Ted Yoho

Ted Yoho
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2013
Preceded by Corrine Brown
Personal details
Born Theodore Scott Yoho
April 13, 1955
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Carolyn Yoho
Alma mater Broward College
University of Florida
Religion Roman Catholicism
Website House website

Theodore Scott "Ted" Yoho (born April 13, 1955) is the United States Representative for Florida's 3rd congressional district since 2013.[1] He is a member of the Republican Party. In the 2012 Republican primary election for the district, Yoho pulled a major upset against long term incumbent U.S. Congressman Cliff Stearns, who was first elected in 1988. Yoho has been a veterinarian for the past 28 years, serving the North Central Florida area.

Early life, education, and veterinarian career

Yoho was born in Minnesota in 1955. At the age of 11 he moved with his family to Florida. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Agriculture at the University of Florida. He attended the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Florida Veterinary Medical Association, Florida Association of Equine Practitioners, Florida Cattlemen’s Association, and the National Rifle Association.[2]

U.S. House of Representatives

2012 election

Yoho ran for the newly-redrawn Florida's 3rd congressional district. In the Republican primary he defeated longtime incumbent U.S. Congresssman Cliff Stearns (who was first elected in 1988), State Senator Steve Oelrich, and Clay County Clerk of Court James Jett 34%–33%–19%–14%.[3][4] Yoho defeated Stearns by 829 votes, or a 1.1 percentage point margin.[5] Yoho won 11 of the district’s 13 counties. Stearns only carried Marion, his home county, and Clay County. Stearns had endorsements from U.S. Representatives Paul Ryan, Michele Bachmann, and Allen West.[6]

Yoho won the November general election, 65% to 32%, against Democratic candidate J.R. Gaillot.[7][8]

Tenure

Yoho took office on January 3, 2013. He is a member of the Tea Party Caucus and the House Liberty Caucus. He supports reduction in taxes: replacing the current tax code with the Fair Tax,[9] reducing corporate tax rates, and eliminating federal programs that cannot be balanced with revenues.[10] According to the CBO, there would still be a deficit even if all discretionary spending (all Federal programs except pensions, Medicare and Social Security) were stopped.[11] Yoho is for reducing spending and reducing taxes, though has not yet introduced a plan that will lead to a balanced budget.[12]

Yoho also is opposed to raising the debt ceiling unless significant spending cuts are made; he is also opposed to earmarks in legislation. His district is one of the lowest-taxed in Florida, located primarily within Suwanee River Management District (lower proportion of property taxes), per capita retail sales in the district are significantly lower than the state average, and it has the fewest number of non-farm related businesses of Florida's congressional districts.[13] Yoho has not made any indication on his level support of the farm bill.[10]

Yoho has described his views on voting as "radical", advocating that only property owners should be allowed to vote. He stated that early absentee ballot voting is a "travesty".[14]

In 2014, Yoho was challenged by conservative Republican Jake Rush for his seat. Rush painted Yoho as a "liberal" and appealed to voters' conservatism to try and win the Republican nomination.[15]

In 2015, Yoho mounted an ill-fated challenge to John Boehner for the speakership of the US House of Representatives.[16] Of the 435 congressmen and congresswomen eligible to vote, Yoho received only two votes.[17] Since Yoho voted for himself, this means that he was only able to convince one other person to vote for him.

Legislation

Yoho coauthored the Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act of 2014 (H.R. 1528; 113th Congress), a bill that would amend the Controlled Substances Act to clarify that veterinarians are not required to have separate registrations to dispense controlled substances outside of their principal place of business, such as when treating animals on a farm.[18][19][20]

Committee assignments

Personal life

Yoho and his wife, Carolyn, have three children: Katie, Lauren, and Tyle.

References

  1. ↑ Ted Yoho. "About Ted". Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  2. ↑ "About Ted | Ted Yoho for Congress | Florida's 3rd District". Tedyoho.com. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  3. ↑ "AP Election Results | Campaign 2012 | C-SPAN". Hosted.ap.org. 2012-08-16. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  4. ↑ "Ted Yoho Qualifies and Formally Announces Candidacy". Cedar Key News. 2012-02-20.
  5. ↑ "Who is Ted Yoho?". Politico.Com. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  6. ↑ Dixon, Matt. "Shocker in U.S. House 3: Ted Yoho upsets 12-term incumbent Cliff Stearns". jacksonville.com. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  7. ↑ "2012 Election Results â€" Presidential, Senate & Congressional Races – ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  8. ↑ Thompson, Bill (2012-10-19). "3-way race for District 3, new congressman assured (Ted Yoho, J.R. Gallot, Phillip Dodds)". Gainesville.com. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  9. ↑ "Issues". tedyoho.com. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Issues | Ted Yoho for Congress | Florida's 3rd District". Tedyoho.com. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  11. ↑ "CBO | The U.S. Federal Budget: Infographic". Cbo.gov. 2011-12-12. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  12. ↑ "Ted Yoho – Political Positions – Project Vote Smart". Votesmart.org. 2012-08-14. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  13. ↑ "County Business and Demographics Interactive Map – US Census Bureau". Census.gov. 2012-08-27. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  14. ↑ Strauss, Daniel (May 20, 2014). "GOPer Suggested Voting Should Be Limited To Property Owners". TalkingPointsMemo.com. TPM Media LLC. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  15. ↑ Weigel, David (1 Apr 2014). "Vampire-LARPing Candidate Accuses His Republican Opponent of Being Too Liberal". Slate. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  16. ↑ "Ted Yoho joins Louie Gohmert in challenge of John Boehner's House leadership". Washingtontimes.com. 2015-01-04. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  17. ↑ "Boehner Gets 216, Is Reelected as Speaker for 114th Congress". Breitbart.com. 2015-01-06. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  18. ↑ "H.R. 1528 – Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  19. ↑ "CBO – H.R. 1528". Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  20. ↑ Kellogg, Barry (15 May 2013). "Protect Mobile Veterinary Services and Public Health and Safety: Support the Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act". Humane Society Veterinary Medicine Association. Retrieved 8 July 2014.

Further reading

External links

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Corrine Brown		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 3rd congressional district
2013–present 		Incumbent
United States order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Roger Williams		 United States Representatives by seniority
365th 		Succeeded by
Robin Kelly