Ron Lewis

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Ron Lewis
Ron Lewis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office 
May 26, 1994–
Preceded by William Natcher
Succeeded by Incumbent
Born September 14, 1946 (age 60)
South Shore, Kentucky
Political party Republican
Spouse Kayi Lewis
Religion Southern Baptist
For the college basketball player, see Ron Lewis (basketball).

Ronald (Ron) Lewis (born September 14, 1946), an American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1995, representing the 2nd Congressional District of Kentucky.

Contents

[edit] Early life, education, and career

Lewis was born in South Shore, Kentucky. He graduated from McKell High School in 1964. He attended Morehead State University from 1964 to 1967 and graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1969 with a bachelor of arts degree in history and political science. Lewis returned to Morehead in 1980 to earn a master's degree in education in 1981.

Lewis worked in the gubernatorial campaign of Louie B. Nunn in 1967. Nunn's victory got Lewis a state job for a time and encouragement to run for the state House in his native Greenup County in 1971. Lewis lost, but kept an interest in GOP politics. In 1972, Lewis served briefly in the U.S. Navy,[1] attending the Navy Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida; a kidney ailment resulted in his medical discharge that year.

Lewis worked in sales for several companies, including Ashland Oil, before teaching for five years at Watterson College in Louisville, Kentucky, beginning in 1980 (the school closed in the 1990s). He also was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1980, serving as pastor for the historic White Mills Baptist Church, after attending the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In 1985 Lewis and his wife opened a religious bookstore, Alpha Bookstore, in Elizabethtown.

[edit] Congressional career

[edit] 1994 election

In 1994, Lewis filed to run against longtime Democratic William H. Natcher in the general election in November 1994. The Second District was predominantly Democratic in terms of voter registration, and Lewis, named as a candidate by the state GOP leadership and Senator Mitch McConnell, was considered somewhat of a "sacrifical lamb".

Natcher died in late March 1994, and a special election was called in May 1994 to replace him. In the special election, Lewis faced Joe Prather, a state senator from Hardin County, Kentucky. Lewis got support from numerous national Republican sources and many religious conservative groups, enabling him to run a very strong campaign in a district that had not elected a Republican in 129 years. Lewis tied Prather to an unpopular Bill Clinton and a proposal to raise taxes on tobacco, the staple crop of the state. He also took advantage of the 2nd's socially conservative tilt.

In a major upset, Lewis defeated Prather by a 55%-45% margin in an election with less than 20% turnout. It was a result that many political pundits saw as a harbinger of the Republican gains in Congress in the regular election later that year.[2] Lewis was elected to a full term that November, defeating Democrat David Adkisson with 60 percent of the vote.

One of the centerpieces of Lewis' 1994 campaign was term limits in Washington. He was one of five Republicans who signed a pledge committing themselves to a limited number of terms if elected.[3] In 1998, Lewis sent a letter to 3,000 constituents in 1998 informing them he had changed his mind about running in 2002 and beyond. "I made a mistake in 1994, and I admit that. I had said I would not run past 2002," he told the Elizabethtown News Enterprise in October 1998.[4]

[edit] Political positions

Lewis has a seat on the House Ways and Means Committee, which writes tax laws and deals with Social Security. He also sits on the Government Reform Committee.

In 2004 Lewis joined numerous Republican colleagues in sponsoring legislation that would allow lawmakers to override certain Supreme Court decisions by a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate. Lewis likened his proposal to the existing right of Congress to override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority.

[edit] 1996-2004 campaigns

Lewis won a second full term in 1996 with 58% of the vote, but didn't face another serious bid until 2006. In the 2004 election, he defeated Democrat Adam Smith, getting 68% of the vote.

[edit] 2006

In the 2006 election, Lewis defeated retired U.S. Army Colonel Mike Weaver, a former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives. Lewis received 55% of the vote, his closest victory to date.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.war-veterans.org/Vetlegis1.htm
  2. ^ http://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/article.php?id=LJS2006061501
  3. ^ Mark Birtel, "Term-limits: as the pledges come home to roost", Campaigns & Elections, February 1999
  4. ^ John Stamper, "Term-limits promise, 'change of heart' have candidates at odds", Lexington Herald-Leader, October 27, 2006

[edit] External links


Preceded by
William H. Natcher		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 2nd congressional district
May 26, 1994 – present		 Incumbent


Kentucky's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators: Mitch McConnell (R), Jim Bunning (R)

Representative(s): Ed Whitfield (R), Ron Lewis (R), John Yarmuth (D), Geoff Davis (R), Hal Rogers (R), Ben Chandler (D)

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Persondata
NAME Lewis, Ron
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Kentucky politician
DATE OF BIRTH September 14, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH South Shore, Kentucky
DATE OF DEATH living
PLACE OF DEATH
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