Bob Inglis

Bob Inglis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 4th district
In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Jim DeMint
Succeeded by	Trey Gowdy
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1999
Preceded by	Liz Patterson
Succeeded by	Jim DeMint
Personal details
Born	Robert Durden Inglis (1959-10-11) October 11, 1959 Savannah, Georgia
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Mary Anne Inglis
Residence	Travelers Rest, South Carolina
Alma mater	Duke University University of Virginia School of Law
Occupation	attorney
Religion	Presbyterian Church in America

Robert Durden "Bob" Inglis, Sr. (born October 11, 1959) is an American politician who was the U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 4th congressional district from 1993 to 1999 and again from 2005 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. Inglis was defeated in the Republican primary in June 2010. In July 2012, Inglis launched the Energy and Enterprise Initiative, a nationwide public engagement campaign promoting conservative and free-enterprise solutions to energy and climate challenges. E&EI is based out of George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and is working to build support for energy policies that are true to conservative principles of limited government, accountability, reasonable risk-avoidance, and free enterprise.

Early life, education, and law career

Inglis was born in Savannah, Georgia, the son of Helen Louise (née McCullough) and Allick Wyllie Inglis, Jr. His ancestry includes Scottish and English.^[1] He grew up in Bluffton, South Carolina near Hilton Head Island. He earned his undergraduate degree from Duke University. He went on to obtain his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law. Upon his graduation from law school, he worked for a number of years as a lawyer in private practice.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

1992

Inglis made his first run for elected office when he won the Republican nomination for the 4th District. In the general election, he defeated three-term incumbent Democrat Liz J. Patterson. Although the 4th had been trending Republican for some time, Patterson had deep family ties in the district (she is the daughter of former Senator Olin Johnston), and she had won her first three terms under unfriendly conditions for Democrats.

1994–1996

Proving just how Republican this district had become, Inglis was re-elected in 1994 and 1996 with no substantive opposition, both times winning over 70 percent of the vote.

1998

Inglis had promised during his initial bid for the seat to serve only three terms. Accordingly, he vacated the seat in 1998 to run for the Senate against Democratic incumbent Ernest Hollings. One of the more heated and covered moments of the race was when Hollings referred to Inglis as a "goddamn skunk."^[2] Inglis gave Hollings his second close race in a row, holding the longtime Senator to only 53 percent of the vote. After losing the race, Inglis returned to work as a lawyer, practicing commercial real estate and corporate law. He was succeeded by Jim DeMint, who had been an informal adviser to Inglis.

2004

In 2004, DeMint opted to run for Hollings's now open Senate seat instead of seeking re-election to the House. Inglis chose to take his old House seat back. He easily won a three-way Republican primary with 85 percent of the vote, all but assuring his return to Congress. He was re-elected with little difficulty in 2006 and 2008.

2010

Inglis faced four challengers in the Republican primary—the real contest in this heavily Republican district. It was the first time he faced substantive primary opposition as an incumbent. The challengers included 7th Circuit (Spartanburg) Solicitor Trey Gowdy, state Senator David Thomas, college professor and former Historian of the U.S. House Christina Jeffrey, and businessman Jim Lee.^[3]

Following the June 8, 2010, primary election, Inglis was forced into a June 22 run-off election with Trey Gowdy, who had received a significantly larger number of votes.^[4] Although he had "racked up a reliably conservative record" during his six terms in the house,^[5] Inglis had been criticized by his primary opponents for Congressional votes, including his support for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (which earned him the nickname "Bailout Bob")^[6] and his opposition to the Iraq War troop surge of 2007, and was portrayed as removed from the interests of the district.^[4][7] Inglis had attacked Gowdy's conservativism and questioned his support for creating a costly lake in Union County, South Carolina.^[4]

In the runoff, Gowdy defeated Inglis in a massive landslide, receiving 71 percent of the vote to Inglis' 29 percent.^[8] Following his defeat in the Republican primary, Inglis criticized the Tea Party movement, which had supported his opponents' campaign, as well as the Republican Party for courting the movement, stating, "It's a dangerous strategy, to build conservatism on information and policies that are not credible."^[9]

Tenure

Inglis's 2010 Republican primary opponents asserted that his voting record in his second House tenure was more moderate than his first. He was one of 17 House Republicans who voted for a Democratic resolution opposing the Iraq War troop surge of 2007, and has spoken against climate change scepticism, offshore oil drilling and warrantless surveillance since returning to the House.^[10] In response, Inglis has pointed to his 93.5% lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union^[11] and his endorsements from the National Rifle Association and National Right to Life.^[3]

On climate change, Inglis said that conservatives should go with the facts, and the science, and accept the National Academy of Science's conclusion that climate change is caused by human activities and poses significant risks, which 95% of climate scientists agree with. Studies conclude that coal power plants are responsible for 23,600 premature deaths in the U.S. per year, and conservatives should hold them accountable, he said, perhaps with a carbon tax on their emissions.^[12]

Inglis is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker. He also has supported actions to aid people in war-torn Darfur. In 2006, he co-sponsored H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act^[13] and H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.^[14] On December 27, 2008 Inglis published an op-ed in The New York Times in support of a revenue neutral carbon tax.^[15]

In October 2007, before the South Carolina 2008 Republican presidential primary, Inglis told presidential candidate Mitt Romney, a Mormon, "[Y]ou cannot equate Mormonism with Christianity; you cannot say, 'I am a Christian just like you.'" Inglis stated "If he [Romney] does that, every Baptist preacher in the South is going to have to go to the pulpit on Sunday and explain the differences.”^[16]

On September 15, 2009, Inglis was one of seven Republicans to cross party lines in voting to disapprove fellow South Carolina Republican Joe Wilson for a lack of decorum during President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress.^[17] He was one of eight House Republicans to support the DREAM Act.

Committee assignments

In the 111th Congress:

• Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment
  • Subcommittee on Europe
  • Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
• Committee on Science and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Environment (Ranking Member)
  • Science Subcommittee on Research and Science Education

Electoral history

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

South Carolina's 4th congressional district, 1992:^[18]

• Bob Inglis, Republican – 99,879 (50.34%)
• Elizabeth J. Patterson, Democrat – 94,182 (47.47%)
• Jo Jorgensen, Libertarian – 4,286 (2.16%)
• Write-in candidates – 63 (0.03%)

South Carolina's 4th congressional district, 1994:^[19]

• Bob Inglis, Republican – 109,626 (73.49%)
• Jerry L. Fowler, Democrat – 39,396 (26.41%)
• Write-in candidates – 154 (0.10%)

South Carolina's 4th congressional district, 1996:^[20]

• Bob Inglis, Republican – 138,165 (70.93%)
• Darrell E. Curry, Democrat – 54,126 (27.79%)
• C. Faye Walters, Natural Law – 2,501 (1.28%)

United States Senate election in South Carolina, 1998 – Republican primary:^[21]

• Bob Inglis – 115,029 (74.60%)
• Stephen Brown – 33,530 (21.75%)
• Elton Legrand – 5,634 (3.65%)

United States Senate election in South Carolina, 1998:^[22]

• Ernest Hollings, Democrat – 563,377 (52.70%)
• Bob Inglis, Republican – 488,238 (45.67%)
• Richard T. Quillian, Libertarian – 16,991 (1.59%)
• Write-in candidates – 457 (0.04%)

South Carolina's 4th congressional district, 2004:^[23]

• Bob Inglis, Republican – 188,795 (69.77%)
• Brandon P. Brown, Democrat – 78,376 (28.96%)
• C. Faye Walters, Green – 3,273 (1.21%)
• Write-in candidates – 150 (0.06%)

South Carolina's 4th congressional district, 2006:^[24]

• Bob Inglis, Republican – 115,553 (64.22%)
• William Griff Griffith, Democrat – 57,490 (31.95%)
• John Cobin, Libertarian – 4,467 (2.48%)
• C. Faye Walters, Green – 2,336 (1.30%)
• Write-in candidates – 85 (0.05%)

South Carolina's 4th congressional district, 2008 – Republican primary:^[25]

• Bob Inglis – 37,571 (66.95%)
• Charles Jeter – 18,545 (33.05%)

South Carolina's 4th congressional district, 2008:^[26]

• Bob Inglis, Republican – 184,440 (60.09%)
• Paul Corden, Democrat – 113,291 (36.91%)
• C. Faye Walters, Green – 7,332 (2.39%)
• Write-in candidates – 1,865 (0.61%)

South Carolina's 4th congressional district, 2010 – Republican primary:^[27]

• Trey Gowdy – 34,103 (39.22%)
• Bob Inglis – 23,877 (27.46%)
• Jim Lee – 11,854 (13.63%)
• David Thomas – 11,073 (12.74%)
• Christina Jeffrey – 6,041 (6.95%)

South Carolina's 4th congressional district, 2010 – Republican primary runoff:^[28]

• Trey Gowdy – 54,412 (70.66%)
• Bob Inglis – 22,590 (29.34%)

Personal life

When not in Washington, Inglis resides with his wife Mary Anne and their five children on a small farm near Travelers Rest, South Carolina, north of Greenville. He is a member of the Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Greenville.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bob Inglis.

• Bob Inglis for U.S. Congress official campaign site (archived)
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission