Adrian M. Smith

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Adrian Smith

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska's 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 4, 2007–
Preceded by	Tom Osborne
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Born	December 19, 1970 (age 36) Scottsbluff, Nebraska
Political party	Republican
Spouse	none
Religion	Evangelical

Adrian M. Smith (born December 19, 1970) is an American politician from the state of Nebraska. A member of the Republican Party, he represents Nebraska's 3rd distrtict in the United States House of Representatives. He had formerly served as a state senator in the Nebraska Legislature.

1 Personal life
2 State Legislature
3 2006 Congressional Campaign
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Personal life

Gering native and sixth-generation Nebraskan Adrian Smith was one of just 13 freshman Republicans to be sworn into office in 2007. Smith was quickly named a member of the Republican Leadership team, serving as an Assistant Whip in the 110th Session of Congress. He was also the only Republican freshman to be selected as a “Congressional Insider” by the Capitol Hill publication National Journal.

Public service has long been a priority for Congressman Smith. While a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he interned in the Nebraska Governor’s Office and, later, served as a legislative page in the Nebraska Unicameral. Upon graduating from college, he moved back to Gering, where in 1994, he began serving his hometown as a member of the Gering City Council.

After four years of service on the city council, Adrian sought and won the District 48 seat in the Nebraska Unicameral, where he served for eight years. There he quickly earned a reputation as a champion of conservative values and ideals. As a state senator, Smith consistently voted against tax increases, voted to protect the right of gun ownership, and maintained a strong pro-life record. Adrian served as Vice Chair of the Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee and as Chairman of the Four State Legislative Conference in 2001.

Since being elected to the House of Representatives in 2006, Smith represents a district containing nearly 65,000 square miles, two time zones and 68.5 of the state’s 93 counties. Included in his district is Cherry County, which alone is larger than the state of Connecticut.

Congressman Smith currently sits on the House Agriculture Committee, House Budget Committee and the House Science and Technology Committee. Nebraska’s Third Congressional District has a long history of service on the House Agriculture Committee, and Smith looks forward to continuing that tradition. He follows in the footsteps of his predecessors, Reps. Virginia Smith, Bill Barrett and Tom Osborne, who were also members of the House Agriculture Committee during their tenures in Congress.

Adrian continues to reside in Gering.

[edit] State Legislature

He was elected in 1998 to represent the 48th Nebraska legislative district and reelected in 2002. He sat on the Natural Resources and Building Maintenance committees and is the vice chairperson of the Transportation and Telecommunications committee.^[1] Since Nebraska voters passed Initiative Measure 415 in 2001 limiting state senators to two terms after 2001, he was unable to run for reelection.^[2]

[edit] 2006 Congressional Campaign

Smith ran for the open seat in Nebraska's third district in the 2006 House elections being vacated by Tom Osborne. He won the Republican primary with 39% of the vote in a field of five candidates. He faced Democrat Scott Kleeb in the general election. Approximately one third of the funding of his campaign came from the Club for Growth, an economic conservative group which supports tax cuts, limited government, school choice, and advocates eliminating all agricultural subsidies and the elimination of the US Department of Agriculture.^[3] The race received late national attention from the national House campaign committees. ^[4] ^[5] President George W. Bush also made an appearance in the district two days before the election to campaign for Smith at a GOP rally. ^[6] In the end, Smith won by 10 percentage points. ^[7]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ Nebraska Unicameral Legislature. Sen. Adrian M. Smith. Retrieved on March 15, 2006.
^ National Conference of State Legislatures. Term Limits in Nebraska: A Timeline. Retrieved on March 20, 2006.
^ O'Hanlon, Kevin. "Moul gives Fortenberry run in fundraising", Lincoln Journal Star, October 16, 2006. Retrieved on November 2, 2006.
^ Walton, Don. "GOP eye on 3rd District House race", Lincoln Journal Star, October 27, 2006. Retrieved on November 10, 2006.
^ Levinson, Nathan. "Neb. Roundup: Bush Visit Points to GOP Vulnerability", New York Times, November 3, 2006. Retrieved on November 10, 2006.
^ Thompson, Jake, Robynn Tysver. "Bush rallies GOP faithful in Grand Island", Omaha World-Herald, November 5, 2006. Retrieved on November 10, 2006.
^ Hendee, David, Paul Hammel. "Another Smith going to Washington", Omaha World-Herald, November 9, 2006. Retrieved on November 10, 2006.

[edit] External links

U.S. Congressman Adrian Smith official House site
Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
Federal Election Commission - Adrian Smith campaign finance reports and data
On the Issues - Adrian Smith issue positions and quotes
OpenSecrets.org - Adrian Smith campaign contributions
Project Vote Smart - Representative Adrian M. Smith (NE) profile
SourceWatch Congresspedia - Adrian Smith profile
Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Adrian Smith voting record
Adrian Smith for U.S. Congress official campaign site

Preceded by Joyce Hillman	Nebraska state senator-district 48 1998-2006	Succeeded by John N. Harms
Preceded by Tom Osborne	United States Representative for the 3rd Congressional District of Nebraska 2007–	Succeeded by Incumbent