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Tom Carper

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Tom Carper
Tom Carper.jpg
U.S. Senate, Delaware
Incumbent
In office
January 3, 2001-present
Term ends
January 3, 2019
Years in position 12
PartyDemocratic
PredecessorWilliam Roth, Jr. (R)
Compensation
Base salary$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 6, 2012
First elected2000
Next electionNovember 2018
Campaign $$12,265,257
Term limitsN/A
Prior offices
Governor of Delaware
1992-2000
U.S. House
1982-1992
Delaware Treasurer
1976-1982
Education
High schoolWhetstone High School
Bachelor'sOhio State University (1968)
Master'sUniversity of Delaware (1975)
Military service
Service/branchU.S. Navy
Years of service1968-1991
Personal
Place of birthBeckley, West Virginia
ProfessionEconomist
Net worth$4,060,193
ReligionPresbyterian
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Contents

Tom Carper (b. January 23, 1947) is a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from the state of Delaware. Carper was first elected to the Senate in 2000.

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

Carper won re-election in 2012.[2]

Biography

Carper was born in Beckley, West Virginia. He grew up in Danville, Virginia and graduated from Whetstone High School in Columbus, Ohio. Carper attended The Ohio State University on a Navy R.O.T.C. scholarship, graduating in 1968 with a B.A. in economics. [3]

Career

  • 1968-1973:Naval Flight Officer in U.S. Navy
  • 1973-1991:Naval Reserve P-3 Aircraft Mission Commander

Committee assignments

U.S. Senate

2013-2014

Carper serves on the following Senate committees[4]:

2011-2012

Issues

Political Positions

Gay Marriage

Sen. Carper opposes the Defense of Marriage Act, and has co-signed an amicus brief, urging the Supreme Court to strike down section three of that law.[5]

On April 2, 2013 Carper spoke in favor of gay marriage in a post on his Facebook page. In it he stated, "As our society has changed and evolved, so too has the public's opinion on gay marriage – and so has mine. I pray every day for God to grant me the wisdom to do what is right. Through my prayers and conversations with my family and countless friends and Delawareans, I've been reminded of the power of one of my core values: the Golden Rule. It calls on us to treat others as we want to be treated. That means, to me, that all Americans ultimately should be free to marry the people they love and intend to share their lives with, regardless of their sexual orientation, and that's why today, after a great deal of soul searching, I'm endorsing marriage equality."[6]

Campaign themes

2012

Carper's campaign website listed the following issues:[7]

  • Health Care
Excerpt: "America has some great doctors, nurses and hospitals, but, unfortunately, Americans aren’t getting the most bang for the buck when it comes to our healthcare system."
  • Economy
Excerpt: "Three years ago America experienced one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression. Since then we’ve made a lot of progress on the economy, but more has to be done to protect and grow our middle class."
  • Reducing our Debt and Deficit
Excerpt: "In a time of deficits as far as the eye can see, we have to make a fundamental shift from a “culture of spendthrift,” wherein the federal government spends freely without careful thought, to a “culture of thrift,” whereby we use taxpayer money prudently and to the greatest effect."

Fiscal Cliff

Voted "No" Carper 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 three Democrats that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the Senate by a 89/8 vote on January 1, 2013.[8]

Elections

2012

See also: United States Senate elections in Delaware, 2012

Carper won re-election in 2012. He defeated Keith Robert Spanarelli in the primary. Carper advanced to the general election on November 6, 2012.[9] He defeated Kevin Wade in the general election on November 6, 2012.[10]

U.S. Senate, Delaware, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark.jpgThomas Carper Incumbent 66.7% 252,892
     Republican Kevin Wade 28.7% 108,957
     Green Andrew Richard Groff 0.8% 3,036
     Independent Alexander Pires 3.8% 14,462
Total Votes 379,347
Source: Delaware Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Full history


Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Carper is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, Carper raised a total of $12,265,257 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 3, 2013.[13]

Tom Carper's Campaign Contribution History
Year Office Result Contributions
2012 U.S. Senate (Delaware) Won $4,882,503
2006 U.S. Senate (Delaware) Won $4,752,942
2000 U.S. Senate (Delaware) Won $2,629,812
Grand Total Raised $12,265,257

Individual breakdown

2012

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

Carper won re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2012. During that election cycle, Carper's campaign committee raised a total of $4,882,503 and spent $5,324,026.[14]

2006

Breakdown of the source of Carper's campaign funds before the 2006 election.

Carper won re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2006. During that re-election cycle, Carper's campaign committee raised a total of $4,752,942 and spent $3,491,225.[15]


Analysis

Lifetime voting record

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

According to the website GovTrack, Carper missed 33 of 3,884 roll call votes from Jan 2001 to Mar 2013. This amounts to 0.08%, which is better than the median of 1.7% among currently serving senators as of March 2013.[16]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Carper paid his congressional staff a total of $2,486,675 in 2011. He ranks 10th on the list of the lowest paid Democratic Senatorial Staff Salaries and he ranks 39th overall of the lowest paid Senatorial Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Delaware ranks 39th in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.[17]

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, Carper's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $2,015,265 and $6,105,122. That averages to $4,060,193, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Senators in 2011 of $20,795,450. His average net worth decreased by 11.87% from 2010.[18]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Carper's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $2,058,157 and $7,155,999. That averages to $4,607,078, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Senators in 2010 of $19,383,524.[19]

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. Carper ranked 36th in the liberal rankings in 2012.[20]

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. Carper ranked 33rd in the liberal rankings among U.S. Senators.[21]

Political Positions

Percentage 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, Tom Carper voted with the Democratic Party 93 of the time, which ranked 34 among the 51 Senate Democratic members in November 2011.[22]

Personal

Carper and his wife Martha reside in Wilmington. They have two sons, Chris and Ben. He commutes by train to Washington, D.C. on a daily basis.[23]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Tom + Carper + Delaware + Senate

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

Tom Carper News Feed


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External links

References

  1. ↑ Gov Track "Tom Carper," Accessed March 3, 2012
  2. ↑ ABC News "2012 General Elections Result"
  3. ↑ Tom Carper, U.S. Senator for Delaware "About Tom Carper" Accessed October 12, 2011
  4. ↑ Congressional Quarterly "Senate Committee List" Accessed January 22, 2013
  5. ↑ Huffingtonpost.com "Gay Marriage Rights: The 10 Democratic Senators Who Still Say No" March 2013
  6. ↑ Slate.com "Delaware's Sen. Tom Carper Finally Endorses Gay Marriage. Who's Next?" Accessed April 2, 2013
  7. ↑ Campaign website, Issues
  8. ↑ U.S. Senate "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
  9. ↑ Delaware State Elections "Primary Results" September 11, 2012
  10. ↑ ABC News "2012 General Elections Result"
  11. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006"
  12. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2000"
  13. ↑ Open Secrets "Tom Carper" Accessed April 3, 2013
  14. ↑ Open Secrets "Tom Carper 2012 Election Cycle," Accessed February 28, 2013
  15. ↑ Open Secrets "Tom Carper 2006 Election Cycle," Accessed November 7, 2011
  16. ↑ GovTrack, "Tom Carper," Accessed March 29, 2013
  17. ↑ LegiStorm "Tom Carper"
  18. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Tom Carper, (D-Del), 2011"
  19. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Carper, (D-Del), 2010"
  20. ↑ National Journal, "2012 Congressional Vote Ratings," February 28, 2013
  21. ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: Senate," February 23, 2012
  22. ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
  23. ↑ Tom Carper, U.S. Senator for Delaware "About Tom Carper" Access October 12, 2011
Political offices
Preceded by
William V. Roth 		U.S. Senate-Delaware
2000–present 		Succeeded by
-
v • d • e
Delaware's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Chris Coons (D) • Tom Carper (D)
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