Chip Cravaack
| Chip Cravaack | ||
 | ||
| U.S. House, Minnesota, District 8 | ||
| Former member | ||
| In office | ||
| January 3, 2011-January 3, 2013 | ||
| Party | Republican | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 6, 2012 | |
| First elected | November 2, 2010 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Education | ||
| High school | St. Xavier High School, Cincinnati, OH | |
| Bachelor's | United States Naval Academy | |
| Master's | University of West Florida | |
| Military service | ||
| Service/branch | United States Navy Reserve | |
| Years of service | 1990-2005 | |
| Service branch | United States Navy | |
| Years of service | 1981-1990 | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | December 29, 1959 | |
| Place of birth | Charleston, WV | |
| Profession | Pilot | |
| Religion | Roman Catholic | |
| Websites | ||
| Campaign website | ||
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Contents |
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Cravaack was a "moderate Republican follower".[2]
Biography
Cravaack was born in 1959 in Charleston, West Virginia. After graduating from St. Xavier High School, Cravaack went on to earn his B.S. at the United States Naval Academy. Upon graduation, he served in the U.S. Navy from 1981 to 1990 and in the Navy Reserve from 1990 to 2005. Prior to his political career, Cravaack worked as a pilot.[3]
Career
Below is an abbreviated outline of Cravaack's professional and political career[3]:
- United States Navy, 1981-1990
- United States Navy Reserve, 1990-2005
- U.S. House of Representatives, Minnesota's 8th congressional district, 2011-2013
Committee assignments
U.S. House of Representatives
2011-2012
Cravaack served on the following House committees:[4]
- Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
- Subcommittee on Aviation
- Subcommittee on Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation
- Subcommittee on Water Resources & Environment
- Homeland Security Committee
- Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence
- Subcommittee on Transportation Security
- Science, Space, and Technology Committee
- Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation
Issues
Specific votes
Fiscal Cliff
Cravaack voted against 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 151 Republicans that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[5]
Elections
2012
Cravaack sought re-election in 2012. He ran unopposed in the August 14 Republican primary. He lost to Rick Nolan (D) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[6][7] His district is historically Democratic, and he was considered a vulnerable incumbent.[8]
| U.S. House, Minnesota, District 8, General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Rick Nolan |
54.3% | 191,976 | |
| Republican | Chip Cravaack Incumbent | 45.4% | 160,520 | |
| NA | Write-in | 0.3% | 1,167 | |
| Total Votes | 353,663 | |||
| Source: Minnesota Secretary of State, "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Targeted
Cravaack was targeted in 2012 by the Super PAC House Majority PAC. The Democratic-allied PAC spent about $1,498,915 on defeating Cravaack.[9]
Media
The following campaign ad was released by Cravaack on October 10, 2012.[10]
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Super PAC House Majority PAC's TV ad against Cravaack criticizes his vote for an austere federal budget.[12]
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2010
On November 2, 2010, Cravaack won election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated James L. Oberstar (D), Timothy Olson (I), and Richard "George" Burton (C) in the general election.[14]
| U.S. House of Representatives, Minnesota's 8th Congressional District, General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Chip Cravaack |
48.2% | 133,490 | |
| Democratic | James L. Oberstar Incumbent | 46.6% | 129,091 | |
| Independent | Timothy Olson | 4.3% | 11,876 | |
| Constitution | Richard "George" Burton | 0.9% | 2,492 | |
| Independent | Write-In | 0% | 132 | |
| Total Votes | 277,081 | |||
Campaign donors
2012
Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2012 elections season. Below are Cravaack's reports.[15]
| Chip Cravaack (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[16] | March 31, 2012 | $514,879.85 | $245,893.4 | $(131,913.7) | $628,859.55 | ||||
| July Quarterly[17] | June 30, 2012 | $628,859.55 | $393,753.07 | $(123,931.39) | $898,681.23 | ||||
| October Quarterly[18] | October 15, 2012 | $912,681.92 | $412,694.73 | $(193,388.48) | $1,131,988.17 | ||||
| Pre-General[19] | October 25, 2012 | $1,131,488.17 | $227,063.39 | $(454,154.75) | $904,396.81 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $1,279,404.59 | $(903,388.32) | ||||||||
On October 15, 2012, quarterly reports were submitted by campaigns to the Federal Election Commission. The political blog Daily Kos did an analysis of the fundraising figures and found Democratic challenger Rick Nolan outraised Republican incumbent Chip Cravaack in the third quarter. Nolan raised $484,000 to Cravaack's $462,000.[20]
2010
Cravaack won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. During that election cycle, Cravaack's campaign committee raised a total of $659,648 and spent $630,728.[21]
| U.S. House of Representatives, Minnesota's 8th Congressional District, 2010 - Chip Cravaack Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $659,648 |
| Total Spent | $630,728 |
| Total Raised by General Election Opponent | $1,757,326 |
| Total Spent by General Election Opponent | $2,223,357 |
| Top contributors to Chip Cravaack's campaign committee | |
| Tobies Resturants | $8,463 |
| FedEx Corp | $8,000 |
| Freedom & Security PAC | $6,000 |
| American Bankers Assn | $5,000 |
| Blue Cross/Blue Shield | $5,000 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Retired | $55,168 |
| Leadership PACs | $23,900 |
| Republican/Conservative | $19,330 |
| Air Transport | $12,750 |
| Commercial Banks | $10,000 |
Analysis
Congressional staff salaries
The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Cravaack paid his congressional staff a total of $852,494 in 2011. Overall, Minnesota ranked 26th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[22]
Staff bonuses
According to an analysis by CNN, Cravaack is one of nearly 25% of House members who gave their staff bonuses in 2012. Cravaack's staff was given an apparent $16,967.30 in bonus money.[23]
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, Cravaack was ranked the 155th most conservative representative during 2012.[24]
2011
According to the data released in 2012, Cravaack was ranked the 170th most conservative representative during 2011.[25]
Net worth
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Cravaack's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $843,018 to $1,945,000. This averages out to a net worth of $1,394,009, which is lower than the average net worth of Republicans in 2010 of $7,561,133.[26]
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, Chip Cravaack voted with the Republican Party 93.0% of the time, which ranked 116 among the 242 House Republican members in December 2011.[27]
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Chip + Cravaack + Minnesota + House
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
Chip Cravaack News Feed
- Liberal super PAC the latest to eye Sixth District race - MinnPost.com
- CHART: One reason why Congress eased sequestration for air travelers - Minnesota Public Radio
- Nolan: Obama budget could dull Democrats' political edge - MinnPost.com
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Personal
Cravaack has two sons with his wife, Traci.[28]
External links
- Social media:
- Biographies:
- Political profiles:
- Financial:
- Interest group ratings:
- Issue positions:
- Public statements:
- Voting record:
- Media appearances:
- Media coverage:
References
- ↑ ABC News, "General Election Results 2012-Minnesota," November 7, 2012
- ↑ Gov Track "Cravaack" Accessed May 14, 2012
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Biographical Guide to Members of Congress "Chip Cravaack" Accessed December 11, 2011
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "House of Representatives Committee Assignments" Accessed December 3, 2011
- ↑ U.S. House "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
- ↑ ABC News, "General Election Results 2012-Minnesota," November 7, 2012
- ↑ Minn Post "Minnesota congressional incumbents report a huge financial edge," Accessed February 11, 2012
- ↑ New York Times "House Ratings" Accessed October 3
- ↑ Open Secrets "House Majority PAC Independent Expenditures," Accessed March, 2013
- ↑ Chip Cravaack "News," Accessed: October 10, 2012
- ↑ YouTube channel
- ↑ House Majority PAC 'House Majority PAC launches third wave of ads against Chip Cravaack," Accessed May 4, 2012
- ↑ [YouTube channel]
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010" Accessed December 11, 2011
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "Chip Cravaack Summary Report," Accessed August 1, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "April Quarterly," Accessed August 1, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "July Quarterly," Accessed August 1, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "October Quarterly," Accessed November 1, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission "Pre-General," Accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ Daily Kos "Third quarter House fundraising: who's got the cash?" October 18, 2012
- ↑ Open Secrets "Chip Cravaack 2010 Election Cycle," Accessed December 11, 2011
- ↑ LegiStorm, "Chip Cravaack," Accessed October 8, 2012
- ↑ CNN Politics, "Congressional bonuses in a time of cuts," March 8, 2013
- ↑ National Journal, "TABLE: House Liberal Scores by Issue Area," February 26, 2013
- ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Chip Cravaack (R-Minn), 2010," Accessed October 8, 2012
- ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
- ↑ Official House Site "Biography," Accessed December 3, 2011
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jim Oberstar |
U.S. House of Representatives - Minnesota District 8 2011–2013 |
Succeeded by Rick Nolan |
| |||||||||||||
