John Kline

John Kline
U.S. House, Minnesota, District 2
Incumbent
In office
January 3, 2003-Present
Term ends
January 3, 2015
Years in position	10
Party	Republican
Predecessor	Mark Kennedy (R)
Compensation
Base salary	$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	November 5, 2002
Next election	November 4, 2014
Campaign $	$10,004,246
Term limits	N/A
Education
High school	Butte High School
Bachelor's	Rice University
Master's	Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Military service
Service/branch	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1969-1994
Personal
Birthday	September 6, 1947
Place of birth	Allentown, Pennsylvania
Profession	Soldier, Teacher
Net worth	$446,504
Religion	Methodist
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

John Paul Kline (b. September 6, 1947) is a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing Minnesota's 2nd congressional district. Kline was first elected to the House in 2002. He won re-election in 2012.

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Kline is a "far-right Republican".

Biography

Kline was born in 1947 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He earned his B.A. from Rice University and his M.P.A. from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania in 1969 and 1988, respectively. Prior to his political career, Kline served as a helicopter pilot in the United States Marine Corps from 1969-1994.

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Kline's professional and political career:

• U.S. House of Representatives, Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, 2003-Present
• Unsuccessful Candidate for Congress, 1998, 2000
• United States Marine Corps, 1969-1994

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2013-2014

Kline serves on the following committees:

• Armed Services Committee
  • Subcommittee on Intelligence, Emerging Threats and Capabilities
• Education and the Workforce Committee Chair
  • Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
  • Subcommittee on Workforce Protections

2011-2012

Kline served on the following committees:

• Education and the Workforce Committee Chair
• Armed Services Committee
  • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities

Issues

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Kline 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.

Elections

2012

See also: Minnesota's 2nd congressional district elections, 2012

Kline won re-election in 2012. He defeated David Gerson in the Republican primary and defeated Democrat Mike Obermueller in the November general election.

U.S. House, Minnesota, District 2, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	John Kline Incumbent	54%	193,587
	Democratic	Mike Obermueller	45.8%	164,338
	NA	Write-in	0.1%	521
Total Votes				358,446
Source: Minnesota Secretary of State, "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Effect of redistricting

Given the new district maps, Democrats in the state say they have better odds of defeating incumbent Kline, who won his last election by a 30 percent margin. Democrats hope that Kline's south suburban and rural district, which includes a southeastern swath of Minnesota from Dakota County to Wabasha County and over to Scott and Rice counties, could turn in their favor.

According to the Washington Post, redistricting has transformed the 2nd district from a safe seat into a swing district. While the 2nd formerly went safely for Kline, the newly drawn district will be a battleground for Republicans and Democrats fighting for control of the House.

Endorsements

Kline's awards and endorsements from the 2012 election are listed below.

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• Council for Citizens Against Government Waste “Taxpayer Hero Award”
• National Tax Limitation Committee “Tax Fighter Award”
• Taxpayers League Liberty Fund
• National Federation of Independent Business
• Spirit of Enterprise Award
• Champion of Small Business Award
• Minnesota Farm Bureau
• National Guard Bureau’s Heritage Award
• Club for Growth
• Minnesota Police & Peace Officers Association
• International Association of Firefighters
• Veterans of Foreign Wars PAC
• Combat Veterans for Congress
• American Conservative Union
• National Rifle Association
• International Foodservice Distributors Association
• National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors
• National Right To Life Committee
• Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for John Kline, click [show] to expand the section.

2010 On November 2, 2010, John Kline won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Shelley Madore (D) in the general election. U.S. House, Minnesota District 2 General Election, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican John Kline incumbent 63.3% 181,341      Democratic Shelley Madore 36.6% 104,809      N/A Write-in 0.1% 303 Total Votes 286,453 2008 On November 4, 2008, John Kline won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Steve Sarvi (D), Kevin Masrud (Write-in) and Curt Walor (Write-in) in the general election. U.S. House, Minnesota District 2 General Election, 2008 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican John Kline incumbent 57.3% 220,924      Democratic Steve Sarvi 42.5% 164,093      Write-in Kevin Masrud 0% 41      Write-in Curt Walor 0% 1      N/A Write-in 0.2% 597 Total Votes 385,656 2006 On November 7, 2006, John Kline won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Coleen Rowley (D) and Douglas Williams (I) in the general election. U.S. House, Minnesota District 2 General Election, 2006 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican John Kline incumbent 56.2% 163,269      Democratic Coleen Rowley 40% 116,343      Independent Douglas Williams 3.7% 10,802      N/A Write-in 0% 126 Total Votes 290,540 2004 On November 2, 2004, John Kline won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Teresa Daly (D) and Gregory Mikkelson (I) in the general election. U.S. House, Minnesota District 2 General Election, 2004 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican John Kline incumbent 56.4% 206,313      Democratic Teresa Daly 40.3% 147,527      Independent Gregory Mikkelson 3.2% 11,822      N/A Write-in 0.1% 283 Total Votes 365,945 2002 On November 5, 2002, John Kline won election to the United States House. He defeated Bill Luther (D) and Samuel D. Garst (No New Taxes) in the general election. U.S. House, Minnesota District 2 General Election, 2002 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican John Kline 53.3% 152,970      Democratic Bill Luther 42.2% 121,121      No New Taxes Samuel D. Garst 4.3% 12,430      N/A Write-in 0.1% 339 Total Votes 286,860

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Kline is available dating back to 2002. Based on available campaign finance records, Kline raised a total of $10,004,246 during that time period. This information was last updated on May 16, 2013.

John Kline's Campaign Contribution History
Year	Office	Result	Contributions
2012	U.S. House (Minnesota, District 2)		$2,352,676
2010	U.S. House (Minnesota, District 2)		$1,552,172
2008	U.S. House (Minnesota, District 2)		$1,464,906
2006	U.S. House (Minnesota, District 2)		$1,495,470
2004	U.S. House (Minnesota, District 2)		$1,585,892
2002	U.S. House (Minnesota, District 2)		$1,553,130
Grand Total Raised			$10,004,246

2012

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

Kline won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. During that election cycle, Kline's campaign committee raised a total of $2,352,676 and spent $1,957,356.

U.S. House of Representatives, 2012 - John Kline Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$2,352,676
Total Spent	$1,957,356
Total Raised by Election Runner-up	$717,173
Total Spent by Election Runner-up	$705,166
Top contributors to John Kline's campaign committee
Apollo Group	$21,500
Ecolab Inc	$18,000
Rasmussen Inc	$16,419
DeVry Inc	$16,250
Hubbard Broadcasting	$15,500
Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee
Education	$262,309
Insurance	$125,050
Securities & Investment	$125,050
Retired	$72,150
Lawyers/Law Firms	$70,862

2010

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

Kline won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. During that election cycle, Kline's campaign committee raised a total of $1,552,172 and spent $1,404,779.

U.S. House of Representatives, Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District, 2010 - John Kline Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$1,552,172
Total Spent	$1,404,779
Total Raised by General Election Opponent	$88,818
Total Spent by General Election Opponent	$88,200
Top contributors to John Kline's campaign committee
Best Buy	$13,900
Starkey Laboratories	$13,400
General Mills	$12,400
Boeing Co	$11,500
Pawn America	$10,100
Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee
Retired	$71,301
Education	$69,200
Retail Sales	$64,650
Securities & Investment	$60,050
Insurance	$54,800

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

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

According to the website GovTrack, Kline missed 49 of 7,664 roll call votes from Jan 2003 to Apr 2013, which is 0.6% of votes during that period. This is better than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving.

Congressional Staff Salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Kline paid his congressional staff a total of $930,733 in 2011. He ranked 103rd on the list of the highest paid Republican Representative Staff Salaries and he ranked 180th overall of the highest paid Representative Staff Salaries 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.

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, Kline's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $248,009 and $645,000. This averages to $446,504, which is a 0.052% decrease since 2010. This is lower than the $7,859,232 average net worth for Republican representatives in 2011.

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Kline's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $251,013 and $691,000. That averages to $471,006.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican Representatives in 2010 of $7,561,133.

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, Kline was ranked the 26th most conservative representative during 2012. This is the most conservative ranking earned by a representative of Minnesota.

2011

According to the data released in 2012, John Kline was ranked the 60th most conservative representative during 2011. This is the most conservative rating held by a representative from Minnesota.

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, John Kline voted with the Republican Party 95.6% of the time, which ranked 19 among the 242 House Republican members in November 2011.

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term John + Kline + Minnesota + House

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

John Kline News Feed

• House passes Kline's student loan bill - Minnesota Public Radio
• Minnesota Rep. John Kline is chair, but title holds less power - Minneapolis Star Tribune
• NRCC Chair Greg Walden: Six Minnesota House seats could be competitive in '14 - MinnPost.com
• House to vote on Kline's student loan bill - Minnesota Public Radio
• Whether You're A Student, Graduate, Or Neither, These Congressional ... - Campus Progress
• House Votes for Market-Based Rates - CNBC.com
• California Student Loan Debt In Better Shape Than Nation - Independent Voter Network
• White House threatens veto of Kline student loan bill - MinnPost.com
• House to vote on student loan interest rate legislation - New Haven Register
• Obama threatens veto of House student loan plan - Boston Globe

Personal

Kline lives in Lakeville, Minnesota, with his wife, Vicky. They have two children and four grandchildren.

External links

• Official House website
• Official campaign website

• Social media:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
• Biographies:
  • U.S. Congress
• Political profiles:
  • GovTrack
  • OpenCongress
  • Project Vote Smart
  • CongressMerge
• Financial:
  • FEC
  • OpenSecrets.org
  • LegiStorm.com
• Interest group ratings:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions:
  • On The Issues
  • Project Vote Smart
• Public statements:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Voting record:
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Washington Post
• Media appearances:
  • C-SPAN
• Media coverage:
  • Washington Post

• Official Youtube channel

References

Political offices
Preceded by Mark Kennedy	U.S. House of Representatives - Minnesota, District 2 2003–Present	Succeeded by '