Charles Bass
Charles Foster "Charlie" Bass (b. January 8, 1952) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New Hampshire. Bass was elected by voters from New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District in 2010. He ran unsuccessfully for re-election in 2012, losing to Democrat Ann MacLane Kuster in the general election on November 6, 2012.[1]
According to a March 2012 article in Roll Call, Bass was one of the top 10 most vulnerable incumbents.[2]
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Bass was a "centrist Republican."[3]
Biography
Bass was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated with a B.A. from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.[4]
Career
Bass graduated and joined the staff of United States Representative William S. Cohen of Maine in 1974, and served on the staff of United States Representative David F. Emery of Maine from 1975-1979. He was an unsuccessful candidate for nomination to the Ninety-seventh Congress in 1980 and delegate to New Hampshire constitutional convention in 1984, joining the New Hampshire general court in 1982.[5]
Committee assignments
U.S. House
2011-2012
Bass served on the following committees:[6]
- Energy and Commerce Committee
- Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
- Subcommittee on Environment and Economy
- Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
Issues
Presidential preference
2012
Charles Bass endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.[7]
Specific votes
Fiscal Cliff
Bass 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 1 of 85 Republicans that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257 - 167 vote on January 1, 2013.[8]
Elections
2012
Bass ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent New Hampshire's 2nd District. He defeated Gerard Beloin, Will Dean, Miroslaw Dziedzic, and Dennis Lamare in the Republican primary and moved on to the general election on November 6, 2012.[9][10]
The Washington Post listed the House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire in 2012 as one of the 10 states that could have determined whether Democrats retook the House or Republicans held their majority in 2013.[11] New Hampshire ranked 10th on the list.[11] Bass is considered a vulnerable incumbent.[12]
On September 26, one of Bass' staffers took a video of Kuster in which the staffer pesters Kuster until she takes the camera from him and refuses to return it. She returned the camera moments later, and the video was published by the conservative NH Journal on September 27.[13] She responded by accusing Bass, and Republicans in general, of "political bullying."[14]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Charles Bass Incumbent | 45.4% | 152,977 | |
| Democratic |  Ann McLane Kuster |
50.2% | 169,275 | |
| Libertarian | Hardy Macia | 4.4% | 14,936 | |
| Total Votes | 337,188 | |||
| Source: New Hampshire Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Primary results
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Charles Bass |
81.8% | 39,605 |
| Dennis Lamare | 8.8% | 4,263 |
| Will Dean | 4.4% | 2,129 |
| Miroslaw Dziedzic | 2.7% | 1,310 |
| Gerard Beloin | 2.3% | 1,127 |
| Total Votes | 48,434 | |
2010
On November 2, 2010, Bass was elected to the United States House for a fifth non-consecutive term. He defeated Ann McLane Kuster (D), Tim vanBlommesteyn (Independent), and Howard L. Wilson (Libertarian).[15]
| United States House, New Hampshire General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Charles Bass |
48.3% | 108,610 | |
| Democratic | Ann McLane Kuster | 46.8% | 105,060 | |
| Independent | Tim vanBlommesteyn | 2.8% | 6,197 | |
| Libertarian | Howard L. Wilson | 2.1% | 4,796 | |
| Total Votes | 224,663 | |||
Campaign finance summary
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Analysis
Congressional staff salaries
The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Bass paid his congressional staff a total of $885,486 in 2011. Overall, New Hampshire ranks 44th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[16]
Net worth
2011
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Bass' net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $3,439,035 to $10,536,000. That averages to $6,987,517, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican House members in 2011 of $7,859,232.[17]
2010
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Bass' net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $3,164,021 to $9,712,000. Averaging to a net worth of $6,438,010.50 which is lower than the average net worth of Republicans in 2010 of $7,561,133.[18]
National Journal vote ratings
- See also: National Journal vote ratings
2012
Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Bass tied with one other member of the U.S. House of Representatives, ranking 209th in the conservative rankings among members of the U.S. House.[19]
2011
Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Bass ranked 233rd in the conservative rankings among members of the U.S. House.[20]
Voting with party
November 2011
Charles Bass voted with the Republican Party 83.2 percent of the time, which ranked 234th among the 242 House Republican members as of November 2011.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Bass lives in Peterborough with his wife Lisa and their two children, Lucy and Jonathan. He enjoys skiing, hiking, rebuilding old cars in his barn, and spending time with his family.[21]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Charles + Bass + New Hampshire + House
External links
- Congressman Charles Bass official U.S. House site
- Bass for Congress official campaign site
- Social media:
- Biographies:
- Political profiles:
- Financial (federal level):
- Interest group ratings:
- Issue positions:
- Public statements:
- Voting record:
- Media appearances:
- Media coverage:
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico, "2012 House Race Results," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ Roll Call, "Top 10 Vulnerable: Targets on Their Backs," accessed March 16, 2012
- ↑ GovTrack, "Bass" accessed May 14, 2012
- ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "BASS, Charles Foster, (1952 - )"
- ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "BASS, Charles Foster, (1952 - )"
- ↑ Congressman Charles Bass, Proudly Serving New Hampshire's 2nd District, "Committees & Caucuses"
- ↑ Politico, "Charlie Bass joins Kelly Ayotte in Mitt Romney camp," November 21, 2011
- ↑ U.S. House, "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff," accessed January 4, 2013
- ↑ WMUR "Primary Results"
- ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "2012 Representative In Congress - Republican Primary"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Washington Post, "The 10 states that will determine control of the House in 2012," accessed April 25, 2012
- ↑ New York Times, "House Ratings" accessed October 3
- ↑ NH Journal, "Kuster Video"
- ↑ Union Leader, "Kuster's response to video"
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ LegiStorm, "Charles Bass," accessed October 8, 2012
- ↑ OpenSecrets, "Charles Bass (R-NH), 2011," accessed February 14, 2013
- ↑ OpenSecrets, "Charles Bass (R-NH), 2010," accessed October 8, 2012
- ↑ National Journal, "2012 Congressional Vote Ratings," accessed March 6, 2013
- ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," accessed February 23, 2012
- ↑ Congressman Charles Bass, Proudly Serving New Hampshire's 2nd District, "Biography"
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Paul Hodes |
U.S. House of Representatives - New Hampshire District 2 2011-2013 |
Succeeded by Ann McLane Kuster (D) |
| Preceded by Richard Swett |
U.S. House of Representatives - New Hampshire District 2 1995-2007 |
Succeeded by Paul Hodes |
| Preceded by Jean White |
New Hampshire Senate - District 11 1982-1988 |
Succeeded by David Wheeler |
| Preceded by ' |
New Hampshire General Court 1982-1988 |
Succeeded by ' |
