Leonard Boswell
Leonard L. Boswell (b. October 30, 1957) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing Iowa's 3rd Congressional District. He died on August 17, 2018.[1]
Boswell was first elected to the House in 1996. Bowell ran for re-election in 2012 and ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on June 5, 2012. He lost to Republican incumbent from the 4th District Tom Latham in the general election on November 6, 2012.[2]
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Boswell was a "centrist Democrat."[3]
Biography
Boswell was born in 1934 in Harrison County, Missouri, and was raised in Lamoni, Iowa, where he also attended high school. He earned his B.A. from Graceland College in 1969 and served in the U.S. Army from 1956-1976.[4]
Career
Below is an abbreviated outline of Boswell's professional and political career:[4]
- 1997-2013: U.S. House of Representatives, Iowa's 3rd Congressional District
- 1979-1993: Board of Directors of the Local Farmer’s Cooperative
- 1984-1996: Iowa State Senate
- 1956-1976: U.S. Army
Prior to his political career, Boswell worked as a farmer.
Committee assignments
U.S. House
2011-2012
Boswell served on the following House committees:[5]
- Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
- Subcommittee on Aviation
- Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
- Agriculture Committee
- Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Ranking Member
Issues
Specific votes
Fiscal Cliff
Boswell voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was one of 172 Democrats who voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257 - 167 vote on January 1, 2013.[6]
Elections
2012
Boswell ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Iowa's 3rd District. Boswell won the nomination for re-election on the Democratic ticket.[7] Because of redistricting, Boswell faced 4th District Republican incumbent Tom Latham in the general election, and lost. Boswell ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Latham ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Candidates wishing to run were required to file by the signature filing deadline of March 16, 2012. The primary elections took place on June 5, 2012. Boswell was considered one the vulnerable incumbents.[8]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Tom Latham Incumbent |
52.3% | 202,000 | |
| Democratic | Leonard Boswell | 43.7% | 168,632 | |
| Independent | David Rosenfeld | 1.6% | 6,286 | |
| Independent | Scott G. Batcher | 2.4% | 9,352 | |
| Total Votes | 386,270 | |||
| Source: Iowa Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Race background
Boswell's general election opponent is 4th District incumbent Tom Latham. Latham moved to Clive to face Leonard Boswell in the 3rd District after his previous home in Ames was drawn into the same district as Steve King during redistricting when King's 5th District became obsolete.[9]
Boswell is an eight-term incumbent and Tom Latham is a nine-term incumbent.[10] This race was declared competitive in the New York Times race ratings in July 2012.[11]
2010
On November 2, 2010, Leonard L. Boswell won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Brad Zaun (R) and Rebecca Williamson (Socialist Workers) in the general election.[12]
| U.S. House, Iowa District 3 General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Leonard L. Boswell incumbent |
50.7% | 122,147 | |
| Republican | Brad Zaun | 46.5% | 111,925 | |
| Socialist Workers | Rebecca Williamson | 2.6% | 6,258 | |
| N/A | Write-In | 0.2% | 426 | |
| Total Votes | 240,756 | |||
Campaign themes
2012
The issues below are an outline from Boswell's campaign website.
- Agriculture
Excerpt: "We must keep Iowa's farmers fueling America and feeding the world."[13]
- Education
Excerpt: "Boswell also understands that No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is not working for many students, schools, and communities. Boswell strongly supports making substantial changes to elementary and secondary education policies in order to address the problems faced under NCLB, provide schools with the resources they need to succeed, and improve our children’s education."[14]
- Healthcare
Excerpt: "Every American deserves access to affordable, quality healthcare."[15]
- Law Enforcement
Excerpt: "Law enforcement officers fight every day to protect our communities and Congressman Leonard Boswell has carried that fight to Washington to ensure that law enforcement has the resources they need to successfully protect and serve Iowans."[16]
- Economy
Excerpt: "Boswell will continue to fight for regulatory reform that ends taxpayer-funded bailouts, protects families’ investments and small businesses’ financial futures, ends predatory lending practices and “too big to fail firms,” and injects transparency and accountability into the financial system."[17]
Campaign finance summary
Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.
Analysis
Congressional staff salaries
The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Boswell paid his congressional staff a total of $1,125,927 in 2011. He ranked 37th on the list of the highest paid Democratic representative staff salaries and ranked 45th overall of the highest paid representative staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Iowa ranked 16th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[18]
Staff bonuses
According to an analysis by CNN, Boswell was one of nearly 25 percent of House members who gave their staff bonuses in 2012. Boswell's staff was given an apparent $33,500.00 in bonus money.[19]
Net worth
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Boswell's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $650,003 and $1,484,999. That averages to $1,067,501, which was lower than the average net worth of Democratic representatives in 2010 of $4,465,875.[20]
National Journal vote ratings
2011
- See also: National Journal vote ratings
Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Boswell ranked 166th in the liberal rankings in 2011.[21]
Voting with party
November 2011
Boswell voted with the Democratic Party 85.5 percent of the time, which ranked 167 among the 192 House Democratic members as of November 2011.[22]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Boswell and his wife, Dody, had three children and four grandchildren.[23]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Leonard + Boswell + Iowa + House
External links
- Social media:
- Biographies:
- Political profiles:
- Financial (federal level):
- Interest group ratings:
- Issue positions:
- Public statements:
- Voting record:
- Media appearances:
- Media coverage:
Footnotes
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Leonard L. Boswell, eight-term Iowa congressman, dies at 84," August 17, 2018
- ↑ Politico, "2012 House Race Results," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ GovTrack, "Boswell" accessed May 22, 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Biographical Guide to Members of Congress, "Leonard L. Boswell" accessed November 5, 2011
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "House of Representatives Committee Assignments" accessed November 5, 2011
- ↑ U.S. House, "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff," accessed January 4, 2013
- ↑ WhoTV.com, "POSITIVE OUTLOOK: Boswell said he feels confident about his chances" accessed December 16, 2011 (dead link)
- ↑ New York Times"House Race Ratings" accessed October 3
- ↑ Des Moines Register, "Filing deadline makes official big battles in Iowa's 3rd, 4th Districts" accessed March 19, 2012
- ↑ NPR "It's Incumbent vs. Incumbent, and Washington is Watching"
- ↑ New York Times, "House Race Ratings," accessed July 25, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ Leonard Boswell, "Issues," October 11, 2012
- ↑ Leonard Boswell, "Issues," October 11, 2012
- ↑ Leonard Boswell, "Issues," October 11, 2012
- ↑ Leonard Boswell, "Issues," October 11, 2012
- ↑ Leonard Boswell, "Issues," October 11, 2012
- ↑ LegiStorm, "Leonard Boswell"
- ↑ CNN Politics, "Congressional bonuses in a time of cuts," accessed March 8, 2013
- ↑ OpenSecrets, "Boswell, (D-Iowa), 2010"
- ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," accessed February 23, 2012
- ↑ OpenCongress, "Voting With Party," accessed July 2014
- ↑ Official House Site, "Biography," accessed November 5, 2011
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jim Lightfoot |
U.S. House of Representatives - Iowa, District 3 1997–2013 |
Succeeded by Tom Latham |
| Preceded by ' |
Iowa State Senate 1984-1996 |
Succeeded by ' |
