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Bennie Thompson

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Bennie Thompson
Bennie Thompson.jpg
U.S. House, Mississippi, District 2
Incumbent
In office
April 13, 1993-Present
Term ends
January 3, 2015
Years in position 2
PartyDemocratic
PredecessorMike Espy (D)
Compensation
Base salary$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 6, 2012
First electedApril 13, 1993
Next electionNovember 4, 2014
Campaign $$8,375,785
Term limitsN/A
Prior offices
Hinds County, Mississippi, Board of Supervisors
1980-1993
Mayor of Bolton, Mississippi
1973-1979
Board of Aldermen, Bolton, Mississippi
1969-1973
Education
Bachelor'sTougaloo College
Master'sJackson State University
Personal
BirthdayJanuary 28, 1948
Place of birthBolton, Mississippi
ProfessionTeacher
Net worth$756,513
ReligionMethodist
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Contents

Bennie G. Thompson (b. January 28, 1948) is a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing Mississippi's 2nd congressional district. Thompson was first elected to the House in a 1993 special election following the resignation of Representative Mike Espy. He won re-election in 2012.

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Thompson is a "rank-and-file Democrat".[1]

Biography

Thompson was born in 1948 in Bolton, Mississippi. He earned his B.A. from Tougaloo College and his M.S. from Mississippi State University in 1968 and 1972, respectively.[2]

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Thompson's political career[2]:

Prior to his political career, Thompson worked as a school teacher.

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2013-2014

Thompson serves on the following committees:[3]

2011-2012

Thompson served on the following House committee:[4]

Issues

Political positions

Earmarks

A Washington Post investigation in February 2012 revealed that 33 members of Congress helped direct more than $300 million in earmarks to public projects in close proximity to commercial and residential real estate owned by the lawmakers or their family members.[5] According to the report, Thompson helped secure $900,000 that was used to resurface about two dozen roads in Hinds County, Mississippi. One of those was a quarter-mile residential loop in Bolton, where Thompson owns a home and two lots, and his daughter also owns a home.[6]

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Voted "Yes" Thompson 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 that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[7]

Campaign themes

2012

  • Civil Rights

Excerpt: "It has been Congressman Thompson’s charge to support the fairness and equity as expressed in the Titles of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Congressman Thompson believes providing for fair and non-discriminatory practices in our schools, job sectors, and communities will prove to be vital in this country’s plans for a future where we out build, out educate and out innovate the rest of the world."[8]

  • Education

Excerpt: "While Congressman Thompson supports the ideal of high standards for measuring students and teachers, he believes it is imperative that public school districts receive the necessary funding that would provide innovative and educational tools to teachers, parents and students in their efforts to close the achievement gaps and raise achievement for all children."[9]

  • Economic Recovery

Excerpt: "The American Recovery and Reinvestment act (“Recovery Act”) is creating jobs and strengthening the economy. It is making a real difference for families, providing new resources to local governments and business, and helping to end the economic free fall that has gripped the country for more than 18 months."[10]

  • Energy And Environment

Excerpt: "To create the next generation of clean energy jobs, make our nation more secure and reduce the pollution that causes global warming, Congressman Thompson and Congressional Democrats are committed to investing in our nation’s clean energy future."[11]

  • Health Care

Excerpt: "Mississippi continues to face tremendous challenges as we confront our health care needs...To help address these challenges Democrats introduce the Affordable Care Act of 2010.[12]

Elections

2012

See also: Mississippi's 2nd congressional district elections, 2012

Thompson won the election.[13] Thompson ran for re-election in 2012. He defeated Heather McTeer in the March 13, 2012 Democratic primary. He faced Bill Marcy (Republican), Cobby Williams (Independent), and Lajena Williams (Reform) in the November 2012 general election. [14][15]


Bennie Thompson, "Homegrown Terrorism and the Military"[16]

U.S. House, Mississippi, District 2 General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark.jpgBennie Thompson Incumbent 67.1% 214,978
     Republican Bill Marcy 31% 99,160
     Independent Cobby Williams 1.4% 4,605
     Reform Lajena Williams 0.5% 1,501
Total Votes 320,244
Source: Mississippi Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"


Endorsements

Thompson was endorsed by the organizations below for the 2012 election.[17]

  • AFSCME
  • Air Line Pilots Association PAC
  • American Federation of Government Employees
  • American Federation of Teachers
  • American Maritime Officers Voluntary PAF
  • American Postal Workers Union
  • Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen PAC
  • Committee on Letter Carriers
  • Communications Workers of America
  • International Association of Bridge Structual & Ornamental Ironworkers; Boilermakers; Electrical Works; and Teamsters
  • International Union of Operating Engineers
  • Laborers’ International Union North
  • MEBA Political Action Fund
  • National Air Traffic Controllers Association
  • National Education Association
  • National Postal Mail Handlers Union
  • National Treasury Employees PAC
  • Seafarers International Union
  • Sheet Metal Workers International
  • Transport Workers Union
  • United Association of Journeymen and APP; Auto Workers; Food and Commercial Workers; Auto Workers
  • United Mine Workers of America; Steel Workers of America PAF; United Transportation Union

Full history


Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Thompson is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, Thompson raised a total of $8,375,785 during that time period. This information was last updated on May 16, 2013.[19]

Bennie Thompson's Campaign Contribution History
Year Office Result Contributions
2012 U.S. House (Mississippi, District 2) Won $1,208,367
2010 U.S. House (Mississippi, District 2) Won $1,808,681
2008 U.S. House (Mississippi, District 2) Won $2,147,392
2006 U.S. House (Mississippi, District 2) Won $1,375,701
2004 U.S. House (Mississippi, District 2) Won $756,391
2002 U.S. House (Mississippi, District 2) Won $542,798
2000 U.S. House (Mississippi, District 2) Won $536,455
Grand Total Raised $8,375,785

2012

Breakdown of the source of Thompson's campaign funds for the 2012 election.

Thompson won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. During that election cycle, Thompson's campaign committee raised a total of $1,208,368 and spent $1,765,172.[20]

2010

Breakdown of the source of Thompson's campaign funds before the 2010 election.

Thompson won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. During that re-election cycle, Thompson's campaign committee raised a total of $1,808,681 and spent $1,343,456.[21]

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, Thompson missed 489 of 13,387 roll call votes from Apr 1993 to Apr 2013, which is 3.7% of votes during that period. This is worse than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. [22]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Thompson paid his congressional staff a total of $1,024,403 in 2011. Overall, Mississippi ranked 41st in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[23]

Staff bonuses

According to an analysis by CNN, Thompson is one of nearly 25% of House members who gave their staff bonuses in 2012. Thompson's staff was given an apparent $31,500.00 in bonus money.[24]

Net worth

See also: Net Worth of United States Senators and Representatives

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Thompson's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $357,027 and $1,156,000. This averages to $756,513, which is a -0.0213% increase since 2010. This is lower than the $7,859,232.16 average net worth for Democratic representatives in 2011.[25]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Thompson's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $370,026 to $1,176,000. This yields an average net worth of $773,013, which is lower than the average net worth of Democrats in 2010 of $4,465,875.[26]

National Journal vote ratings

See also: National Journal vote ratings

Each year, National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted, as compared to other members, in the previous year. More information about the analysis process can be found on the vote ratings page.

2012

According to the data released in 2013, Thompson was ranked the 146th most liberal representative during 2012. This is the most liberal ranking earned by a representative of Mississippi in 2012. [27]

2011

According to the data released in 2012, Bennie Thompson was ranked the 91st most liberal representative during 2011. This is the most liberal ranking held by any of the representatives of Mississippi.[28]

Percentage voting with party

November 2011

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Bennie Thompson voted with the Democratic Party 91.4% of the time, which ranked 81 among the 192 House Democratic members in November 2011.[29]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Bennie + Thompson + Mississippi + House

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Bennie Thompson News Feed


Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found


Personal

Thompson has been married to his wife, London (née Johnson) for forty two years. They have one grown daughter and two grandchildren.[30]

External links

References

  1. ↑ Gov Track "Bennie Thompson" Accessed April 16, 2012
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Biographical Guide to Members of Congress "Bennie Thompson" Accessed December 3, 2011
  3. ↑ CQ.com, "House Committee Rosters for the 113th Congress"
  4. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "House of Representatives Committee Assignments" Accessed December 3, 2011
  5. ↑ Washington Post "Congressional earmarks sometimes used to fund projects near lawmakers' properties," February 6, 2012
  6. ↑ Washington Post "Mapping the earmarks," February 6, 2012
  7. ↑ U.S. House "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
  8. ↑ Bennie Thompson "Civil Rights," Accessed: October 10, 2012
  9. ↑ Bennie Thompson "Education," Accessed: October 10, 2012
  10. ↑ Bennie Thompson "Economic Recovery," Accessed: October 10, 2012
  11. ↑ 'Bennie Thomspon "Energy and Environment," Accessed: October 10, 2012
  12. ↑ Bennie Thompson "Healthcare," Accessed: October 10, 2012
  13. ↑ Politico "2012 Election Map, Mississippi"
  14. ↑ WAPT 16 "Unofficial Mississippi Primary Results," March 13, 2012
  15. ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State "2012 Primary Results"
  16. ↑ YouTube channel
  17. ↑ Bennie Thompson "Endorsements," Accessed: October 10, 2012
  18. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
  19. ↑ Open Secrets "Bennie Thompson" Accessed May 16, 2013
  20. ↑ Open Secrets "2012 Re-Election Cycle," Accessed February 16, 2013
  21. ↑ Open Secrets "Bennie Thompson 2010 Re-Election Cycle," Accessed December 3, 2011
  22. ↑ GovTrack, "Bennie Thompson" Accessed April 2013
  23. ↑ LegiStorm, "Bennie G. Thompson," Accessed October 8, 2012
  24. ↑ CNN Politics, "Congressional bonuses in a time of cuts," March 8, 2013
  25. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss), 2011," Accessed February 2013
  26. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss), 2010," Accessed October 8, 2012
  27. ↑ National Journal, "TABLE: House Liberal Scores by Issue Area," February 26, 2013
  28. ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
  29. ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
  30. ↑ Official House Site "About Bennie," Accessed December 3, 2011
Political offices
Preceded by
Mike Espy (D) 		U.S. House of Representatives - Mississippi, District 2
1993–present 		Succeeded by
'
Preceded by
' 		Hinds County, Mississippi, Board of Supervisors
1980-1993 		Succeeded by
'
Preceded by
' 		Mayor of Bolton, Mississippi
1973-1979 		Succeeded by
'
Preceded by
' 		Board of Aldermen, Bolton, Mississippi
1969-1973 		Succeeded by
'
v • d • e
Mississippi's current delegation to the United States Congress
SenatorsCongressLogo.png
Representatives
Alan Nunnelee (R) • Bennie Thompson (D) • Gregg Harper (R) • Steven Palazzo (R)
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Retrieved from "http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Bennie_Thompson&oldid=1793298"
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