Cliff Stearns
Clifford Bundy "Cliff" Stearns, Sr (b. April 16, 1941) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Stearns was first elected by voters from Florida's 6th Congressional District in 1988. He lost his bid for re-election in the 2012 primary election. He was succeeded by Ron DeSantis (R), who won the general election on November 6, 2012.
Due to redistricting, Stearns ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Florida's 3rd District. Stearns was defeated by Ted Yoho in the Republican Primary on August 14, 2012. Stearns still had more than $2 million in his campaign war chest at the time of the primary.[1][2]
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Staerns was a "moderate Republican leader."[3]
Biography
Stearns was born in Washington, D.C. He was educated at Woodrow Wilson High School and later earned a degree in electrical engineering at George Washington University. He participated in U.S. Air Force ROTC at GW and was honored as the Air Force ROTC Distinguished Military Graduate.[4]
Career
- 1963-1967: United States Air Force
- 1989-2013: United States House of Representatives, Florida's 6th Congressional District
- Stearns also owned a small chain of motels and restaurants in north Florida.
Committee assignments
U.S. House
2011-2012
Stearns served on the following committees:
- United States House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce[4]
- Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
- Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
- Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Chairman)
- United States House of Representatives Committee on Veterans' Affairs[4]
- Subcommittee on Health
- Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Issues
Specific votes
Fiscal Cliff
Stearns 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 1 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
Due to redistricting, Stearns ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Florida's 3rd District. Stearns lost to Ted Yoho in the Republican primary on August 14, 2012.[6]
Primary results
The primary took place on August 14.[7]
Republican Primary
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
 Ted Yoho |
34.4% | 22,273 |
| Clifford Stearns | 33% | 21,398 |
| Steve Oelrich | 19% | 12,329 |
| James Jett | 13.5% | 8,769 |
| Total Votes | 64,769 | |
2010
On November 2, 2010, Cliff Stearns won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Steve Schonberg (I) in the general election.[8]
| U.S. House, Florida District 6 General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Cliff Stearns incumbent |
71.5% | 179,349 | |
| Independent | Steve Schonberg | 28.5% | 71,632 | |
| Total Votes | 250,981 | |||
Campaign finance summary
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Analysis
Congressional staff salaries
The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Stearns paid his congressional staff a total of $885,501 in 2011. He ranked 103rd on the list of the lowest paid Republican representative staff salaries and ranked 125th overall of the lowest paid representative staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Florida ranks 36th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[9]
Net worth
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Stearns' net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $2,018,033 and $8,897,996. That averages to $5,458,014.50, which was lower than the average net worth of Republican representatives in 2010 of $7,561,133.[10]
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. Stearns ranked 156th in the conservative rankings in 2011.[11]
Voting with party
2011
Cliff Stearns voted with the Republican Party 91 of the time, which ranked 163 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.
Stearns lives with his wife Joan in Ocala, Florida. They have three adult sons.[4]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Cliff + Stearns + Florida + 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
- ↑ Gainesville Sun, "Stearns says he will run in new 3rd Congressional District" accessed February 13, 2012
- ↑ Politico, "Cliff Stearns concedes in GOP primary," August 16, 2012
- ↑ GovTrack, "Stearns" accessed May 15, 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Congressman Cliff Stearns, "Biography" accessed October 17, 2011
- ↑ U.S. House, "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff," accessed January 4, 2013
- ↑ Florida Times Union, "Cliff Stearns was outworked by challenger Ted Yoho, many say," August 15, 2012
- ↑ Florida Secretary of State, "August 2012 Primary Election," accessed September 4, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ LegiStorm, "Cliff Stearns"
- ↑ OpenSecrets, "Stearns, (R-Fl), 2010"
- ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," accessed February 23, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Buddy MacKay |
U.S. House of Representatives - Florida District 6 1989–2013 |
Succeeded by Ron DeSantis (R) |
