Jim Bob Duggar

Jim Bob Duggar

Duggar in 2007
Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
from the 6th district
In office
1999–2002
Preceded by Louis McJunkin
Succeeded by Jodie Mahony
Personal details
Born James Robert Duggar
(1965-07-18) July 18, 1965
Springdale, Arkansas, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Michelle Ruark (m. 1984)
Children 19, including Josh, Jill and Jessa
Occupation Realtor, businessman, investor, television personality, author
Website duggarfamily.com

James Robert Duggar (born July 18, 1965) is an American real estate agent, politician, and television personality, known for the reality series, 19 Kids and Counting, which aired from 2008 to 2015). From 1999 to 2002, he was a Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives.

Life and career

Duggar was born in Sringdale, now the fourth largest city in Arkansas, the son of Jimmy Lee Duggar (1936–2009) and the former Mary Lester (born 1941), who owns a real estate brokerage agency.[1] Duggar has an older sister, Deanna (b. 1962).[2][3]

Duggar is a licensed realtor and owns several commercial properties in his local area as an investor.[4][5]

Political career

From 1999 to 2002, Duggar served in the Arkansas House of Representatives for District 6, which included part of northern Washington County.[6][7][8] Duggar was vice chair of the House Corrections and Criminal Law Subcommittee and also participated in the committees on Insurance and Commerce, and Judiciary.[9]

In 2002, rather than seeking reelection the state House, Duggar ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary election for the United States Senate. He was defeated by the incumbent Senator Tim Hutchinson by a lopsided vote of 71,576 to 20,546.[10][11] In 2006, Duggar unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for the District 35 seat in the Arkansas State Senate.[12] He lost to his opponent, Bill Pritchard, by two hundred votes.

Marriage and children

On July 21, 1984, Duggar married Michelle Ruark.[13] Together, the couple has 19 children: Joshua ("Josh") (b. 1988), twins Jana and John-David (b. 1990), Jill (b. 1991), Jessa (b. 1992), Jinger (b. 1993), Joseph (b. 1995), Josiah (b. 1996), Joy-Anna (b. 1997), twins Jedidiah and Jeremiah (b. 1998), Jason (b. 2000), James (b. 2001), Justin (b. 2002), Jackson (b. 2004), Johannah (b. 2005), Jennifer (b. 2007), Jordyn (b. 2008), and Josie (b. 2009). The family was featured on the reality series 19 Kids and Counting from 2008 - 2015. On November 8, 2011, Duggar's wife announced she was pregnant with their 20th child, whom they named Jubilee Shalom.[14] On December 8, 2011, it was announced she had miscarried.[15]

Duggar and his wife have eight grandchildren: Mackynzie (b. 2009), Michael (b. 2011), Marcus (b. 2013), and Meredith (b. 2015), whose parents are Josh and Anna Duggar; Israel (b. 2015), and Samuel (b. 2017), whose parents are Jill and Derick Dillard; Spurgeon (b. 2015), and Henry (b. 2017), whose parents are Jessa and Ben Seewald.

Duggar and his family are Independent Baptist Christians and members of the Institute in Basic Life Principles organization (aka IBLP and Advanced Training Institute),[16] a homeschooling program run by Christian minister Bill Gothard.[17][18][19] Duggar's oldest daughter, Jana Duggar, is a leader at the IBLP's "Journey to the Heart" youth ministry.[20]

Josh Duggar molestation revelations

On May 19, 2015, In Touch Weekly reported[21] that Duggar had told the Arkansas State Police that his oldest son, Josh Duggar, had molested five underage girls,[21][22] including family members, when he was 14–15 years old.[22][23][24][25][26][27] The abuse involved touching their breast and genital regions on multiple occasions while they slept and in a few cases while they were awake.[24][28][29][30]

Duggar told police he had referred his son to a program consisting of physical labor and counseling after consulting with the leadership of his church. Duggar's wife stated their son was sent away from home to work for a family friend in the home remodeling business. Upon the son's return home, Duggar took him to Arkansas State Trooper Jim Hutchens, a family acquaintance. Hutchens did not take any official action but reportedly gave Duggar's son a "stern talk".[30] With Hutchens' later arrest and convictions on child pornography charges, the case went inactive.[31]

Duggar spoke officially to law enforcement in 2006 after his son's actions were reported to authorities by producers of The Oprah Winfrey Show, which received an email making allegations against Josh Duggar. Because the three-year statute of limitations had already passed once the allegations were formally documented, Josh Duggar was not formally charged with criminal sexual abuse.[30][32]

In a joint statement to People magazine following the report, Duggar and his wife stated, "Even though we would never choose to go through something so terrible, each one of our family members drew closer to God. We pray that as people watch our lives they see that we are not a perfect family. We have challenges and struggles every day."[22][26]

Books

Duggar and his wife have written two books together, both published by Howard Books. The first is titled The Duggars: 20 and Counting!, which was released on December 2, 2008. Their second is A Love That Multiplies, which was released June 7, 2011.[33]

Other political activities

In 2008, Duggar and his wife endorsed former Governor Mike Huckabee in his campaign for the Republican presidential primaries.[34] In January 2012, the Duggars endorsed Republican former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania for president.[35] In October 2013, the Duggar family began campaigning for Ken Cuccinelli, the unsuccessful Republican gubernatorial candidate in Virginia.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Good Neighbor Realty, Mary Duggar" Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Prayers for "Grand Pa" Jim Duggar.". Discovery Health. February 11, 2009. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Counting their blessings". San Diego Union Tribune. January 5, 2006. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
  4. ↑ Rengers, Carrie (September 9, 2001). "13 Children Add Up To Asset For Challenger". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  5. ↑ Celizic, Mike (September 21, 2007). "Meet the Duggar family – all 19 of them". New York, US: MSNBC. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  6. ↑ Patrick, Galen (December 13, 2011). "Memorial Ceremony Held by Jim Bob, Michelle Duggar for Jubilee Shalom". Ontario, Canada: MJB Star. Archived from the original on January 12, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  7. ↑ Arkansas House District Map as of 2002. The yellow district at the northern part of Washington County is the sixth.
  8. ↑ Considine, Bob (May 9, 2008). "Mom pregnant with 18th child". New York, USA: MSNBC. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Representative Jim Bob Duggar". Arkansas Legislature. Archived from the original on November 7, 2002.
  10. ↑ http://www.sos.arkansas.gov/elections/historicalElectionResults/Documents/2002_Preferential_Primary_Non-Partisan_Judicial.pdf
  11. ↑ Staff reporter (May 23, 2002). "Senator Wins in Arkansas". The New York Times.
  12. ↑ Doug Thompson (March 29, 2006). "Duggar runs for Springdale state Senate seat". Arkansas News Bureau. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007.
  13. ↑ "Family Scrapbook". Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar Family. Archived from the original on January 24, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Michelle Duggar, feminist?". Faith Street. November 10, 2011.
  15. ↑ Dennis, Alicia. "Michelle Duggar Miscarries". People.com. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
  16. ↑ Duggar, Michelle & Jim Bob (2011). A love that multiplies. Nashville, Tenn.: Howard Books. pp. 228, 275, 276, 281. ISBN 1-4391-8381-3.
  17. ↑ "Bill Gothard placed on administrative leave". World Magazine. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  18. ↑ "A Time of Transition: A Statement From the Board of Directors". IBLP. June 17, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  19. ↑ Hathaway, Jay. "The Duggar Homeschool Program's Terrifying Advice on Sexual Assault". Gawker. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  20. ↑ "A Duggar on Her Own". Duggar Family Blog. September 25, 2012
  21. 1 2 Josh Duggar sex scandal reported, intouchweekly.com; accessed May 22, 2015.
  22. 1 2 3 "Josh Duggar breaks silence about molesting young girls, quits his job". Daily Mail. London. May 21, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Duggars reeling from Josh's sex-abuse scandal". USA Today. May 21, 2015.
  24. 1 2 Ohlheiser, Abby (May 22, 2015). "Josh Duggar apologizes amid molestation allegations, quits Family Research Council". The Washington Post.
  25. ↑ Rhodan, Maya (May 21, 2015). "Josh Duggar Responds to Child Molestation Claims: 'I Acted Inexcusably'". Time.
  26. 1 2 "Josh Duggar Child Molestation Accusations: 19 Kids & Counting Star Responds". people.com. May 21, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Josh Duggar Involved In Underage Sex Scandal: Report". ibtimes.com. May 19, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Heavily redacted police report re Duggar case". Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Duggar Son Allegedly Admitted to Sexually Molesting Minor Girls, Including Sisters". tmz.com. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  30. 1 2 3 Jones, Allie. "The Web Has Known About Josh Duggar for Years. When Did TLC Find Out?". gawker.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  31. ↑ "State trooper who let Josh Duggar go in wake of molestation claims". Daily Mail. London. May 21, 2015.
  32. ↑ O'Connor, Brendan. "Josh Duggar Confirms Teen Molestation Reports". gawker.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  33. ↑ Duggar, Michelle; Duggar, Jim Bob (June 7, 2011). A Love That Multiplies: An Up-Close View of How They Make it Work. Howard Books. ISBN 978-1-4391-8381-6.
  34. ↑ "'19 Kids' stars dump Santorum for Huckabee". msnbc.com. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  35. ↑ O'Brien, Michael (January 2, 2012). "Santorum wins support of TLC's Duggar clan". MSNBC. NBCUniversal. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
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