Chet Edwards
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| Chet Edwards | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Charlie Stenholm |
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| In office January 3, 1991 – January 3, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Marvin Leath |
| Succeeded by | Mike Conaway |
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| In office 1983 – 1990 |
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| Preceded by | Dee Travis |
| Succeeded by | David Sibley |
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| Born | November 24, 1951 Corpus Christi, Texas |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Lea Ann Edwards |
| Residence | Waco, Texas |
| Alma mater | Texas A&M University Harvard Business School |
| Religion | Baptist |
| Website | edwards.house.gov |
Thomas Chester "Chet" Edwards (born November 24, 1951) is an American politician from the Democratic Party. He has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1991, representing a district based in Waco, Texas. He represented Texas's 11th District from 1991 to 2005, and since 2005 has represented the 17th District. A resident of Waco, his district includes the town of Crawford,[1] the home of President George W. Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch, meaning that Bush is technically represented in Congress by a Democrat.
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[edit] Early years
Born in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1951, Edwards graduated magna cum laude[2] from Texas A&M University in 1974, earning a bachelor's degree in economics. Upon graduation, he was given the Earl Rudder Award, which is only given to two outstanding seniors.[3] After his graduation, he worked as an aide to Congressman Olin E. Teague for three years.[3]
When Teague announced his retirement in 1978, Edwards ran in the Democratic primary to succeed him. He lost by only 115 votes to future Senator Phil Gramm.[4]
In 1981, Edwards earned his MBA from Harvard Business School.[5]
[edit] Political career
[edit] Texas Senate
Edwards was elected to the Texas Senate in 1983, and served until 1990, representing District 9.[5] In the Texas Senate, Edwards was a member of the Senate Education Committee, and helped reduce class sizes in public schools. He was named by Texas Monthly as one of the "Ten Outstanding Legislators" during his tenure.[3]
[edit] U.S. House
Currently, Edwards is a member of the House Budget and Appropriations Committees. He is one of only six House members to serve on both the Budget and Appropriations committees. He is also the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction. As the only Texan to chair an Appropriations subcommittee, it can be argued that Edwards is the most influential Texan in the House. Appropriations subcommittee chairmen are often known as "Cardinals" because of their control of the budget.
The 11th District had been trending Republican for some time, but Edwards had been able to hold onto his seat, albeit with increasingly narrow margins.[6] In the controversial 2003 Texas redistricting, however, Edwards' district was renumbered as the 17th District, and the U.S. Army post Fort Hood was removed from the district. His district absorbed College Station, home of Texas A&M, a longtime bastion of conservatism. It also absorbed several heavily Republican Fort Worth suburbs. Despite the heavily Republican nature of his redrawn district, Edwards still defeated conservative State Representative Arlene Wohlgemuth by 9,260 votes, or approximately a 3.8% margin. This came even as Bush carried the 17th with a staggering 70 percent of the vote. Edwards and Lloyd Doggett were the only Democrats targeted by the redistricting effort who retained their seats. As a result of the redistricting, Edwards is one of two Democrats to represent a significant portion of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, along with Eddie Bernice Johnson.
Edwards ran for reelection against Republican Van Taylor, a former Marine Corps reservist and Iraq War veteran, in 2006, and was re-elected with 58% of the vote to Taylor's 40%. The other 2% of the votes went to Independent candidate Guillermo Acosta.[7]
Rob Curnock (R) has challenged Chet Edwards in the 2008 election. Chet Edwards endorsed Obama in the March 4th primaries.
[edit] References
- ^ Vlahos, Kelley. "Texas Rep. Edwards Beats Odds, but Faces Iraq War Vet in Midterm", Fox News, 2006-03-07. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
- ^ Woolstrum, Anthony. "Edwards runs for new district slot", The Battalion, 2004-01-23. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
- ^ a b c Congressman Chet Edwards — Bio. United States House. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
- ^ AllPolitics - Congressional Races - Texas District 11
- ^ a b Chet Edwards. NNDB. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
- ^ Edwards, T. Chester "Chet". Our Campaigns. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
- ^ U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES / TEXAS 17. CNN. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
[edit] External links
- U.S. Congressman Chet Edwards official House site
- Chet Edwards at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Federal Election Commission — Chet Edwards campaign finance reports and data
- On the Issues — Chet Edwards issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org — Chet Edwards campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart — Representative Thomas 'Chet' Edwards (TX) profile
- Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Chet Edwards voting record
- Chet Edwards for U.S. Congress official campaign site
| Preceded by Dee Travis |
Texas State Senator from District 9 (Duncanville) 1983–1991 |
Succeeded by David Sibley |
| Preceded by Marvin Leath |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 11th congressional district 1991–2005 |
Succeeded by Mike Conaway |
| Preceded by Charles Stenholm |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 17th congressional district 2005 – present |
Incumbent |
