Mac Thornberry
| Mac Thornberry | ||
 | ||
| U.S. House, Texas, District 13 | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| January 3, 1995-present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 3, 2015 | ||
| Years in position | 18 | |
| Party | Republican | |
| Predecessor | Bill Sarpalius (D) | |
| Leadership | ||
| Legislative counsel to U.S. Rep. Thomas G. Loeffler | ||
| 1983-1985 | ||
| Chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Larry Combest | ||
| 1985-1988 | ||
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $174,000/year | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 6, 2012 | |
| First elected | November 8, 1994 | |
| Next election | November 4, 2014 | |
| Campaign $ | $4,257,257 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Prior offices | ||
| Deputy assistant secretary for legislative affairs, Department of State | ||
| 1988-1989 | ||
| Education | ||
| High school | Clarendon High School, TX | |
| Bachelor's | Texas Tech University, Lubbock | |
| J.D. | University of Texas School of Law | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | July 15, 1958 | |
| Place of birth | Clarendon, TX | |
| Profession | Rancher, lawyer | |
| Net worth | $410,503 | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Campaign website | ||
Contents |
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Thornberry is a "rank-and-file Republican".[2]
Biography
Thornberry earned his B.A. from Texas Tech and his J.D. from the University of Texas.[3] After earning his law degree, he spent six years in politics, as an aide to two Texas representatives and then in the State Department during the Reagan Administration. He left Washington, D.C., for several years, going into the family ranching business and practicing law.[4]
Career
- 1995-present: U.S. House of Representatives
- 1989-1994: Rancher and lawyer (private practice)
- 1988-1989: Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, Department of State
- 1985-1988: Chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Larry Combest (TX)
- 1983-1985: Legislative counsel to U.S. Rep. Thomas G. Loeffler (TX)
Committee assignments
U.S. House
2013-2014
Thornberry serves on the following committees:[5]
- Committee on Armed Services
- Subcommittee on Intelligence, Emerging Threats and Capabilities Chair
- Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces
- United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
- Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence
2011-12
Thornberry served on the following House committees[4]:
- House Armed Services Committee Vice Chair
- Subcommittee on Emerging Threats
- Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Issues
Political positions
Legalizing propaganda
In May 2012, Rep. Thornberry, along with Rep. Adam Smith, sponsored an amendment to a defense authorization bill that would negate two previous acts in order to legalize the use of propaganda on Americans. Thornberry stated that the current restriction “ties the hands of America’s diplomatic officials, military, and others by inhibiting our ability to effectively communicate in a credible way.” [6] Critics said the move was done under the radar and that there are ways to modernize without getting rid of these safeguards.
Presidential preference
2012
Mac Thornberry endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. [7]
Specific votes
Fiscal Cliff
Thornberry 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.[8]
Elections
2012
Thornberry ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Texas' 13th District. He defeated Pam Barlow in the May 29, 2012, Republican primary. He defeated John Robert Deek (L) and Keith Houston (G) in the November 6, 2012, general election.[9][10]
| U.S. House, Texas, District 13 General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Mac Thornberry Incumbent |
91% | 187,775 | |
| Libertarian | John Robert Deek | 6.2% | 12,701 | |
| Green | Keith F. Houston | 2.9% | 5,912 | |
| Total Votes | 206,388 | |||
| Source: Texas Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Full history
To view the full congressional electoral history for Mac Thornberry, click [show] to expand the section. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Campaign donors
Comprehensive donor information for Thornberry is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, Thornberry raised a total of $4,257,257 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 25, 2013.[20]
| Mac Thornberry's Campaign Contribution History | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Result | Contributions | |
| 2012 | US House (Texas, District 13) |  |
$1,092,128 | |
| 2010 | US House (Texas, District 13) | |
$689,960 | |
| 2008 | US House (Texas, District 13) | |
$778,206 | |
| 2006 | US House (Texas, District 13) | |
$631,023 | |
| 2004 | US House (Texas, District 13) | |
$351,862 | |
| 2000 | US House (Texas, District 13) | |
$714,078 | |
| Grand Total Raised | $4,257,257 | |||
2012
Thornberry won election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Thornberry's campaign committee raised a total of $1,092,129 and spent $870,521.[21]
| U.S. House of Representatives, Texas' 13th Congressional District, 2012 - Mac Thornberry Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $1,092,129 |
| Total Spent | $870,521 |
| Total Raised by Election Runner-up | No reports on record for candidate |
| Total Spent by Election Runner-up | No reports on record for candidate |
| Top contributors to Mac Thornberry's campaign committee | |
| Northrop Grumman | $18,000 |
| Textron Inc | $12,850 |
| Amarillo National Bank | $10,375 |
| General Dynamics | $10,250 |
| American Crystal Sugar | $10,000 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Defense Aerospace | $80,350 |
| Retired | $75,600 |
| Oil & Gas | $66,425 |
| Livestock | $59,425 |
| Computers/Internet | $46,750 |
2010
Thornberry won re-election to the U.S. House in 2010. During that re-election cycle, Thornberry's campaign committee raised a total of $689,960 and spent $792,833.[22]
| U.S. House of Representatives, Texas, 2010 - Mac Thornberry Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $689,960 |
| Total Spent | $792,833 |
| Total Raised by General Election Opponent | $0 |
| Total Spent by General Election Opponent | $0 |
| Top contributors to Mac Thornberry's campaign committee | |
| Honeywell International | $10,000 |
| Raytheon Co | $10,000 |
| Textron Inc | $10,000 |
| Lockheed Martin | $9,000 |
| National Beer Wholesalers Assn | $7,500 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Oil & Gas | $57,625 |
| Retired | $56,025 |
| Defense Aerospace | $51,300 |
| Livestock | $38,850 |
| Health Professionals | $37,850 |
Analysis
Lifetime voting record
According to the website GovTrack, Thornberry missed 121 of 12,398 roll call votes from January 1995 to March 2013. This amounts to 1.0%, which is better than the median of 2.2% among current congressional representatives as of March 2013.[23]
Congressional staff salaries
The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Thornberry paid his congressional staff a total of $1,093,647 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.[24]
Staff bonuses
According to an analysis by CNN, Thornberry is one of nearly 25% of House members who gave their staff bonuses in 2012. Thornberry's staff was given an apparent $48,045.00 in bonus money.[25]
Net worth
2011
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Thornberry's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $241,007 to $580,000. That averages to $410,503, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican House members in 2011 of $7,859,232. His average net worth increased by 6.21% from 2010.[26]
2010
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Thornberry's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $238,004 to $535,000. That averages to $386,502 which is lower than the average net worth of Republican Representatives in 2010 of $7,561,133.[27]
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. Thornberry ranked 93rd in the conservative rankings among members of the U.S. House.[28]
2011
Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Thornberry was tied with four other members of the U.S. House of Representatives, ranking 101st in the conservative rankings among members of the U.S. House.[29]
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, Thornberry voted with the Republican Party 95.6% of the time, which ranked 14 among the 242 House Republican members in November 2011.[30]
Personal
Mac and his wife, Sally, have two children.[4]
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Mac + Thornberry + Texas + House
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
Mac Thornberry News Feed
- Formalizing Oversight of Military Targeted Killings - Council on Foreign Relations (blog)
- Amarillo Resident Forms Exploratory Committee to Run Against Congressman ... - MyHighPlains
- OTHER VOICES Revising the terms of war against al-Qaida - Bangor Daily News
- Health law: 37 times, it loses - Times Record News
- Lawmaker seeks to prevent retirees from being forced off Tricare Prime - Military Times
- Bringing drones out of the shadows - Los Angeles Times
- Boehner obsessed with Benghazi - Thornberry deflects question about HASC ... - Politico (blog)
- Lawmakers Craft 'Kill/Capture' Bill - Newsmax.com - Newsmax.com
- Sunday Breakfast Menu, May 12 - New York Times (blog)
- A Turf War Over Obama's Drone War - DefenseNews.com - Defense News - DefenseNews.com (blog)
Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found
External links
- Social media:
- Biographies:
- Political profiles:
- Financial:
- Interest group ratings:
- Issue positions:
- Public statements:
- Voting record:
- Media appearances:
- Media coverage:
References
- ↑ Politico "2012 Election Map, Texas"
- ↑ Gov Track "Thornberry" Accessed May 23, 2012
- ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress "Mac Thornberry," Accessed October 27, 2011
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Official House website "Biography," Accessed October 27, 2011
- ↑ CQ.com, House Committee Rosters for the 113th Congress
- ↑ ‘’Buzzfeed,” “Congressmen Seek to Lift Propaganda Ban,” May 18, 2012
- ↑ Texas Tribune, “Texas Congressman Will Back Romney,” April 5, 2012
- ↑ U.S. House "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
- ↑ Republican candidate list
- ↑ Unofficial Republican primary results
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008"
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006"
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2004"
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002"
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2000"
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998"
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1996"
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1994"
- ↑ Open Secrets "Career Fundraising for Mac Thornberry," Accessed March 25, 2013
- ↑ Open Secrets "Mac Thornberry 2012 Election Cycle," Accessed March 5, 2013
- ↑ Open Secrets "Mac Thornberry 2010 Election Cycle," Accessed October 27, 2011
- ↑ GovTrack, "Mac Thornberry," Accessed April 2, 2013
- ↑ LegiStorm, "Mac Thornberry," Accessed September 17, 2012
- ↑ CNN Politics, "Congressional bonuses in a time of cuts," March 8, 2013
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org "Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), 2011," accessed February 25, 2013
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), 2010," Accessed September 17, 2012
- ↑ National Journal, "2012 Congressional Vote Ratings," March 7, 2013
- ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
- ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bill Sarpalius |
U.S. House of Representatives - Texas, 13th District 1995-Present |
Succeeded by - |
