Clifford DeTemple

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Clifford DeTemple

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 11, 2020

Military

Personal

Birthplace

Reading, Pa.

Religion

Catholic

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

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Personal LinkedIn

Clifford DeTemple (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District. He lost in the Republican primary on August 11, 2020.

DeTemple completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Clifford DeTemple was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. He obtained an undergraduate degree in December 1989 after attending the Reading Area Community College and the University of Delaware. He obtained a graduate degree from the Naval War College. DeTemple joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 1987. His professional experience includes working as a military officer, land surveyor, engineer, and business owner. He is a member of the National Rifle Association, the Reserve Officers Association, the Wisconsin Society of Land Surveyors, and the Boy Scouts of America, where he is an Eagle Scout and a merit badge counselor.

Elections

2020

See also: Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District election, 2020

Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 11 Republican primary)

Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 11 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5

Scott Fitzgerald defeated Tom Palzewicz in the general election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Scott Fitzgerald (R)	60.1	265,434
		Tom Palzewicz (D)	39.8	175,902
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	263

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 441,599
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5

Tom Palzewicz advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 on August 11, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Palzewicz	99.9	43,710
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	49

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 43,759
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5

Scott Fitzgerald defeated Clifford DeTemple in the Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 on August 11, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Scott Fitzgerald	77.2	60,676
		Clifford DeTemple	22.7	17,829
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	63

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 78,568
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

To view DeTemple's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Clifford DeTemple completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by DeTemple's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am Conservative candidate with 33 years Military Reserve experience, bringing 18 years small business acumen, and a life time of community service as an Eagle Scout into Congress. I want to represent Wisconsin by showing respect, dignity and devotion to the Country in political service, not feed the media circus. I will bring a new level to the federal government that is disappearing quickly in politics.

Pro Life, Pro Constitution, Pro American, that believes in term limits. After serving my country as a Military Reservist seeing 18 countries and bringing business accountability to politics, I am well balanced to serve the people of Wisconsin as their voice in Congress.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Term limits on congressional seats
• Protection of life at all stages
• Protection of the Constitution

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about Conservative values, protecting the Constitution, and protecting America first. We must stop the growing Socialist movement in Washington DC. Keep the federal government out of the schools. Reduce the needless spending. Keep our military strong, flexible, responsive and fiscally accountable. Let God back into our schools, business and military. Freedom of religion not freedom from religion. Protection of life from the start to the end. If someone disregards life at birth they will not have respect and dignity of life in the end. We must have a sovereign nation with sovereign states. The border must be secure physically, electronically and emotionally. We must know who is coming in while being open for business. Welcome legal immigration. We must keep America open for business and not be tricked by socialist methods and scare tactics that want to destroy the constitution and America from within.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to people the serve others without any payment in return, people that hold true to their convictions, and people that do the right thing when no one is looking.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. When everything is going wrong dont give up it still not goingto be as bad as Louis Zamperini and he survived.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

A representative must represent the people and not their own personal interest. Do the right thing when no one is looking. Keep to your platform, that is what the people put you there for. Dont give up.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Honor, Respect and Devotion to duty. I have lived under these words for 33 years in the Coast Guard and will continue serving with them as a guide in Congress.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Keep to the campaign platform, that is what the people put you there for.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was working a steel factory that produced utility trucks at age 15. I started mowing the grass, cleaning up trash and painting everything that didn't move and some that did. I progressed to learning welding, electrical work and maintenance on assembly lines. I gained a wealth of experience I use everyday and appreciation for hard work. The scars on my hands have almost disappeared but the memories have not. As a kid in high school, the hours working there seemed to last forever and my cloths could never get clean. Looking back it was one of the best educational experiences I had. No text books but plenty of words. I worked there until I went to college, then joined the Coast Guard Reserve at age 19. An experience from my first job is used on every job I have had after that. Some physical, some mental, and a lot about working with different types of people in hard conditions.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

God Bless America

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The HOR is a voice of small segments of each state. Each state is made up of parts and together each Congressional District builds a voice that best represents the people it serves.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Working with Government is very important. A candidate must understand a wide range of government functions from budgets to the military. There is no ladder to become a Politician. I've always been suspicious of career politicians that climb the ladder and never worked in the real world, as I have known many of them in my military experiences. The term draining the swamp is really referring to getting rid of the establishment politicians that have learned how to trade away our rights and tax dollars for influence and a "safe" status in Washington DC. Winston Churchill once observed that Chamberlain was the choice of the establishment because he was safe and safe is what makes a candidate the choice of the establishment. As a non-politician I will follow the path of Ron Johnson and President Trump.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

The United States Constitution is under attack. We must protect the foundation that has held us together for over 200 years. Many governments have failed and failed their people. The Constitution has stood the test of time and we must preserve it.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

The best committees I am suited for are Armed Services, Homeland Security, Budget, Foreign Affairs, Small Business, and Veterans Affairs.

The best committees to represent my district are Small business and Agriculture.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Two year is a short term, but neccessay. The two year term has a member campaigning for 25% of their term.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I want term limits. This is a big reason I am campaigning. Eight to ten years max as a representative then time to move along to serve in other capacities. The longer a representative is in office the more special interests will get hold of you.

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

Everyone should want to be part of leadership in some capacity that is why we run for office. If you just want to sit back and coast through a job you are not doing the most for your constituents.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

I do not model directly any past representitive but I do share parts of Politicians that I can bring into my own model.

I like Regan's Charisma, Trump and Ron Johnsons business accountibility.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

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Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

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Footnotes

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Wisconsin's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Tammy Baldwin (D)

Ronald Johnson (R)

Representatives

District 1

Bryan Steil (R)

District 2

Mark Pocan (D)

District 3

Derrick Van Orden (R)

District 4

Gwen Moore (D)

District 5

Scott Fitzgerald (R)

District 6

Glenn Grothman (R)

District 7

Tom Tiffany (R)

District 8

Tony Wied (R)

Republican Party (7)

Democratic Party (3)