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Louie Gohmert

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Louis B. "Louie" Gohmert Jr.
Louie Gohmert.jpg
U.S. House, Texas, District 1
Incumbent
In office
2005-present
Term ends
January 3, 2015
Years in position 8
PartyRepublican
PredecessorMax Sandlin (D)
Compensation
Base salary$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 6, 2012
First elected2004
Next electionNovember 4, 2014
Campaign $$5,350,243
Term limitsN/A
Prior offices
Chief Justice, 12th Circuit Court
2002-2003
District Judge, Smith County, TX
1992-2002
Education
High schoolMount Pleasant High School
Bachelor'sTexas A&M University
J.D.Baylor University
Military service
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of service1978-1982
Personal
BirthdayAugust 18, 1953
Place of birthPittsburg, TX
Net worth$-175,001
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Contents

Louie Gohmert (b. August 18, 1953) is a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the state of Texas. Gohmert serves the 1st congressional district of Texas. He was first elected to the House in 2004, and was re-elected on November 6, 2012.[1]

Biography

After earning his J.D. from Baylor University's School of Law, Gohmert went into private practice. He also spent four years in the U.S. Army.[2]

Career

  • 2005-present: United States House of Representatives
  • 2002-2003: Chief Justice, 12th Circuit Court (appointed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry)[2]
  • 1992-2002: District judge, Smith County, TX

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2013-2014

Gohmert serves on the following committees:[3]

2011-2012

Gohmert served on the following House committees[4]:

Issues

House Judiciary Committee

Congressman Gohmert was first appointed to the House Judiciary Committee in 2005[5] and is currently serving his third term on the Committee.[6] [7]

Gohmert serves on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties along with being the lead Republican on the Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorisim.[8] [9]

In addition to his subcommittee assignments, Gohmert also serves on the House Task Force on Judicial Impeachment which is responsible for handling the impeachments of federal judges.[10]

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Voted "No" Gohmert voted against 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 151 Republicans that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[11]

Conservative Fight Club

According to the conservative website RedState, Gohmert is one of 16 U.S. House members in the "Conservative Fight Club", a designation meant to describe the gold standard of conservatives, as outlined by RedState. They are the 16 Republicans who voted against the continuing appropriations resolution to avoid the impending government shutdown in March. This type of resolution is used to fund government agencies when a formal federal budget has not been approved.[12]

Elections

2012

See also: Texas' 1st congressional district elections, 2012

Gohmert ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Texas' 1st District. He ran unopposed in the May 29, 2012, Republican primary. He defeated Shirley McKellar (D) and Clark Patterson (L) in the November 6, 2012, general election.[13][14]

U.S. House, Texas, District 1 General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark.jpgLouie Gohmert Incumbent 71.4% 178,322
     Democratic Shirley J. McKellar 26.9% 67,222
     Libertarian Clark Patterson 1.6% 4,114
Total Votes 249,658
Source: Texas Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Full history


Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Gohmert is available dating back to 2004. Based on available campaign finance records, Gohmert raised a total of $5,350,243 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 25, 2013.[19]

Louie Gohmert's Campaign Contribution History
Year Office Result Contributions
2012 US House (Texas, District 1) Won $742,346
2010 US House (Texas, District 1) Won $793,679
2008 US House (Texas, District 1) Won $888,649
2006 US House (Texas, District 1) Won $1,057,369
2004 US House (Texas, District 1) Won $1,868,200
Grand Total Raised $5,350,243

2012

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

Gohmert won election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Gohmert's campaign committee raised a total of $742,347 and spent $759,162.[20]

2010

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

Gohmert won re-election to the U.S. House in 2010. During that re-election cycle, Gohmert's campaign committee raised a total of $793,679 and spent $877,587.[21]

Analysis

Ideology and leadership

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

2012

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Gohmert is a "far-right Republican leader".[22]

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. Gohmert ranked 116th in the conservative rankings among members of the U.S. House.[23]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Gohmert ranked 128th in the conservative rankings among members of the U.S. House.[24]

Voting with party

2011

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Gohmert voted with the Republican Party 90.4% of the time, which ranked 184 among the 242 House Republican members in November 2011.[25]

Lifetime missed votes

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

According to the website GovTrack, Gohmert missed 507 of 6,440 roll call votes from January 2005 to March 2013. This amounts to 7.9%, which is worse than the median of 2.2% among current congressional representatives as of March 2013.[26]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

2011

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Gohmert paid his congressional staff a total of $941,286 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.[27]

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, Gohmert's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $-230,000 to $-120,002. That averages to $-175,001, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican House members in 2011 of $7,859,232. His average net worth decreased by 16.67% from 2010.[28]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Gohmert's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $$-200,000 to $-100,002. This averages to $-150,001, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican Representatives in 2010 of $7,561,133.[29]

Personal

Gohmert and his wife, Kathy, have three children.[30]

Recent news

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

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

Louie Gohmert News Feed


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External links


References

  1. ↑ Politico "2012 Election Map, Texas"
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress "Louie Gohmert," Accessed October 19, 2011
  3. ↑ CQ.com, House Committee Rosters for the 113th Congress
  4. ↑ Louie Gohmert Official Senate website "Committee Assignments," Accessed October 19, 2011
  5. ↑ Government Printing Office "Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2005", February 17, 2005
  6. ↑ Government Printing Office "Proposed Immigration Fee Increase", February 14, 2007
  7. ↑ House Judiciary Committee "111th Congress Committee Members"
  8. ↑ House Judiciary Committee "Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Membership, 111th Congress"
  9. ↑ House Judiciary Committee "Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Membership", 111th Congress"
  10. ↑ House Judiciary Committee "Task Force on Judicial Impeachment Membership", 111th Congress
  11. ↑ U.S. House "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
  12. ↑ RedState, "Fight Club," March 6, 2013
  13. ↑ Republican candidate list
  14. ↑ Unofficial Republican primary results
  15. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
  16. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008"
  17. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006"
  18. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2004"
  19. ↑ Open Secrets "Career Fundraising for Louie Gohmert," Accessed March 25, 2013
  20. ↑ Open Secrets "Louie Gohmert 2012 Election Cycle," Accessed March 5, 2013
  21. ↑ Open Secrets "Louie Gohmert 2010 Election Cycle," Accessed November 29, 2011
  22. ↑ Gov Track "Gohmert" Accessed May 23, 2012
  23. ↑ National Journal, "2012 Congressional Vote Ratings," March 7, 2013
  24. ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
  25. ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
  26. ↑ GovTrack, "Louie Gohmert," Accessed April 2, 2013
  27. ↑ LegiStorm, "Louis B. Gohmert," Accessed September 17, 2012
  28. ↑ OpenSecrets.org "Louis B. Gohmert Jr (R-Texas), 2011," accessed February 25, 2013
  29. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Louis B. Gohmert (R-Texas), 2010," Accessed September 17, 2012
  30. ↑ Louie Gohmert Official Senate website "Biography," Accessed October 19, 2011
Political offices
Preceded by
Max Sandlin 		U.S. House of Representatives - Texas, 1st District
2005-Present 		Succeeded by
-
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