Russ Carnahan

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Russ Carnahan
Russ Carnahan
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Missouri's 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office 
January 3, 2005
Preceded by Dick Gephardt
Born July 10, 1958 (1958-07-10) (age 49)
Columbia, Missouri
Political party Democratic
Spouse Debra Carnahan
Religion Methodist

John Russell "Russ" Carnahan (born July 10, 1958) is an American politician and a member of the Democratic party from the state of Missouri. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in November 2004 to represent Missouri's 3rd congressional district (map). The district includes the southern third of St. Louis and most of that city's southern and eastern suburbs.

Born in Columbia, Missouri[1] and raised in Rolla, Missouri[2], Carnahan is the son of the late Mel Carnahan, a former Missouri governor and posthumously a U.S. Senator-elect, and Jean Carnahan, a former U.S. Senator. He is a recipient of the Eagle Scout award. His sister, Robin Carnahan was elected as Missouri Secretary of State in 2004; brother Randy was killed in the same plane crash that claimed his father. Russ Carnahan received a bachelor's degree and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Missouri–Columbia.

Carnahan's first run for political office was in 1990 when he ran an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in the 8th district against then Rep. Bill Emerson, losing by a margin of 43% to 57%. He then moved to St. Louis, where in 2000 he was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives. He narrowly defeated political activist Jeanette Mott Oxford in the Democratic primary election [1] by a scant 64 votes, and went on to win the general election by a wide margin [2]. He was re-elected to the Missouri House in 2002.

In 2004, Carnahan ran for the 3rd district seat in the U.S. House, which was being vacated by retiring Representative and former House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt. Carnahan narrowly won a ten-candidate Democratic primary election in 2004 with 22.9% of the vote, finishing less than 1,800 votes ahead of his nearest rival, political activist Jeff Smith, who garnered 21.3%. In the general election Carnahan claimed 52.9% against Republican candidate William Federer, an author and Religious Right activist, who had previously run against Gephardt on several occasions. In 2006 Carnahan was easily reelected with 65% of the vote.

Carnahan is a member of the New Democrat Coalition, which was co-founded by Gephardt.

Contents

[edit] Committee Assignments

  • Foreign Affairs Committee
    • Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight (Vice Chair)
    • Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia
  • Science and Technology Committee
    • Subcommittee on Research and Science Education
  • Transportation & Infrastructure Committee
    • Subcommittee on Aviation
    • Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

[edit] Electoral History

Missouri's 3rd congressional district results: 2004–2006[3]
Year Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct
2004 Russ Carnahan 146,894 52.9% Bill Federer 125,422 45.1% Kevin C. Babcock Libertarian 4,367 1.6% William J. Renaud Constitution 1,222 0.4% *
2006 Russ Carnahan 145,219 65.6% David Bertelsen 70,189 31.7% R. Christophel Libertarian 4,213 1.7% David Sladky Progressive 1,827 0.8%
*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2004, Joseph L. Badaracco received 11 votes.

[edit] References

  1. ^ CARNAHAN, Russ - Biographical Information
  2. ^ Congressman Russ Carnahan
  3. ^ Election Statistics. Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Retrieved on 2008-03-17.

[edit] External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Dick Gephardt		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Missouri's 3rd congressional district
2005–Present		 Incumbent
v • d • e
Missouri's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Representative(s)
Lacy Clay (D), Todd Akin (R), Russ Carnahan (D), Ike Skelton (D), Emanuel Cleaver (D), Sam Graves (R), Roy Blunt (R), Jo Ann Emerson (R), Kenny Hulshof (R)
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