James Lankford
| James Lankford | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 5th district | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Mary Fallin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 4, 1968 Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Cindy Lankford |
| Children | Hannah Jordan |
| Alma mater | University of Texas, Austin Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Website | House website Official website |
James Paul Lankford (born March 4, 1968) is an American politician who has been the U.S. Representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district[1] since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party.[2][3]
From 1996 to 2009, Lankford was the student ministries and evangelism specialist for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, and he was director of the Falls Creek youth programming at the Falls Creek Baptist Conference Center in Davis, Oklahoma. He stepped down on September 1, 2009, to run for Congress.[4]
In January 2014, Lankford announced he would run in the 2014 special Senate election to succeed Tom Coburn.[5]
Early life and education
Lankford was born March 4, 1968 in Dallas, Texas[6] to James W. Lankford and Linda Lankford.[citation needed] His mother was an elementary school librarian[2] and homemaker.[citation needed] His maternal grandparents owned a small dry cleaning business, his father and paternal grandparents a dairy farm. James’ stepfather was a career employee of AC Delco, the parts division of General Motors.[7]
His parents divorced when he was four; his mother and older brother and he lived for a time in his grandparents' garage apartment. He became a Christian at eight. She remarried when he was twelve, and the family moved to Garland with his stepfather.[2] Lankford attended Lakeview Centennial High School in Garland. While at Lakeview Lankford participated in the Close Up Washington civic education program.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education (specializing in Speech and History) at University of Texas at Austin in 1990, and master’s degree in Divinity at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1994.[2]
Camp Program Director
After graduating, he moved to Edmond and served with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. He became the program director of Falls Creek, the largest Christian camp in the U.S. [4]
U.S. House of Representatives
2010 election
After two-term incumbent Republican Mary Fallin announced she was giving up her seat to make what would be a successful run for Governor of Oklahoma, Lankford entered the race to succeed her.[6] He finished first in a seven-way Republican primary--the real contest in this heavily Republican district--and defeated former State Representative Kevin Calvey in the run off.[citation needed] He then routed Democrat Billy Coyle in the general election.[2][1][6]
| Republican Primary results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | James Lankford | 18,755 | 33.6% | |
| Republican | Kevin Calvey | 18,143 | 32.5% | |
| Republican | Mike Thompson | 10,007 | 17.9% | |
| Republican | Harry Johnson | 686 | 1.2% | |
| Republican | Rick Flanigan | 762 | 1.4% | |
| Republican | Johnny Roy | 1,548 | 2.8% | |
| Republican | Shane Jett | 5,955 | 10.7% | |
| Totals | ' | 100% | ||
| Republican Primary results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | James Lankford | 29,814 | 65.2% | |
| Republican | Kevin Calvey | 15,899 | 32.7% | |
| Totals | ' | 100% | ||
Lankford defeated Billy Coyle.
| General Election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | James Lankford | 123,223 | 62.53% | |
| Democratic | Billy Coyle | 68,060 | 34.53% | |
| Libertarian | Clark Duffe | 3,066 | 1.56% | |
| Independent | Dave White | 2,728 | 1.38% | |
| Totals | ' | 100% | ||
2012 election
Lankford defeated Democrat Tom Guild with 59 percent of the vote. Following the election, he was named chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, the fifth-ranking position in the House Republican caucus. This is a very senior position for a second-term House member.
Committee assignments
- Committee on the Budget
- Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
- Republican Policy Committee (Chair)
Tenure
- Taxes
Lankford supports simple budget austerity through lowering taxes and reducing government spending.[9] He took the taxpayer protection pledge promising to support no new taxes.[9] He supports the repeal of the income and estate taxes and supports a sales tax to tax consumption and not savings or earnings.[9]
- Budget
Lankford is a supporter of budget austerity and thus supports prioritizing spending if the debt limit is reached and the Cut-Cap-and-Balance Pledge.[9] He also supports a balanced budget amendment and voted to terminate the Home Affordable mortgage Program.[9]
- Jobs
He supports compensatory time-off for overtime workers and received a 100% rating by the CEI, indicating a pro-workplace choice stance.[9]
- Gun Rights
Lankford is a Gun Rights supporter loosen restrictions on interstate gun purchases.[9] He opposes Firearm microstamping, a controversial method of imprinting casings with a unique marking to match it with a specific firearm, and would allow veterans to register unlicensed firearms.[9]
- Homeland Security
However he supports extending the Patriot Act and expanding roving wiretaps occurring in the US.[9] Lankford supports the prioritization of security, starting with military bases.[9]
- Energy
He supports expanding exploration of gas and oil both domestically and on the outer continental shelf.[9] He opposes the EPA regulating emission standards as he believes it hinders economic growth.[9]
- Environment
In addition to barring the EPA from regulating emission standards, Lankford believes manure and other fertilizers should not be classified as pollutants or hazardous.[9]
- Healthcare
Lankford has stated his belief that federally funded healthcare is unconstitutional and has made a statement that he will oppose in and all moves for a federal healthcare system.[9] He supported an initiative to allow Medicare choice and also institute budget cuts.[9]
- Abortion
Lankford opposes abortion.[9] He supports banning all federally funded abortions and believes Congress should recognize life at the moment of fertilization.[9] He opposes any federally funded healthcare or coverage programs that allow for abortion, as well as Planned Parenthood and other similar groups.[9] He also opposes forced abortions by the UN Population Fund.[9]
Personal life
Lankford has been married to his wife, Cindy, for 20 years.[3] Cindy is a Speech-Language Pathologist.[citation needed] They have two daughters: Hannah and Jordan.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Casteel, Chris (November 3, 2010). "Oklahoma elections: Republican James Lankford wins race to succeed Mary Fallin". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 2013-11-13. (subscription required)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Barone, Michael; Chuck McCutcheon (2011). The Almanac of American Politics 2012. Washington, D.C.: National Journal Group. pp. 1331–1333. ISBN 978-0-226-03807-0.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Biography | Congressman James Lankford". Lankford House website. Retrieved 2013-11-13.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "About | James Lankford". JamesLankford.com. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
- ↑ McCalmont, Lucy (January 20, 2014). "James Lankford announces Senate bid". Politico.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Ryan, John (October 27, 2010). "James Lankford (R)". National Journal. Archived from the original on 2010-11-07. Retrieved 2013-11-13.
- ↑ Scott, RBH. "Our Campaigns - Candidate - James Lankford". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2013-11-13.
- ↑ http://lankford.house.gov/about-me/committees-and-caucuses
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 9.9 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 9.16 9.17 9.18 "James Lankford (Republican, district 5)". On the Issues.
External links
- U.S. Congressman James Lankford official U.S. House site
- James Lankford for Congress
- 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
- Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mary Fallin |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 5th congressional district 2011–present |
Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Tom Price |
Chairperson of House Republican Policy Committee 2013–present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by Raúl Labrador |
United States Representatives by seniority 318th |
Succeeded by Billy Long |
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