Tim Huelskamp

Tim Huelskamp
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kansas's 1st district
Assumed office
January 3, 2011
Preceded by Jerry Moran
Member of the Kansas Senate
from the 38th district
In office
January 3, 1997 – January 5, 2011
Preceded by Marian Reynolds
Succeeded by Garrett Love (appointed)
Personal details
Born Timothy Alan Huelskamp
(1968-11-11) November 11, 1968
Fowler, Kansas
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Angela Huelskamp
Children four
Residence Fowler, Kansas
Alma mater
Religion Roman Catholic
Website huelskamp.house.gov

Timothy Alan "Tim" Huelskamp[1] (born November 11, 1968) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who has been the U.S. Representative for Kansas's 1st congressional district since 2011. Prior to entering Congress, he represented the 38th District of the Kansas Senate from 1997 until 2011.[2]

Early life, education, and career

Huelskamp was born near and raised on the Huelskamp family farm in Fowler, Kansas. Pioneered by his grandparents Martin and Clara in 1926, the farm operation includes raising corn, cattle, wheat, milo, and soybeans. He attended elementary and high school in Fowler, where he was a Farm Bureau Youth Leader, a member of St. Anthony’s Parish, and active in both 4-H and Future Farmers of America.

After attending seminary for two years in Santa Fe, Huelskamp continued his education at the College of Santa Fe (now Santa Fe University of Art and Design) and received his B.A. in social science education in 1991. He received his Ph.D. in political science, concentrating in agricultural policy from the American University in 1995.[3][4]

Now a politician, Huelskamp has also been a teacher and a budget and legislative analyst.[4][5]

Personal life

Huelskamp and his wife Angela, live in Fowler, Kansas. They have four adopted children. Natasha, Rebecca, Athan, and Alex. [6]

Kansas Senate

Elections

In 1996, Huelskamp challenged Republican incumbent state senator Marian Reynolds in the primary and won by a landslide margin, taking 62 percent of the vote to Reynolds's 38 percent.[7] The youngest state senator in 20 years, he then won re-election by wide margins in 2000, 2004, and 2008.

Committee assignments

Huelskamp served on the following legislative committees:[8]

Huelskamp previously served on the state's Ways and Means Committee but was removed due to clashes with colleagues and with the Committee's leadership.[9]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2010

Seven-term Congressman Jerry Moran gave up the Big First seat to make a successful run for the United States Senate. This touched off a free-for-all in the Republican primary—the real contest in this heavily Republican district. Huelskamp finished first in the six-candidate primary field with 34.8 percent of the vote, all but assuring that he would be the district's next representative.[10]

Huelskamp ran against Democratic nominee Alan Jilka and Libertarian nominee Jack W. Warner. Huelskamp was endorsed by The Club for Growth, Mike Huckabee,[11][12] Conservative Leadership PAC, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee,[2] Ron Paul and Ken Blackwell.[13]

As expected, Huelskamp won the seat in a rout, taking 73 percent of the vote.[14]

2012

Huelskamp ran unopposed in the general election.

2014

Unlike the previous election, Huelskamp was challenged by a Republican, Alan LaPolice, in the primary.[15] Moreover, two Democrats ran for the primary Jim Sherow, a Kansas State University professor, and Bryan Whitney, a 2013 Wichita State University grad. Both LaPolice and Sherow critiqued Huelskamp for his failure to work with other Members of Congress and voting against Farm Bill.[16][17] Huelskamp narrowly defeated LaPolice in the Republican Primary with only 55% of the vote. Huelskamp failed to receive the endorsement of the Farm Bureau and the Kansas Livestock Association. Huelskamp went on to win the General Election with 68% of the vote.[15]

Legislative activity

In early 2012, Huelskamp introduced legislation that would ensure military chaplains could not be “directed, ordered or required to perform any duty, rite, ritual, ceremony, service or function that is contrary to the conscience, moral principles or religious beliefs of the chaplain, or contrary to the moral principles or religious beliefs of the chaplain’s faith group.” The language appeared to be related to permitting same-sex marriages on military bases in states where such unions are permitted.[18]

Sovereign debt crisis

On February 16, 2012, during a contentious three-hour House Budget Committee hearing with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Huelskamp warned of the looming threat of an economic crisis similar to the one then taking place in Europe. Representative Huelskamp accused Geithner and the entire Obama administration of failing to correct the U.S.'s debt crisis, which he believed would lead the country down the same path. Geithner replied that Huelskamp had an “adolescent perspective on how to think about economic policy.”[19]

Defense of Marriage Act Constitutional Amendment

After the United States Supreme Court declared the Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA unconstitutional on June 26, 2013,[20] Huelskamp immediately announced that he would introduce a constitutional amendment to restore the Defense of Marriage Act.[21] He then went on The Steve Deace Show, a conservative radio program, to denounce the Supreme Court Justices. “The idea that Jesus Christ himself was degrading and demeaning is what they’ve come down to,” he said. "I can’t even stand to read the decisions because I don’t even think they’d pass law school with decisions like that.”[22]

Committee assignments

The House Republican Steering Committee removed Huelskamp from both the Budget Committee and the Agriculture Committee in late 2012 as part of a larger party leadership-caucus shift.[23] At a Heritage Foundation lunch in the immediate wake of the removal, Huelskamp said: "It's petty, it's vindictive, and if you have any conservative principles you will be punished for articulating those."[24] He joined Justin Amash of Michigan and David Schweikert of Arizona in a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner, demanding to know why they had lost their "plum" committee posts.[25]

Politico quoted a spokesperson for Republican Congressman Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia as explaining that Huelskamp, Amash and Schweikert were removed for "their inability to work with other members." The spokesperson clarified that Westmoreland "said that it had nothing to do with their voting record, a scorecard, or their actions across the street [meaning fundraising]." The three were described by Politico and its sourcing of Huelskamp's other colleagues as "jerks" who "made life harder for other Republicans by taking whacks at them in public for supporting the team".[26][27]:p.2

On January 3, 2013, Huelskamp appeared to be counting votes as part of an effort to unseat House Speaker John Boehner when the 113th Congress convened. Huelskamp nominated conservative Jim Jordan to replace Boehner. When asked about the anti-Boehner effort a spokesman for Huelskamp declined to comment.[28]

Caucus memberships

References

  1. ↑ "Representative Timothy Alan Huelskamp (Tim) (R-Kansas, 1st)". LegiStorm. Retrieved 2012-06-28.
  2. 1 2 "Endorsements Start in Kansas Congressional Race". Associated Press. February 1, 2009. Retrieved February 28, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Tim Huelskamp's Biography – The Voter's Self Defense System – Vote Smart". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  4. 1 2 Hanna, John (March 15, 1998). "Unassuming Ph.D. is emerging". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Associated Press. Retrieved February 28, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Senator Tim Huelskamp: Kansas Senate District #38", Kansas Senate Republican Party Pages. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  6. ↑ "Congressman contra mundum". World News Group. January 29, 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  7. ↑ Hanna, John (August 7, 1996). "Four incumbent state legislators lose to their challengers". The Fort Scott Tribune. Retrieved 2012-06-28.
  8. ↑ Profile from the Kansas Legislature Archived April 14, 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Huelskamp ad under scrutiny, Tim Carpenter, Topeka Capital-Journal, July 20, 2010
  10. ↑ "Our Campaigns – KS District 1 – R Primary Race – Aug 03, 2010". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  11. ↑ Klepper, David (February 17, 2009). "Huckabee endorses Huelskamp's Congressional bid". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved February 28, 2009.
  12. ↑ Jacobs, Jeremy P. (February 17, 2009). "Huelskamp Picks up Huckabee Endorsement". The Hill. Retrieved February 28, 2009.
  13. ↑ LaCerte, Phil (February 5, 2009). "Huelskamp bill pushes for school district spending transparency". Kansas Liberty. Retrieved February 28, 2009.
  14. ↑ "2010 Unofficial Kansas General Election Results". Kansas Secretary of State. November 3, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  15. 1 2 "Congressional Races in 2014 (Kansas)". The Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  16. ↑ Hegeman, Roxana (July 5, 2014). "Huelskamp faces GOP challenge in Kan. 1st District". Associated Press.
  17. ↑ Aust, Scott (2014-03-19). "Sherow makes bid for 'good representation' in Big First". Garden City Telegram.
  18. ↑ Hoskinson, Charles, "Don't Ask Don't Tell: War over gays in military in new phase", Politico, 1 February 2012.
  19. ↑ Robb, Greg (February 16, 2012). "House Republicans warn of European-style debt crisis". MarketWatch. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
  20. ↑ Supreme Court DOMA Decision Rules Federal Same-Sex Marriage Ban Unconstitutional Huffington Post – June 26, 2013
  21. ↑ "Huelskamp will try to restore DOMA". POLITICO. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  22. ↑ Huelskamp: DOMA Ruling an Attack on Jesus Christ; Justices Couldn't Pass Law School Right Wing Watch – June 28, 2013
  23. ↑ Wing, Nick, "Tim Huelskamp: John Boehner Guilty Of 'Petty, Vindictive Politics' In Committee Ousters", The Huffington Post, 12/12/2012.
  24. ↑ Weiner, Rachel, "Conservatives bite back over House GOP purge", Washington Post Post Politics blog, December 5, 2012. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
  25. ↑ Wallace, Gregory (December 8, 2012). "Booted from plum committee seats, three GOP reps want answers". Political Ticker (blog). CNN. Retrieved 2012-12-08.
  26. ↑ Allen, Jonathan (December 13, 2012). "'The a—hole factor'". Politico. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  27. ↑ "'Obstinate' Factor Continues to Roil GOP". Roll Call. December 12, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  28. ↑ Sherman, Jake, and John Bresnahan (January 3, 2013), "Conservatives rebel against Boehner", Politico'.'
  29. ↑ Bialik, Carl; Bycoffe, Aaron (25 September 2015). "The Hard-Line Republicans Who Pushed John Boehner Out". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved 2015-09-28.

External links

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Jerry Moran		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kansas's 1st congressional district
January 3, 2011 – present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
United States order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Jaime Herrera Beutler
R-Washington 		United States Representatives by seniority
259th 		Succeeded by
Bill Huizenga
R-Michigan
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