and spending. As a Congressman, he has continued to support these views, earning a 100% rating from the American Conservative Union in 2005, and a 92% in 2006.
Akin is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker. In 2006, he cosponsored H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act[4] and H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.[5]
[edit] Committee assignments
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- U.S. Congressman Todd Akin 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
- Todd Akin for Congress official campaign site
| United States House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by Jim Talent |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 2nd congressional district 2001– |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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