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Raj Goyle
Rajeev Kumar "Raj" Goyle is a former Democratic member of the Kansas House of Representatives, representing District 87 from 2007 to 2011.
In July of 2009, Goyle announced his candidacy as the Democratic nominee for Kansas' 4th Congressional District, which had been vacated by former Representative Todd Tiahrt who left to run for Kansas' then-open US Senate seat.[1] After defeating Robert Leon Tillman in the August 3, 2010 primary, Goyle faced Republican Mike Pompeo in the November 2nd general election. Despite significant fundraising, and polling from local news agencies which indicated a tight race, Goyle was soundly defeated, 59%-37%.[2]
Biography
Goyle earned his B.S. from Duke University and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. His professional experience includes working for the Center for American Progress, as a Contract Attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union and Lecturer at Wichita State University.[3]
Issues
Goyle's website lists his legislative priorities as "no free lunches from lobbyists, educating our children, reducing health care costs, real solutions on energy, fighting for immigration reform," and "helping small businesses."[4]
He refused to take Project Vote Smart's 2008 Political Courage Test. The test, which is administered to all candidates for presidential, congressional, gubernatorial, and state legislative offices, asks one central question - "Are you willing to tell citizens your positions on the issues you will most likely face on their behalf?"[5]
Sponsored legislation
Goyle authored the Kansas Funeral Privacy Act, which establishes a 150-foot buffer zone around funerals before, during and after a service to prevent public demonstration by protestors. This was done in direct reaction to members of the Westboro Baptist Church picketing funerals of veterans of the Iraqi invasion and occupation. It was passed unanimously by both houses of the state legislature, signed by then-Governor Kathleen Sebelius, and became effective on April 10, 2008.[6]
Goyle also successfully introduced House Bill 2374, which drew $69 million in federal stimulus money for the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.
Committee assignments
While a member of the Kansas House of Representatives, Goyle served on the following committees:
- Taxation Committee, House of Representatives
- Veterans, Military and Homeland Security Committee, House of Representatives, Ranking Member
- Vision 2020 Committee, House of Representatives
- Judiciary Committee, House of Representatives
Elections
2010
On November 2, 2010, Mike Pompeo won election to the United States House. He defeated Raj Goyle (D), Shawn Smith (L), and Susan G. Ducey (Reform) in the general election.[7]
| U.S. House, Kansas District 4 General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Mike Pompeo |
58.8% | 119,575 | |
| Democratic | Raj Goyle | 36.5% | 74,143 | |
| Libertarian | Shawn Smith | 2.3% | 4,624 | |
| Reform | Susan G. Ducey | 2.5% | 5,041 | |
| Total Votes | 203,383 | |||
Polls 2010
A KWCH poll commissioned in August 2010 showed a close race between Pompeo and Democratic candidate Raj Goyle.[8]
| Kansas' Congressional District 4, 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Mike Pompeo (R) | Raj Goyle (D) | David Moffett (L) | Susan Ducey (RP) | Undecided | Margin of Error | Sample Size | ||||||||||||
| SurveyUSA (August 9-11, 2010) | 49% | 42% | 4% | 1% | 5% | +/-4.1 | 604 | ||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Goyle was re-elected to the 87th District Seat in the Kansas House of Representatives, defeating Fred Pinaire (R).[9] Goyle raised $96,104 for his campaign, while Pinaire raised $6,595.[10]
| Kansas House of Representatives, District 87 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Raj Goyle (D)
|
6,399 | 67.3% | ||
| Fred Pinaire (R) | 3,104 | 32.6% | ||
Campaign finance summary
Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.
External links
- Project Vote Smart profile
- Kansas Votes profile
- Campaign contributions: 2006, 2008
Footnotes
- ↑ Topeka Capital-Journal, "Goyle running for Congress," July 13, 2009
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://www.kwch.com/news/campaign10/kwch-pompeo-declares-victory-goyle-110210,0,7419578.story
- ↑ Project Vote Smart - Rep. Raj Goyle Biography
- ↑ Rep. Raj Goyle Issues and Ideas
- ↑ Project Vote Smart - Rep. Goyle Issue Positions
- ↑ http://www.kansasliberty.com/liberty-update-archive/04apr2008/Funeral%20privacy%20act%20rises%20from%20judicial%20grave/
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ KWCH, "Survey: Goyle & Pompeo square off for US House seat," August 12, 2010
- ↑ 2008 Kansas Election Results
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Kansas 2008 - General Election Results," accessed March 29, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bonnie Huy (R) |
Kansas House of Representatives District 87 2007-2011 |
Succeeded by Joseph Scapa (R) |
