Pat Toomey

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Pat Toomey
Pat Toomey.jpg
U.S. Senate, Pennsylvania
Incumbent
In office
2011-Present
Term ends
January 3, 2017
Years in position 2
PartyRepublican
PredecessorArlen Specter (R)
Compensation
Base salary$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 2, 2010
First electedNovember 2, 2010
Next electionNovember 8, 2016
Campaign $$19,860,138
Term limitsN/A
Prior offices
Representative, United States House of Representatives
1999-2004
Education
Bachelor'sPolitical Science, Harvard University, 1984
Personal
BirthdayNovember 17, 1961
Place of birthZionsville, PA
Net worth$3,168,034
ReligionRoman Catholic
Websites
Office website

Contents

Pat Toomey (b. November 17, 1961) is a Republican member of the U.S. Senate from the state of Pennsylvania. Toomey was first elected to the Senate in 2011.

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Toomey is a "rank-and-file Republican".[1]

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Toomey's academic, professional and political career:[2]

  • 1984: Graduated from Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
  • 1999-2005: Served as a Republican to the U.S. Congress
  • 2011-Present: U.S Senator from Pennsylvania

Committee assignments

U.S. Senate

2013-2014

Toomey serves on the following Senate committees[3]:

  • Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
    • Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment
    • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection Members
    • Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development
  • Budget
  • Finance
    • The Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight
    • The Subcommittee on Healthcare
  • Economic Committee

2011-2012

[4]

Issues

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Voted "Yes" Toomey 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. The bill was passed in the Senate by a 89/8 vote on January 1, 2013.[5]

Expanded background checks on gun sales

Voted "Yes" On April 17, 2013 the U.S. Senate took a vote on and defeated a measure that would have expanded federal background checks for firearms purchases.[6] The vote was 54-46, with supporters falling six votes short of the required 60-vote threshold.[7] Toomey was one of the 4 Republican Senators who voted in favor of the measure.[8]

Co-sponsorship of expanded background checks amendment

Following Toomey's April 2013 co-sponsorship of a Senate Bill aimed at strengthening the federal background check policy for prospective gun owners, Quinnipiac University Polling Institute surveyed registered Pennsylvania voters on Toomey's Senate performance. Although the firearm control legislation was ultimately unsuccessful, the poll showed Toomey's job approval rating soaring to a record high level of 48 percent, with 30 percent of voters expressing disapproval. This is compared to Toomey's 11 point approval to disapproval differential (43-32) rating from the prior month.[9] Furthermore, voters from both major parties said they thought more favorably of him as a result of his bipartisan efforts on the issue of gun control by a margin of 54-12 percent.[10] The Quinnipiac poll surveyed 1,235 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points.[9]

Drones filibuster

See also: Rand Paul filibuster of John Brennan's CIA Nomination in March 2013

On March 6, 2013, Senator Rand Paul (R) led a 13-hour filibuster of President Obama's CIA Director nominee, John Brennan. Paul started the filibuster in order to highlight his concerns about the administration's drone policies. In particular, Paul said he was concerned about whether a drone could be used to kill an American citizen within the United States border, without any due process involved. Paul and other civil liberties activists have been critical that President Obama did not offer a clear response to the question. A total of 14 senators joined Paul in the filibuster -- 13 Republicans and one Democrat.[11][12][13]

Toomey was one of the 13 Republican senators who joined Paul in his filibuster.[14][15]

According to the website Breitbart, there were 30 Republican senators who did not support the filibuster.[16][17]

The day after the filibuster, Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to Paul, responding to the filibuster. Holder wrote, "Does the president have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on U.S. soil? The answer to that is no."[18]

Elections

2016

Toomey will next come up for re-election in 2016. The race drew an early challenger in May 2013 when former Rep. Joe Sestak (D), whom Toomey defeated in the 2010 U.S. Senate general election, announced he would pursue a re-match in 2016.[19]

U.S. Senate race 2016 - Hypothetical match-up poll
Response Quinnipiac University Poll
(May 30-June 4, 2013)		Average
Joe Sestak 37% 37%
Pat Toomey 42% 42%
Undecided 19% 19%
Number polled 1,032 1,032
Margin of error +/-3.1 3.1%
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

2010

On November 2, 2010, Toomey won election to the United States Senate. He defeated Joe Sestak (D) in the general election.[20]

U.S. Senate, Pennsylvania General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark.jpgPat Toomey 51% 2,028,945
     Democrat Joe Sestak 49% 1,948,716
Total Votes 3,977,661

Full history


Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Toomey is available dating back to 2002. Based on available campaign finance records, Toomey raised a total of $19,860,138 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 22, 2013.[24]

Pat Toomey's Campaign Contribution History
Year Office Result Contributions
2010 US Senate (Pennsylvania) Won $17,155,694
2002 US House (Pennsylvania, District 15) Won $1,631,237
2000 US House (Pennsylvania, District 15) Won $1,073,207
Grand Total Raised $19,860,138
Breakdown of the source of Toomey's campaign funds before the 2010 election.

2010

Toomey won election to the U.S. Senate in 2010. During that re-election cycle, Toomey's campaign committee raised a total of $17,155,694 and spent $16,958,449.[25]

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

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

According to the website GovTrack, Toomey missed 11 of 582 roll call votes between January 2011 and April 2013. This amounts to 1.9%, which is worse than the median of 1.7% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving as of March 2013.[26]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Toomey paid his congressional staff a total of $1,927,174 in 2011. He ranks 12th on the list of the lowest paid Republican Senatorial Staff Salaries and he ranks 14th overall of the lowest paid Senatorial Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Pennsylvania ranks 5th in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 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, Toomey's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $1,763,068 and $4,573,000. That averages to $3,168,034, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican Senators in 2011 of $6,358,668. His average net worth decreased 2.54% from 2010.[28]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Toomey's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $1,750,070 and $4,750,999. That averages to $3,250,534.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican Senators in 2010 of $7,054,258.[29]

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. In 2012, Toomey ranked 4th out of 48 Republican members of the Senate in the conservative rankings.[30][31]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. In 2011, Toomey was ranked 18th among Republican members of the Senate in the conservative rankings.[32]

Political positions

Voting with party

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Toomey votes with the Democratic Party 89.2% of the time. This ranks 29th among the 47 Senate Republicans in 2011.[33]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Pat + Toomey + Pennsylvania + Senate

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

Pat Toomey News Feed


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


Personal

Toomey and his wife, Kris, have three children.

External links


References

  1. ↑ Gov Track "Patrick Toomey," Accessed March 3, 2012
  2. ↑ Biographical Director of the United States Congress "Pat Toomey," Accessed October 24, 2011
  3. ↑ Congressional Quarterly "Senate Committee List" Accessed January 22, 2013
  4. ↑ Pat Toomey Vote Smart profile
  5. ↑ U.S. Senate "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
  6. ↑ NPR "Senate Rejects Expanded Background Checks For Gun Sales" Accessed April 19, 2013
  7. ↑ Fox News "Background check plan defeated in Senate, Obama rips gun bill opponents" Accessed April 19, 2013
  8. ↑ NPR "Historically Speaking, No Surprise In Senate Gun Control Vote" Accessed April 19, 2013
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Quinnipiac University, "April 26, 2013 - Pennsylvania Voters Say Run Pittsburgh Marathon, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Many Voters Angry At U.S. Senate Gun-Control Vote," April 26, 2013
  10. ↑ Politico, "Poll: Pat Toomey poll numbers rise," April 26, 2013
  11. ↑ CNN "Rand Paul says he's heard from White House after filibuster," March 7, 2013
  12. ↑ USA Today "Rand Paul filibuster ranks among Senate's longest," March 7, 2013
  13. ↑ ABC News "Rand Paul Wins Applause From GOP and Liberals," March 7, 2013
  14. ↑ The Blaze, "Here Are All the GOP Senators That Participated in Rand Paul’s 12+ Hour Filibuster… and the Ones Who Didn’t," March 7, 2013
  15. ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Sen. Rand Paul ends marathon filibuster of John Brennan," March 7, 2013
  16. ↑ Breitbart "AWOL: Meet The GOP Senators Who Refused to Stand With Rand," March 7, 2013
  17. ↑ Politico "Rand Paul filibuster blasted by Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham," March 7, 2013
  18. ↑ Washington Post "Eric Holder responds to Rand Paul with ‘no’," March 7, 2013
  19. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named rematch16
  20. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
  21. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002"
  22. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2000"
  23. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998"
  24. ↑ Open Secrets "Career Fundraising for Pat Toomey," Accessed April 22, 2013
  25. ↑ Open Secrets "Pat Toomey 2010 Election Cycle," Accessed October 24 2011
  26. ↑ GovTrack, "Pat Toomey," Accessed April 17, 2013
  27. ↑ LegiStorm "Pat Toomey"
  28. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Toomey, (R-Penn), 2011"
  29. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Toomey, (R-Penn), 2010"
  30. ↑ National Journal, "TABLE: Senate Liberal Scores by Issue Area," February 21, 2013
  31. ↑ National Journal, "TABLE: Senate Conservative Scores by Issue Area," February 21, 2013
  32. ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
  33. ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party," Accessed October 29, 2011
Political offices
Preceded by
Arlen Specter 		U.S. Senate - Pennsylvania
2011-Present 		Succeeded by
-
v • d • e
Pennsylvania's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Bob Casey, Jr. (D) • Pat Toomey (R)
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