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Nick Rahall

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Nick Rahall
Nick Rahall.jpg
U.S. House, West Virginia, District 3
Incumbent
In office
January 3, 1993-present
Term ends
January 3, 2015
Years in position 20
PartyDemocratic
PredecessorBob Wise (D)
Leadership
Aide to Sen. Robert Byrd (WV)
1971-1974
Delegate to the Democratic National Convention
1972-1974
Compensation
Base salary$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 6, 2012
First electedNovember 2, 1976
Next electionNovember 4, 2014
Campaign $$5,766,952
Term limitsN/A
Education
High schoolWoodrow Wilson High School, WV
Bachelor'sDuke University
Personal
BirthdayMay 20, 1949
Place of birthBeckley, WV
Net worth$2,343,006
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Contents

Nick Joe Rahall II (b. May 20, 1949) is a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the state of West Virginia. Rahall represents the 3rd congressional district of West Virginia. He was first elected to the House in 1976 to represent West Virginia's 4th congressional district; when that district was eliminated in 1992, Rahall ran for the 3rd district seat and won. Rahall won re-election in 2012.

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Rahall is a "centrist Democrat".[1]

Biography

Upon graduating from Duke University, Rahall joined Sen. Robert Byrd's staff. After that, he went into business and launched his own political career.[2]

Career

  • 1977-present: U.S. House of Representatives
    • 1993-present: Representative of West Virginia's 3rd congressional district
    • 1977-1993: Representative of West Virginia's 4th congressional district
  • 1971-1974: Aide to Sen. Robert Byrd (WV)

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2013-2014

Rahall serves on the following committees:[3]

2011-12

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

  • Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking member
    • Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
    • Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management
    • Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
    • Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials
    • Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

Issues

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.[5] According to the report, Rahall helped secure $20 million toward a parking garage with a bus and taxi facility in downtown Beckley. The project is about a half-mile from his son's home, less than one mile from a commercial property owned by the lawmaker, and a little more than a mile from his residence.[6]

Campaign themes

2012

According to his website, Rahall's campaign platform included the following issues[7]:

  • Jobs and technological development in West Virginia
  • Energy independence

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Voted "Yes" Rahall 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.[8]

Endorsements

2012

Heading into the primary, Rahall was endorsed by the West Virginia AFL-CIO's Committee on Political Education.[9]

Elections

2014

See also: West Virginia's 3rd congressional district elections, 2014

The National Republican Congressional Committee listed Rahall's seat as one of seven early targets in the 2014 congressional elections.[10] The seven targets align perfectly with the seven most Republican districts currently held by Democrats, according to FairVote's partisanship index. Rahall's district ranks as the 3rd most Republican (40% D).[11]

2012

See also: West Virginia's 3rd congressional district elections, 2012

Rahall won re-election in 2012.[12] He was unopposed in the Democratic primary. In the November 6 general election, he defeated Republican Rick Snuffer.[13][14]

U.S. House, West Virginia, District 3 General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark.jpgNick Rahall Incumbent 53.5% 102,519
     Republican Rick Snuffer 46.5% 88,999
Total Votes 191,518
Source: West Virginia Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Full history


Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Rahall is available dating back to 200. Based on available campaign finance records, Rahall raised a total of $5,766,952 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 5, 2013.[33]

Nick Rahall's Campaign Contribution History
Year Office Result Contributions
2012 US House (West Virginia, District 3) Won $1,359,430
2010 US House (West Virginia, District 3) Won $1,261,182
2008 US House (West Virginia, District 3) Won $794,933
2006 US House (West Virginia, District 3) Won $565,269
2004 US House (West Virginia, District 3) Won $539,122
2002 US House (West Virginia, District 3) Won $578,593
2000 US House (West Virginia, District 3) Won $668,423
Grand Total Raised $5,766,952

2012

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

Rahall won re-election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that re-election cycle, Rahall's campaign committee raised a total of $1,359,430 and spent $1,720,828.[34]

2010

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

Rahall won re-election to the U.S. House in 2010. During that re-election cycle, Rahall's campaign committee raised a total of $1,261,182 and spent $2,149,018.[35]

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

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

According to the website GovTrack, Rahall missed 744 of 21,630 roll call votes from January 1977 to April 2013. This amounts to 3.4%, which is worse than the median of 2.1% among current congressional representatives as of April 2013.[36]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Rahall paid his congressional staff a total of $1,134,011 in 2011. Overall, West Virginia ranks 33rd in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[37]

Staff bonuses

According to an analysis by CNN, Rahall is one of nearly 25% of House members who gave their staff bonuses in 2012. Rahall's staff was given an apparent $14,500.00 in bonus money.[38]

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, Rahall's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $1,308,015 and $3,377,997. That averages to $2,343,006, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Representatives in 2011 of $5,107,874. His average net worth decreased by 4.19% from 2010.[39]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Rahall's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $1,923,383 to $2,967,372. That averages to $2,445,377.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Representatives in 2010 of $4,465,875.[40]

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. Rahall ranked 151st in the liberal rankings in 2012.[41]

2011

See also: National Journal vote ratings

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Rahall was 1 of 2 members of congress who ranked 174th in the liberal rankings.[42]

Political positions

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, Rahall voted with the Democratic Party 74.1% of the time, which ranked 176 among the 192 House Democratic members in November 2011.[43]

Personal

Rahall and his wife, Melinda, have three children and three grandchildren.[4]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term "Nick + Rahall + West + Virginia + House"

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

Nick Rahall News Feed


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


External links


References

  1. ↑ Gov Track "Rahall" Accessed May 23, 2012
  2. ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress "Nick Joe Rahall II," Accessed November 18, 2011
  3. ↑ CQ.com, House Committee Rosters for the 113th Congress
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Official House website "Biography," Accessed November 18, 2011
  5. ↑ Washington Post "Congressional earmarks sometimes used to fund projects near lawmakers' properties," February 6, 2012
  6. ↑ Washington Post "Mapping the earmarks," February 6, 2012
  7. ↑ Nick Rahall campaign website "On the Issues," Accessed May 2, 2012
  8. ↑ U.S. House "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
  9. ↑ Herald-Dispatch "W.Va. candidates receive endorsements," March 8, 2012
  10. ↑ The Hill, "NRCC, promising to 'stay on offense,' targets seven Dems," January 16, 2013
  11. ↑ FairVote "NRCC Targets Foreshadow Power of Partisanship in 2014 Elections," January 18, 2013
  12. ↑ Washington Post: The Fix "Romney and Santorum demonstrate hugely different bases of support," January 4, 2012
  13. ↑ West Virginia Metro News "2012 Primary Results," May 8, 2012
  14. ↑ Politico "2012 Election Map"
  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. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002"
  20. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2000"
  21. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998"
  22. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1996"
  23. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1994"
  24. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002"
  25. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1990"
  26. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1988"
  27. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1986"
  28. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1984"
  29. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 1982"
  30. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1980"
  31. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978"
  32. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 1976"
  33. ↑ Open Secrets "Career Fundraising for David McKinley," Accessed April 5, 2013
  34. ↑ Open Secrets "Rahall 2012 Campaign Contributions," Accessed February 23, 2013
  35. ↑ Open Secrets "Nick Rahall 2010 Election Cycle," Accessed November 18, 2011
  36. ↑ GovTrack, "Rahall," Accessed April 11, 2013
  37. ↑ LegiStorm, "Nick Rahall," Accessed September 7, 2012
  38. ↑ CNN Politics, "Congressional bonuses in a time of cuts," March 8, 2013
  39. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Rahall (R-WV), 2011"
  40. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Nick Rahall (D-WVa), 2010," Accessed September 7, 2012
  41. ↑ National Journal, "2012 Congressional Vote Ratings," February 28, 2013
  42. ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
  43. ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
Political offices
Preceded by
Bob Wise 		U.S. House of Representatives - West Virginia, 3rd District
1993-Present 		Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
Ken Hechler 		U.S. House of Representatives - West Virginia, 4th District
1977-1993 		Succeeded by
District 4 eliminated
v • d • e
West Virginia's current delegation to the United States Congress
SenatorsCongressLogo.png
Representatives
David McKinley (R) • Nick Rahall (D) • Shelley Moore Capito (R)
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