Jim McGovern

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Share this article:  E-mail this story Bookmark with Facebook Share on Google+ Share on twitter.com

Jim McGovern
James P McGovern.jpg
U.S. House, Massachusetts, District 2
Incumbent
In office
January 3, 1996-Present
Term ends
January 3, 2015
Years in position 24
PartyDemocratic
PredecessorRichard E. Neal (D)
Compensation
Base salary$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 6, 2012
First elected1996
Next electionNovember 4, 2014
Campaign $$7,150,315
Term limitsN/A
Education
Bachelor'sAmerican University
Master'sAmerican University
Personal
BirthdayNovember 20, 1959
Place of birthWorcester, Massachusetts
ProfessionElected official
Net worth$3,228,506
ReligionRoman Catholic
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Contents

James "Jim" McGovern (b. November 20, 1959) is a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives. McGovern serves the 2nd congressional district of Massachusetts. He was first elected to the U.S. House in 1996. He ran for and won re-election in 2012 in the 2nd congressional district due to redistricting after previously representing the 3rd district.[1]

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, McGovern is a "far-left Democratic leader".[2]

Biography

McGovern was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of two small business owners.[3] He earned his B.A. and M.P.A. from American University in 1981 and 1984 respectively.[4]

In 1990, McGovern was appointed to lead the Moakley Commission Congressional Investigation into the 1989 murder of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter in El Salvador by the Salvadoran Army. That commission's report ultimately led to a change in the U.S. foreign policy on aid to other countries.[5]

Career

The following is a bulleted list of McGovern's career.[6]

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2013-2014

McGovern serves on the following committees:[7]

2011-2012

McGovern served on the following committees and subcommittees:[8]

  • Committee on Rules
    • Subcommittee on Rules and Organization of the House Ranking Member
  • Committee on Agriculture
    • Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, and Credit
    • Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management

Issues

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Voted "Yes" McGovern 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 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.[9]

Campaign themes

2012

On his campaign website, McGovern listed the following seven issues.[10]

  • Economy and Jobs

On his website, McGovern says, "As the son of small business owners, Jim McGovern knows that small business is the backbone of America’s economy. Jim grew up working in his parent’s package store in Worcester, so he knows what it takes to help businesses grow."

  • Education

On his website, McGovern says, "The Third District is home to some of the best institutions of higher education in the world. And Jim McGovern has been worked tirelessly to help families afford a higher education, including authoring legislation to increase Pell Grants. Jim believes that for students who get into college, the focus should be on succeeding in school, not on worrying about how they will pay for it."

  • Energy

On his website, McGovern says, "Jim believes we must reduce our dependence on foreign oil, improve energy efficiency and – most important – create new clean energy jobs here in Massachusetts."

  • Iraq and Afghanistan

On his website, McGovern says, "Jim McGovern voted against the war in Iraq. He believes it was a war of choice, not necessity. There were no weapons of mass destruction. The costs have been enormous."

  • Social Security and Medicare

On his website, McGovern says, "Jim McGovern believes that Social Security and Medicare are sacred promises – commitments that our nation has made to ensure that our senior citizens can live their lives with dignity. Those promises must not be broken."

  • Veterans

On his website, McGovern says, "Jim McGovern believes that there is no higher priority for our nation than providing for our brave men and women who have worn the uniform of the United States. Jim is a strong supporter of programs that provide health care, education, and economic opportunity for our veterans."

  • Wall Street Reform

On his website, McGovern says, "Jim McGovern believes that for years, Wall Street and the Big Banks exploited loopholes, gambled people’s hard-earned money on complex schemes, and rewarded failure and recklessness while Republicans turned a blind eye. America’s families and businesses paid the price. Jim has been a strong supporter of reforming Wall Street to protect consumers and to hold the people who got us into this mess accountable." [10]

Elections

2012

See also: Redistricting in Massachusetts and United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts, 2012

McGovern ran for re-election in 2012. He has been redistricted and won re-election in the 2nd congressional district of Massachusetts. He defeated William Feegbeh in the Democratic primary on September 6, 2012.[11]

General election

U.S. House, Massachusetts, District 2 General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark.jpgJim McGovern Incumbent 75.6% 259,257
     N/A All Others 1.2% 4,078
     N/A Blank Votes 23.2% 79,401
Total Votes 342,736
Source: Massachusetts Secretary of State "Return of Votes"

Primary results

Full history


Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for McGovern is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, McGovern raised a total of $7,150,315 during that time period. This information was last updated on May 16, 2013.[20]

Jim McGovern's Campaign Contribution History
Year Office Result Contributions
2012 U.S. House (Massachusetts, District 2) Won $1,068,822
2010 U.S. House (Massachusetts, District 3) Won $1,839,052
2008 U.S. House (Massachusetts, District 3) Won $1,085,779
2006 U.S. House (Massachusetts, District 3) Won $755,594
2004 U.S. House (Massachusetts, District 3) Won $924,147
2002 U.S. House (Massachusetts, District 3) Won $628,348
2000 U.S. House (Massachusetts, District 3) Won $848,573
Grand Total Raised $7,150,315

2012

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

McGovern won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. During that election cycle, McGovern's campaign committee raised a total of $1,068,822 and spent $740,709.[21]

2010

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

McGovern won re-election to the U.S. House in 2010. During that election cycle, McGovern's campaign committee raised a total of $1,839,052 and spent $2,145,195.[22]

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

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

According to the website GovTrack, McGovern missed 168 of 11,058 roll call votes from Jan 1997 to Mar 2013, which is 1.5%. This is better than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving.[23]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. McGovern paid his congressional staff a total of $1,042,016 in 2011. He ranked 91st on the list of the highest paid Democratic Representative Staff Salaries and he ranked 118th overall of the highest paid Representative Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Massachusetts ranked 2nd in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[24]

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, McGovern's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $1,102,012 and $5,355,000. This averages to $3,228,506, which is a 13.14% increase since 2010. This is lower than the $5,107,874 average net worth for Democratic representatives in 2011.[25]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, McGovern's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $602,012 and $5,104,999. That averages to $2,853,505.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Representatives in 2010 of $4,465,875.[26]

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, McGovern was ranked one of the most liberal representative during 2012. There are 13 other representatives that share this ranking. This was the most liberal ranking held by a representative of Massachusetts in 2012.[27]

2011

According to the data released in 2012, Jim McGovern was ranked the 21st most liberal representative during 2011.[28]

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, McGovern has voted with the Democratic Party 93.4% of the time, which ranked 67th among the 192 House Democratic members as of November 2011.[29]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Jim + McGovern + Massachusetts + House

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

Jim McGovern News Feed


Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found


Personal

McGovern is married to Lisa. They have two children. McGovern has two sisters.[30]

External links


References

  1. ↑ Politico "2012 Election Map, Massachusetts"
  2. ↑ Gov Track "McGovern" Accessed May 18, 2012
  3. ↑ Jim McGovern Campaign website "About Jim," November 23, 2011
  4. ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress "McGOVERN, James P., (1959 - )"
  5. ↑ McGovern House website "About Jim McGovern," Accessed November 23, 2011
  6. ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress "Biography of James McGovern," Accessed November 23, 2011
  7. ↑ CQ.com, "House Committee Rosters for the 113th Congress"
  8. ↑ Official McGovern House Website "Biography," Accessed on November 23, 2011
  9. ↑ U.S. House "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Jim McGovern for Congress "Issues" August 11, 2012
  11. ↑ Associated Press "Massachusetts Primary Results," Accessed September 6, 2012
  12. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
  13. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008"
  14. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006"
  15. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2004"
  16. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002"
  17. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2000"
  18. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998"
  19. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1996"
  20. ↑ Open Secrets "Jim McGovernor" Accessed May 16, 2013
  21. ↑ Open Secrets "Jim McGovern 2012 Re-Election Cycle," Accessed February 15, 2013
  22. ↑ Open Secrets "James McGovern 2010 Election Cycle," Accessed November 23, 2011
  23. ↑ GovTrack, "James McGovern" Accessed April 2013
  24. ↑ LegiStorm "Jim McGovern"
  25. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "McGovern, (D-Massachusetts), 2011"
  26. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "McGovern, (D-Massachusetts), 2010"
  27. ↑ National Journal, "TABLE: House Liberal Scores by Issue Area," February 26, 2013
  28. ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
  29. ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
  30. ↑ Project Vote Smart "Summary," Accessed November 23, 2011
Political offices
Preceded by
Richard Neal 		U.S. House of Representatives - Massachusetts, District 2
2013-Present 		Succeeded by
'
Preceded by
Peter Blute 		U.S. House of Representatives - Massachusetts, District 3
1989-2013 		Succeeded by
Niki Tsongas
v • d • e
Massachusetts' current delegation to the United States Congress
SenatorsCongressLogo.png
Representatives
Joseph Kennedy III (D) • Bill Keating (D) • Ed Markey (D) • Jim McGovern (D) • John Tierney (D) • Michael Capuano (D) • Niki Tsongas (D) • Richard Neal (D) • Stephen Lynch (D)
Other states' delegations
Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming
Retrieved from "http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Jim_McGovern&oldid=1805426"
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Encyclopedia
Calendar
Get Involved
Donate
Toolbox