Fred Upton

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Fred Upton
Fred Upton.jpg
U.S. House, Michigan, District 6
Incumbent
In office
January 3, 1987-Present
Term ends
January 3, 2015
Years in position 26
PartyRepublican
PredecessorBob Carr (D)
Compensation
Base salary$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 6, 2012
First electedNovember 4, 1986
Next electionNovember 4, 2014
Campaign $$11,899,207
Term limitsN/A
Education
High schoolShattuck School, Fairbault, MN
Bachelor'sUniversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Personal
BirthdayApril 23, 1953
Place of birthSt. Joseph, Michigan
ProfessionCivil Servant
Net worth$15,878,109
ReligionCongregationalist
Websites
Office website
Campaign website
Fred Upton campaign logo

Contents

Frederick Stephen "Fred" Upton (b. April 23, 1953) is a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing Michigan's 6th congressional district. Upton was first elected to the House in 1986.

Upton most recently won re-election in 2012. He then defeated Mike O'Brien (D), Christie Gelineau (L), and Jason Gatties (I) in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Upton is an average Republican member of Congress, meaning he will vote with the Republican Party on the majority of bills.

Biography

Upton was born in 1953 in St. Joseph, Michigan. After graduating from Shattuck School in Fairbault, Michigan, he went on to earn his B.A. at the University of Michigan in 1975. Prior to his career as a congressman, Upton worked in the Office of Management and Budget.[1]

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Upton's professional and political career[1]:

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2013-2014

Upton serves on the following committees:[2]

  • Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
    • Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
    • Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
    • Subcommittee on Energy and Power
    • Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy
    • Subcommittee on Health
    • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

2011-2012

Upton served on the following House committees:[3]

Issues

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Fred Upton endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. [4]

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Voted "Yes" Upton 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 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.[5]

Campaign themes

2012

The five policy positions below were highlighted on Upton's campaign website.[6]

  • Jobs & Economy

Excerpt: "Fred is fighting to put a permanent halt on the Obama administration’s aggressive regulatory assault, which not only threatens to slow growth, but to destroy jobs and raise everyday costs for Michigan families."[7]

  • Fiscal Responsibility

Excerpt: "Fred has voted to enact real spending cuts to reduce our deficit and supports major budgetary reforms to put us back on a sound fiscal footing. He is a supporter of the constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment, which would require the federal government to live within its means each year, just like the rest of us."[8]

  • Healthcare

Excerpt: "Fred is a national leader in the fight against the President’s controversial healthcare law. Fred voted against the law’s passage and one of his very first acts as Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee was to shepherd through repeal legislation, which passed the House on January 19, 2011 by a vote of 245-189.[9]

  • Energy

Excerpt: "Fred is a champion of the Keystone XL pipeline project, a Canadian energy pipeline that will create countless good-paying jobs in the United States and bring us almost 1 million barrels of oil per day."[10]

  • Protecting Michigan Taxpayers

Excerpt: "Fred supports keeping the federal government limited, transparent, and accountable to the American people."[11]

Elections

2012

See also: Michigan's 6th congressional district elections, 2012

Upton won re-election in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Michigan's 6th District.[12] He defeated Jack Hoogendyk in the Republican primary. He then defeated Mike O'Brien (D), Christie Gelineau (L), and Jason Gatties (I) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[13]


Fred Upton, Jobs & the Economy[14]

U.S. House, Michigan, District 6 General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Mike O'Brien 42.6% 136,563
     Republican Green check mark.jpgFred Upton Incumbent 54.6% 174,955
     Libertarian Christie Gelineau 2% 6,366
     UST Jason Gatties 0.8% 2,591
Total Votes 320,475
Source: Michigan Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

According to a March 30, 2012 article from The Washington Post, that noted the top 10 incumbents who could lose their primaries, Upton was the 4th most likely incumbent to lose his primary.[15] Competition from former state representative Jack Hoogendyk was expected to be one of the top reasons for Upton's vulnerability in the primary.[15] Upton faced Hoogendyk in 2010.[15]

Endorsements

Upton was endorsed by the organizations and individuals below.[16]

  • Michigan Farm Bureau
  • Michigan Association of Police Organizations
  • Right to Life of Michigan
  • National Right to Life
  • National Rifle Association
  • National Association of Realtors
  • Family Research Council
  • U.S. Chamber of Commerce
  • Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce
  • State Representative Jase Bolger
  • State Representative Bob Genetski
  • State Representative Matt Lori
  • State Representative Margaret O’Brien
  • State Senator John Proos
  • State Representative Al Pscholka
  • State Senator Tonya Schuitmaker

Full history


Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Upton is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, Upton raised a total of $11,899,207 during that time period. This information was last updated on May 16, 2013.[30]

Fred Upton's Campaign Contribution History
Year Office Result Contributions
2012 US House (Michigan, District 6) Won $4,129,538
2010 US House (Michigan, District 6) Won $2,014,321
2008 US House (Michigan, District 6) Won $1,413,946
2006 US House (Michigan, District 6) Won $1,237,450
2004 US House (Michigan, District 6) Won $1,100,825
2002 US House (Michigan, District 6) Won $1,231,896
2000 US House (Michigan, District 6) Won $771,231
Grand Total Raised $11,899,207

2012

Breakdown of Upton's funds according to source.

Upton won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. During that election cycle, Upton's campaign committee raised a total of $4,129,538 and spent $4,724,798.[31]

2010

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

Upton won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. During that re-election cycle, Upton's campaign committee raised a total of $2,014,321 and spent $2,083,790.[32]

Analysis

Ideology and leadership

See also: GovTrack's Political Spectrum & Legislative Leadership ranking

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Upton is a "rank-and-file Republican" as of June 2013.[33]

Lifetime voting record

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

According to the website GovTrack, Upton missed 32 of 16,295 roll call votes from Jan 1987 to Mar 2013, which is 0.2% of votes during that period. This is better than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving.[34]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Upton paid his congressional staff a total of $931,276 in 2011. He ranked 141st on the list of the highest paid Republican Representative Staff Salaries and he ranked 181st overall of the highest paid Representative Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Michigan ranked 13th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[35]

Staff bonuses

According to an analysis by CNN, Upton is one of nearly 25% of House members who gave their staff bonuses in 2012. Upton's staff was given an apparent $2,900.00 in bonus money.[36]

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, Upton's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $7,391,218 and $24,365,000. This averages to $15,878,109, which is a 0.0252% decrease since 2010. This is higher than the $7,859,232 average net worth for Republican representatives in 2011.[37]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Upton's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $7,762,217 and $24,814,999. That averages to $16,288,608, which is higher than the average net worth of Republican Representatives in 2010 of $7,561,133.[38]

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, Upton was ranked the 185th most conservative representative during 2012.[39]

2011

According to the data released in 2012, Fred Upton was ranked the 206th most conservative representative during 2011.[40]

Voting with party

2013

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Fred Upton has voted with the Republican Party 96.4% of the time, which ranked 133rd among the 233 House Republican members as of June 2013.[41]

Personal

Upton has two children with his wife, Amey.[42]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Fred + Upton + Michigan + House

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

Fred Upton News Feed


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External links


References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Biographical Guide to Members of Congress "Fred Upton" Accessed December 23, 2011
  2. ↑ CQ.com, "House Committee Rosters for the 113th Congress"
  3. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "House of Representatives Committee Assignments" Accessed December 23, 2011
  4. ↑ Mitt Romney for President, "Mitt Romney Announces Support of Michigan Congressman Fred Upton, Congressman Tim Walberg and Additional Michigan Leaders," February 8, 2012
  5. ↑ U.S. House "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
  6. ↑ Fred Upton "Issues," Accessed October 5, 2012
  7. ↑ Fred Upton "Issues," Accessed October 5, 2012
  8. ↑ Fred Upton "Issues," Accessed October 5, 2012
  9. ↑ Fred Upton "Issues," Accessed October 5, 2012
  10. ↑ Fred Upton "Issues," Accessed October 5, 2012
  11. ↑ Fred Upton "Issues," Accessed October 5, 2012
  12. ↑ Politico "2012 Election Map, Michigan"
  13. ↑ Associated Press primary results
  14. ↑ YouTube channel
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 The Washingotn Post "The next Jean Schmidt? The top 10 House incumbents who could lose their primaries" Accessed April 1, 2012
  16. ↑ Fred Upton "Endorsements," Accessed October 5, 2012
  17. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
  18. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008"
  19. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006"
  20. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2004"
  21. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002"
  22. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2000"
  23. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998"
  24. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1996"
  25. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1994"
  26. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1992"
  27. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1990"
  28. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1988"
  29. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1986"
  30. ↑ 'Open Secrets "Career Fundraising for Fred Upton," Accessed May 16, 2013
  31. ↑ Open Secrets " 2012 Re-Election Cycle," Accessed February 15, 2013
  32. ↑ Open Secrets "Fred Upton 2010 Election Cycle," Accessed December 23, 2011
  33. ↑ Gov Track "Fred Upton," Accessed June 7 2013
  34. ↑ GovTrack, "Fred Upton" Accessed April 2013
  35. ↑ LegiStorm "Fred Upton"
  36. ↑ CNN Politics, "Congressional bonuses in a time of cuts," March 8, 2013
  37. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Upton, (D-Michigan), 2011"
  38. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Upton, (D-Michigan), 2010"
  39. ↑ National Journal, "TABLE: House Liberal Scores by Issue Area," February 26, 2013
  40. ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
  41. ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
  42. ↑ Official House Site "Biography," Accessed December 23, 2011
Political offices
Preceded by
Bob Carr 		U.S. House of Representatives - Michigan
1993–present 		Succeeded by
'
v • d • e
Michigan's current delegation to the United States Congress
SenatorsCongressLogo.png
Representatives
Bill Huizenga (R) • Candice Miller (R) • Dan Kildee (D) • Dan Benishek (R) • Dave Camp (R) • Fred Upton (R) • Gary Peters (D) • John Conyers, Jr. (D) • John D. Dingell, Jr. (D) • Justin Amash (R) • Mike Rogers (R) • Sandy Levin (D) • Kerry Bentivolio (R) • Tim Walberg (R)
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