Debbie Wasserman Schultz

	Debbie Wasserman Schultz
	U.S. House, Florida, District 23
	Incumbent
	In office
	January 3, 2005-Present
	Term ends
	January 3, 2015
Years in position	8
Party	Democratic
Predecessor	Alcee L. Hastings (D)
	Leadership
	Chairwoman, Democratic National Committee
	2011-Present
	Compensation
Base salary	$174,000/year
	Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	2004
Next election	November 4, 2014
Campaign $	$9,842,213
Term limits	N/A
	Prior offices
	Florida State Senate, 34th District
	2003-2004
	Florida State Senate, 32nd District
	2001-2003
	Florida House of Representatives, 97th District
	1993-2001
	Education
Bachelor's	University of Florida (1988)
Master's	University of Florida (1990)
	Personal
Birthday	September 27, 1966
Place of birth	Forest Hills, New York
Profession	Politician
Net worth	-$126,495
Religion	Judaism
Websites
	Office website
	Campaign website

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Debbie Wasserman Schultz (b. September 27, 1966) is a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Schultz was elected by voters from Florida's 23rd congressional district.

Wasserman Schultz was first elected in 2004 and was most recently re-elected in 2012.^[1]

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Schultz is a "moderate Democratic leader".^[2]

Wasserman Schultz serves as one of the Chief Deputy Whips of the Democratic caucus for the 113th Congress.^[3] She also serves as the current chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Biography

Debbie Wasserman Schultz was born in 1966 on Long Island, New York. She attended the University of Florida and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in 1988 and with a Master’s Degree in 1990.^[4]

Career

1993-2001: Florida House of Representatives, 97th District
2001-2003: Florida State Senate, 32nd District
2003-2004: Florida State Senate, 34th District
2005-2013: United States House of Representatives, Florida's 20th congressional district
2013-present: United States House of Representatives, Florida's 23rd congressional district

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2013-2014

Schultz serves on the following committees:^[5]

Committee on Appropriations
- Subcommittee on Legislative Branch Ranking member
- Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations

2011-2012

Schultz served on the following committees:^[6]

United States House of Representatives Committee on Budget^[7]
United States House of Representatives Committee on Judiciary^[6]^[8]
- Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet
- Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security

Issues

House Judiciary Committee

Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz was first appointed into the House Judiciary Committee after being sworn into her second term in Congress on January of 2007.^[9] Wasserman Schultz serves on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Wasserman Schultz 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. She 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.^[10]

Elections

2012

See also: Florida's 20th congressional district elections, 2012

Wasserman Schultz was running in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Florida's 23rd District. She won the nomination on the Democratic ticket.^[11] The signature filing deadline was June 8, 2012, with the primary taking place on August 14, 2012. Wasserman Schultz ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on August 14, 2012.^[12] She was re-elected on November 6, 2012.^[13]

U.S. House, Florida, District 23 General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Debbie Wasserman Schultz Incumbent	63.2%	174,205
	Republican	Karen Harrington	35.6%	98,096
	Independent	Ilya Katz	1.1%	3,129
Total Votes				275,430
Source: Florida Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Debbie Wasserman Schultz, click [show] to expand the section.

2010

On November 2, 2010, Debbie Wasserman Schultz won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Karen Harrington (R), Stanley Blumenthal (I), Robert Kunst (I), and Clayton Schock (I) in the general election.^[14]

U.S. House, Florida District 20 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Debbie Wasserman Schultz incumbent	60.1%	100,787
	Republican	Karen Harrington	38.1%	63,845
	Independent	Stanley Blumenthal	1%	1,663
	Independent	Robert Kunst	0.8%	1,272
	Independent	Clayton Schock	0%	3
Total Votes				167,570

2008

On November 4, 2008, Debbie Wasserman Schultz won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Margaret Hostetter (No Party Affiliation) and Marc Luzietti (Write-in) in the general election.^[15]

U.S. House, Florida District 20 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Debbie Wasserman Schultz incumbent	77.5%	202,832
	Independent	Margaret Hostetter	22.5%	58,958
	Write-in	Marc Luzietti	0%	9
Total Votes				261,799

2006

Wasserman Schultz ran unopposed for re-election in 2006.

2004

On November 2, 2004, Debbie Wasserman Schultz won election to the United States House. She defeated Margaret Hostetter (R in the general election.^[16]

U.S. House, Florida District 20 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Debbie Wasserman Schultz	70.2%	191,195
	Republican	Margaret Hostetter	29.8%	81,213
Total Votes				272,408

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Wasserman Schultz is available dating back to 2004. Based on available campaign finance records, Wasserman Schultz raised a total of $9,842,213 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 4, 2013.^[17]

Debbie Wasserman Schultz's Campaign Contribution History
Year	Office	Result	Contributions
2012	U.S. House (Florida, District 23)		$3,629,324
2010	U.S. House (Florida, District 20)		$1,930,111
2008	U.S. House (Florida, District 20)		$1,721,750
2006	U.S. House (Florida, District 20)		$1,036,924
2004	U.S. House (Florida, District 20)		$1,524,104
Grand Total Raised			$9,842,213

2012

Breakdown of the source of Wasserman Schultz's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Wasserman Schultz won re-election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Wasserman Schultz's campaign committee raised a total of $3,629,324 and spent $3,520,041.^[18]

U.S. House of Representatives, Florida's 23rd Congressional District, 2012 - Debbie Wasserman Schultz Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$3,629,324
Total Spent	$3,520,041
Total Raised by Election Runner-up	$2,052,971
Total Spent by Election Runner-up	$1,789,197
Top contributors to Debbie Wasserman Schultz's campaign committee
Morgan & Morgan	$43,575
Southern Wine & Spirits	$30,000
Greenberg Traurig LLP	$23,400
Leon Medical Centers	$20,000
Coastal Construction Group	$16,800
Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee
Lawyers/Law Firms	$348,410
Retired	$189,600
Health Professionals	$160,200
Real Estate	$114,426
Pro-Israel	$104,000

2010

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

Shultz won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. During that re-election cycle, Schultz's campaign committee raised a total of $1,930,111 and spent $2,018,504.^[19]

U.S. House of Representatives, Florida's 20th Congressional District, 2010 - Debbie Wasserman Schultz Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$1,930,111
Total Spent	$2,018,504
Total Raised by General Election Opponent	$376,836
Total Spent by General Election Opponent	$374,118
Top contributors to Debbie Wasserman Schultz's campaign committee
Comcast Corp	$19,800
Greenberg Traurig LLP	$18,953
Southern Wine & Spirits	$14,800
Royal Caribbean Cruises	$13,454
Akerman, Senterfitt & Eidson	$13,076
Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee
Lawyers/Law Firms	$155,344
Health Professionals	$121,796
Lobbyists	$87,944
Public Sector Unions	$87,000
Real Estate	$77,910

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

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

According to the website GovTrack, Wasserman Schultz missed 292 of 6,440 roll call votes from Jan 2005 to Mar 2013. This amounts to 4.5%, which is worse than the median of 2.2% among current congressional representatives as of March 2013.^[20]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Schultz paid her congressional staff a total of $1,145,335 in 2011. She ranks 29th on the list of the highest paid Democratic Representative Staff Salaries and she ranks 36th overall of the highest 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.^[21]

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, Wasserman Schultz's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between -$439,987 and $186,997. That averages to -$126,495, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Representatives in 2011 of $5,107,874. Her average net worth decreased by 360.05% from 2010.^[22]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Schultz's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $-289,989 and $234,997. That averages to $-27,496, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Representatives in 2010 of $4,465,875.^[23]

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. Wasserman Schultz ranked 62nd in the liberal rankings in 2012.^[24]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Wasserman Schultz ranked 98th in the liberal rankings.^[25]

Political Positions

Percentage voting with party

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Debbie Wasserman Schultz voted with the Democratic Party 94 of the time, which ranked 55 among the 192 House Democratic members in November 2011.^[26]

Personal

Schultz has been married to Steve Schultz for 20 years and together they have three children. Wasserman Schlutz resides with her family in Weston, Florida.

Recent news

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