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Connie Mack
Cornelius Harvey McGillicuddy IV (Connie Mack) (b. August 12, 1967) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Mack was elected by voters from Florida's 14th Congressional District in 2004 and served until 2013. On March 30, 2012, the 14th District was included in a list released by the National Journal of the top ten most contorted congressional districts due to redistricting.[1] Mack opted to run for the U.S. Senate rather than seek re-election to the House in 2012. He was succeeded by Democrat Kathy Castor on January 3, 2013.
Mack ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. Senate, representing Florida. Mack won the nomination on the Republican ticket.[2] There were eight other candidates running in the primary elections on August 14, 2012. He was defeated in the general election on November 6, 2012.[3]
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Mack was a "rank-and-file Republican."[4]
Biography
Connie Mack was born and raised in southwest Florida and is a graduate of the University of Florida.[5] He is the son of former U.S. Senator Connie Mack and well-known cancer prevention advocate Priscilla Mack.[5]
Career
- 2001-2003:Florida House of Representatives, 91st District
- 2005-2013: United States House of Representatives, Florida, 14th District
Committee assignments
U.S. House
2011-2012
Mack served on the following committees:[6]
- United States House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
- Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere (Ranking Member)
- United States House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform[6]
- Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and Labor Policy
- Subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency and Financial Management
- Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending
Issues
Presidential preference
2012
Connie Mack endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.[7]
Specific votes
Fiscal Cliff
Mack 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 1 of 151 Republicans that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257 - 167 vote on January 1, 2013.[8]
Elections
2014
Mack announced on January 29, 2014, that he would not run in the special election and would instead advocate for conservative principles as a private citizen.[9]
2012
Mack ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. Senate, representing Florida. Mack won the nomination on the Republican ticket.[2] The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run was June 8, 2012. The primary elections were held on August 14, 2012. Mack was defeated on November 6, 2012, by incumbent Bill Nelson.[10]
The University of Virginia's Center for Politics published an article called Sabato's Crystal Ball on March 22, 2012, detailing the eight races in the Senate in 2012 that would decide the political fate of which party will end up with control in 2013.[11] The Senate seat in Florida was the toss up state ranked second in likelihood of ending up Democratic, behind New Mexico's Senate seat.[11] Incumbent Bill Nelson's mediocre approval rating was the reasoning behind the "toss-up" classification of the Senate seat, but Nelson was expected to gain Democratic support in time for the election in 2012.[11] Nelson was also expected to face significant opposition from Mack, U.S. representative from the 14th District, in the general election on November 6, 2012.[11]
2010
On November 2, 2010, Mack won re-election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Robert Neeld (D), Burt Saunders (I), and Jeff George (I) in the general election.[12]
| U.S. House, Florida, District 14 General Election, 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Connie Mack Incumbent |
59.4% | 224,602 | |
| Democratic | Robert Neeld | 24.8% | 93,590 | |
| Independent | Burt Saunders | 14.5% | 54,750 | |
| Independent | Jeff George | 1.3% | 4,949 | |
| Total Votes | 377,891 | |||
Campaign themes
2012
Mack's campaign website listed the following issues:[13]
- Freedom
- Excerpt: "Freedom is the core of all human progress. It is a truly American value. Freedom brought the pilgrims across the Atlantic on the Mayflower; it represented “true north” for millions of enslaved Americans during the Civil War; and calls for freedom awoke the American sleeping giant during the World Wars. We have always been the shining city on a hill, and the flame of freedom has been our beacon to the world."
- Security
- Excerpt: "While freedom is the core of all human progress, without security, no one is truly free. It is vitally important that we protect both our economic security and national security."
- Prosperity
- Excerpt: "Prosperity is the driver behind our economy. Every citizen who starts a business is intent on making it a success, and because of this incredible ambition, Americans have been global innovators in nearly every field."
- The Penny Plan
- Excerpt: "America is on the brink of a fiscal crisis unlike any we’ve ever seen, yet Washington continues its spending-taxing-borrowing binge. We’ve seen this time and again: Senator Bill Nelson, President Obama and their lockstep liberal allies in Congress have gone on spending sprees with the federal government’s credit card, charging taxpayers for everything from bailouts to failed “stimulus” plans to Obamacare. With your help, I will put a stop to it in the United States Senate."
Polls
2012
| General Election candidates for U.S. Senate seat | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Bill Nelson | Connie Mack | Other candidate | Undecided | Margin of Error | Sample Size | |||||||||||||
| Public Policy Polling (October 26-28, 2012) | 50% | 42% | 0% | 9% | +/-6.7 | 687 | |||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports (October 25, 2012) | 49% | 46% | 2% | 3% | +/-4 | 750 | |||||||||||||
| Sunshine State News (October 22-24, 2012) | 49% | 44% | 0% | 7% | +/-3.1 | 1,001 | |||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports (October 15, 2012) | 46% | 45% | 5% | 5% | +/-4.5 | 500 | |||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports (October 8, 2012) | 52% | 41% | 1% | 6% | +/-4.5 | 500 | |||||||||||||
| Quinnipiac University (September 26, 2012) | 53% | 39% | 0% | 8% | +/-2.8 | 1,196 | |||||||||||||
| Mason-Dixon Polling (September 19, 2012) | 48% | 40% | 1% | 11% | +/-3.5 | 800 | |||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports (September 16, 2012) | 47% | 40% | 5% | 8% | +/-4.5 | 500 | |||||||||||||
| Quinnipiac University (August 15-21, 2012) | 50% | 41% | 0% | 9% | +/-2.8 | 1,241 | |||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports (August 15, 2012) | 47% | 40% | 3% | 10% | +/-4.5 | 500 | |||||||||||||
| Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. 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 | |||||||||||||||||||
Campaign finance summary
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Analysis
Congressional staff salaries
The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Mack paid his congressional staff a total of $966,266 in 2011. He ranked 168th on the list of the lowest paid Republican representative staff salaries and ranked 224th overall of the lowest paid representative staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Florida ranked 36th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[14]
Net worth
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Mack's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $-3,927 and $1,715,999. That averages to $856,036, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican representatives in 2010 of $7,561,133.[15]
National Journal vote ratings
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. Mack ranked 179th in the conservative rankings in 2011.[16]
Voting with party
2011
Connie Mack voted with the Republican Party 90 of the time, which ranked 185 among the 242 House Republican members as of November 2011.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Mack was married in 1996 and had two children before divorcing in 2006.[17] He is the father of two children, Addison and Connie, and two stepchildren, Chesare and Chianna. Mack resides in Fort Myers.[5] From 2007 to 2013, Mack was married to former congresswoman Mary Bono Mack. In May 2013 they announced their divorce.[18]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Connie + Mack + Florida + House
External links
- Social media:
- Biographies:
- Political profiles:
- Financial (federal level):
- Financial (state level):
- Interest group ratings:
- Issue positions:
- Public statements:
- Voting record:
- Media appearances:
- Media coverage:
Footnotes
- ↑ National Journal, "Modern Gerrymanders: 10 Most Contorted Congressional Districts—MAPS," accessed March 31, 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Human Events, "Florida Senate Primary Race Heats Up," accessed January 5, 2012
- ↑ ABC News, "2012 General Election Results," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ GovTrack, "Mack" accessed May 15, 2012
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Congressman Connie Mack, "About Connie--Biography" accessed October 18, 2011
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Congressman Connie Mack of Florida, "About" accessed October 18, 2011
- ↑ The Hill, "2012 GOP Lawmaker Endorsements for President," accessed November 23, 2011
- ↑ U.S. House, "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff," accessed January 4, 2013
- ↑ Miami Herald, "Former congressman won't run in special election," accessed January 29, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ ABC News, "2012 General Election Results," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Center for Politics, "Tilting the Toss Ups – the Eight Races That Will Decide the Senate" accessed April 9, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ Campaign website, Issues
- ↑ LegiStorm, "Connie Mack"
- ↑ OpenSecrets, "Mack, (R-Florida), 2010"
- ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," accessed February 23, 2012
- ↑ NaplesNews.com, "Mack divorce proceedings include sale of $825,000 home" accessed October 18, 2011
- ↑ Politico, "Connie, Mary Bono Mack divorcing," May 24, 2013
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Porter Goss |
U.S. House of Representatives - Florida District 14 2005–2013 |
Succeeded by Kathy Castor (D) |
| Preceded by ' |
Florida House of Representatives 2000-2003 |
Succeeded by ' |
