Lamar S. Smith

From Ballotpedia
(Redirected from Lamar Smith)
Jump to: navigation, search

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

Lamar Smith
Lamar Smith.jpg
U.S. House, Texas, District 21
Incumbent
In office
January 3, 1987-Present
Term ends
January 3, 2015
Years in position 26
PartyRepublican
PredecessorTom Loeffler (R)
Leadership
Chair of the House Judiciary Committee
2011-Present
Compensation
Base salary$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 6, 2012
First electedNovember 4, 1986
Next electionNovember 4, 2014
Campaign $$7,914,791
Term limitsN/A
Prior offices
County Commissioner, Bexar County, Texas
1982-1985
Texas House of Representatives
1981-1982
Education
High schoolTexas Military Institute
Bachelor'sYale University
J.D.Southern Methodist University
Personal
BirthdayNovember 19, 1947
Place of birthSan Antonio, Texas
ProfessionAttorney
Net worth$4,201,560
ReligionChristian Science
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Contents

Lamar Seeligson Smith (b. November 19, 1947) is a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the state of Texas. Smith represents Texas' 21st congressional district and was first elected to the House in 1986. He won re-election on November 6, 2012.[1]

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

Biography

Smith was born in San Antonio, Texas. He earned his B.A. from Yale University in 1969, and his J.D. from Southern Methodist University in 1975.[2]

Career

Having earned his J.D., Smith went into private practice. He also managed a family ranch and worked as a journalist.

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2013-2014

Smith serves on the following committees:[3]

2011-2012

Smith was a member of the following House committees:[4]

Issues

House Judiciary Committee

Lamar Smith has been the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee since 2007.[6]

Presidential preference

2012

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

Lamar S. Smith endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. [7]

Earmarks

A Washington Post investigation in February 2012 revealed that 33 members of Congress helped direct more than $300 million in earmarks to public projects in close proximity to commercial and residential real estate owned by the lawmakers or their family members.[8] According to the report, Smith helped secure $950,000 toward road improvements near the San Antonio Fort Sam Houston military base. The earmark will improve three traffic-clogged local intersections near the base, including one a few blocks from Smith's home.[9]

Campaign themes

2012

Smith's campaign website listed the following issues:[10]

  • Creating Jobs
Excerpt: "Congressman Smith knows that the government doesn’t create jobs, American ingenuity and entrepreneurs do. But the unprecedented growth of government in Washington is casting a chilling shadow on the American economy."
  • Cutting Spending
Excerpt: "President Obama came into office promising to cut the deficit in half, to reduce taxes, and to not expand the size of the government. Instead, the deficit has doubled, with no reversal in the spending spree in sight."
  • Health Care
Excerpt: "The American people have had enough of the government trying to take over health care and Congressman Smith stands with the American people. We’ve all had enough of the 2,000-page bills, the trillion-dollar price tags, the backdoor deals, the cuts to Medicare, the higher premiums, and the trampling of the doctor-patient relationship."
  • Constitution
Excerpt: "As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Congressman Smith takes very seriously his obligation to uphold and defend the Constitution. "
  • Taxes
Excerpt: "Congressman Smith supports low taxes because he believes that Americans, not the federal government, know best how to spend their money."

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Voted "Yes" Smith 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.[11]

Elections

2012

See also: Texas' 21st congressional district elections, 2012

Smith ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Texas' 21st District. He defeated Richard Morgan and Richard Mack in the May 29, 2012, Republican primary. He defeated Candace Duval (D) and John-Henry Liberty (L) in the November 6, 2012, general election.[12][13]

U.S. House, Texas, District 21 General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark.jpgLamar Smith Incumbent 60.5% 187,015
     Democratic Candace E. Duval 35.4% 109,326
     Libertarian John-Henry Liberty 4.1% 12,524
Total Votes 308,865
Source: Texas Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"


Full history


Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Smith is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, Smith raised a total of $7,914,791 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 25, 2013.[27]

Lamar S. Smith's Campaign Contribution History
Year Office Result Contributions
2012 US House (Texas, District 21) Won $1,727,471
2010 US House (Texas, District 21) Won $1,312,958
2008 US House (Texas, District 21) Won $1,242,140
2006 US House (Texas, District 21) Won $1,332,470
2004 US House (Texas, District 21) Won $973,780
2002 US House (Texas, District 21) Won $789,337
2000 US House (Texas, District 21) Won $536,635
Grand Total Raised $7,914,791

2012

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

Smith won election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Smith's campaign committee raised a total of $1,727,472 and spent $1,705,681.[28]

2010

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

Smith won re-election to the U.S. House in 2010. During that re-election cycle, Smith's campaign committee raised a total of $1,312,958 and spent $1,248,308.[29]

Analysis

Ideology and leadership

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

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Smith is a "moderate Republican leader" as of June 2013.[30]

Lifetime voting record

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

According to the website GovTrack, Smith missed 498 of 16,291 roll call votes from January 1987 to March 2013. This amounts to 3.1%, which is worse than the median of 2.2% among current congressional representatives as of March 2013.[31]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Smith paid his congressional staff a total of $907,391 in 2011. Overall, Texas ranks 27th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[32]

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, Smith's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $2,337,120 to $6,066,000. That averages to $4,201,560, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican House members in 2011 of $7,859,232. His average net worth increased by 7.03% from 2010.[33]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Smith's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $2,086,120 to $5,765,000. That averages to $3,925,560 which is lower than the average net worth of Republican Representatives in 2010 of $7,561,133.[34]

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. Smith tied with one other member of the U.S. House of Representatives, ranking 127th in the conservative rankings among members of the U.S. House.[35]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Smith was tied with one other member of the U.S. House of Representatives, ranking 85th in the conservative rankings among members of the U.S. House.[36]

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, Lamar Smith has voted with the Republican Party 98.2% of the time, which ranked 52nd among the 233 House Republican members as of June 2013.[37]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Lamar + Smith + Texas + House

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

Lamar Smith News Feed


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


Personal

Smith and his wife, Beth, have two children.[38]

External links


References

  1. ↑ Politico "2012 Election Map, Texas"
  2. ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress "SMITH, Lamar Seeligson, (1947 - )"
  3. ↑ CQ.com, House Committee Rosters for the 113th Congress
  4. ↑ Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives "Committee Information"
  5. ↑ Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Ralph M. Hall, Chairman "Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation"
  6. ↑ "Government Printing Office" 110th Congress Materials(See Page II)
  7. ↑ The Hill, "2012 GOP Lawmaker Endorsements for President," retrieved November 23, 2011
  8. ↑ Washington Post "Congressional earmarks sometimes used to fund projects near lawmakers' properties," February 6, 2012
  9. ↑ Washington Post "Mapping the earmarks," February 6, 2012
  10. ↑ Campaign website, Issues
  11. ↑ U.S. House "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
  12. ↑ Republican candidate list
  13. ↑ Unofficial Republican primary results
  14. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
  15. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008"
  16. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006"
  17. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2004"
  18. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002"
  19. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2000"
  20. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998"
  21. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1996"
  22. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1994"
  23. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1992"
  24. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1990"
  25. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1988"
  26. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1986"
  27. ↑ Open Secrets "Career Fundraising for Lamar S. Smith," Accessed March 25, 2013
  28. ↑ Open Secrets "Lamar Smith 2012 Election Cycle," Accessed March 5, 2013
  29. ↑ Open Secrets "Lamar Smith 2010 Election Cycle," Accessed October 26, 2011
  30. ↑ Gov Track "Lamar Smith," Accessed June 7 2013
  31. ↑ GovTrack, "Lamar Smith," Accessed April 2, 2013
  32. ↑ LegiStorm, "Lamar Smith," Accessed September 17, 2012
  33. ↑ OpenSecrets.org "Lamar Smith (R-Texas), 2011," accessed February 25, 2013
  34. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Lamar Smith (R-Texas), 2010," Accessed September 17, 2012
  35. ↑ National Journal, "2012 Congressional Vote Ratings," March 7, 2013
  36. ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
  37. ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
  38. ↑ Official House website "Biography," Accessed October 29, 2011
Political offices
Preceded by
Tom Loeffler 		U.S. House of Representatives - Texas, District 21
1987-Present 		Succeeded by
'
Preceded by
' 		County Commissioner, Bexar County, Texas
1982-1985 		Succeeded by
'
Preceded by
' 		Texas House of Representatives
1981-1982 		Succeeded by
'
v • d • e
Texas's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
John Cornyn (R) • Ted Cruz (R)
CongressLogo.png
Representatives
Al Green (D) • Bill Flores (R) • Blake Farenthold (R) • Joaquin Castro (D) • Eddie Bernice Johnson (D) • Pete Gallego (D) • Gene Green (D) • Henry Cuellar (D) • Jeb Hensarling (R) • Joe Barton (R) • John Carter (R) • John Culberson (R) • Kay Granger (R) • Kenny Marchant (R) • Kevin Brady (R) • Lamar Smith (R) • Lloyd Doggett (D) • Louie Gohmert (R) • Mac Thornberry (R) • Michael C. Burgess (R) • Michael McCaul (R) • Mike Conaway (R) • Pete Olson (R) • Pete Sessions (R) • Ralph Hall (R) • Randy Neugebauer (R) • Randy Weber (R) • Rubén Hinojosa (D) • Sam Johnson (R) • Sheila Jackson Lee (D) • Beto O'Rourke (D) • Ted Poe (R) • Roger Williams (R) • Marc Veasey (D) • Filemon Vela (D) • Steve Stockman (R)
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=Lamar_S._Smith&oldid=1820171"
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Encyclopedia
Calendar
Get Involved
Donate
Toolbox