|
Geoff Davis (born October 26, 1958) is an American politician from the state of Kentucky, who was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from Kentucky's 4th congressional district with 54% of the vote on November 2, 2004. The district includes 24 counties in the northeastern part of the state, stretching from the fringes of the Louisville area to the West Virginia border. Most of its vote, however, is cast in the Cincinnati suburbs.
Davis was born in Montreal, Canada to American parents (one of few sitting House members to be born in Quebec), and attended the United States Military Academy. He served in the Middle East during the 1980s with the U.S. Army Rangers. Before running for the House, he worked as a consultant in the manufacturing field.
Political career
2002 and 2004 elections
In 2002 elections, Davis had challenged Ken Lucas, the Democratic incumbent but was narrowly defeated. Two years later, however, Lucas declined to run, honoring a promise to serve only three terms. In the 2004 race for the open seat, Davis defeated Democrat Nick Clooney. The race had been rated as highly competitive by outside observers. Davis was criticized by watchdog groups for campaigning with the slogan "Looney Clooney," demeaning his opponent.[1] Mental health advocacy groups were swift to denounce Davis' disservice to the mentally challenged.
[edit]
Service in Congress
Davis has a solidly conservative voting record; according to his congressional website, he has positioned himself as pro-life and in favor of industrial deregulation.
In November, 2005, Davis made headlines for his response to Pennsylvania representative John Murtha's call for withdrawal from Iraq, saying, "Ayman Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's deputy, as well as Abu Musab Zarqawi, have made it quite clear in their internal propaganda that they cannot win unless they can drive the Americans out. And they know that they can't do that there, so they've brought the battlefield to the halls of Congress. And, frankly, the liberal leadership have put politics ahead of sound, fiscal and national security policy. And what they have done is cooperated with our enemies and are emboldening our enemies." Davis faced harsh criticism for his remarks, including, for example, from the Democratic Veterans of Northern Kentucky, and sparked a drive led by national Democratic Party leaders to get Lucas to run against him in 2006.[2] [3] [4]
[edit]
2006 election
On January 30, 2006, Lucas announced he would indeed challenge Davis later that year. The announcement instantly turned the race into one of the hottest in the campaign cycle, even though the 4th is considered the most Republican district in Kentucky. Despite a substantial Democratic advantage in voter registration, the influence of the heavily Republican Cincinnati suburbs kept the district in Republican hands from 1967 until Lucas won the seat in 1998. In August Congressional Quarterly rated this race as "Lean Republican." In late July the Washington Post also rated the race as a toss-up.[5] A SurveyUSA poll released on July 25, 2006 showed Lucas leading 50% to 41%.[6] However, the most recent independent SurveyUSA poll shows Davis up by two percentage points (46% Davis - 44% Lucas).[7] Davis has a decisive lead in fundraising.[8]
The Cook Political Report, an independent non-partisan newsletter, rated the race for Kentucky's 4th Congressional District as a "Republican Toss-Up", meaning either party has a good chance of winning.[9]
Contributors
The Davis campaign has received contributions from the Americans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee (ARMPAC), which was led by former Texas Congressman Tom DeLay. As of June 30, 2006, according to the Federal Election Commission, of the 2.4 million dollars contributed to the Davis campaign for the current 2006 electoral cycle, $10,000 was contributed by ARMPAC.[10] Tom DeLay is the subject of indictments sought by Ronnie Earle, the district attorney for Travis County, Texas, alleging violations of Texas campaign-finance law. Judge Pat Priest has dismissed one indictment against DeLay, the second has not yet come to trial.[11] The charges against DeLay are considered by some to be politically motivated.[12] [13] Democrats have indicated that they consider the ARMPAC contributions to be a campaign issue.[14] Davis is not accused of any misconduct.
Davis has received donations from Republican Duke Cunningham, who pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion. Davis has not chosen to give back the money from Cunningham, while many other recipients have.[15] [16] Davis received a donation from Congressman Bob Ney, who pleaded guilty for bribery and his involvement with convicted felon Jack Abramoff.[17]
References
1.^ http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/10/19/loc_elex1debate.html
2.^ http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/17/politics/17text-gop.html?pagewanted=print
3.^ http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051122/NEWS0103/511220343/1059/NEWS01
4.^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/17/AR2005111701536_pf.html
5.^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/custom/2006/07/22/CU2006072200370.html
6.^ http://www.wcpo.com/news/2006/local/07/25/survey.html
7.^ http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReportEmail.aspx?g=8b69eeea-7816-461b-ae98-882e95b92cf8
8.^ http://projects.washingtonpost.com/elections/keyraces/8/
9.^ http://www.cookpolitical.com/races/report_pdfs/2006_house_comp_jun29.pdf
10.^ http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/can_detail/H2KY04071/
11.^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/05/AR2005120500426.html
12.^ http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110007330
13.^ http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20051003-094234-1323r.htm
14.^ http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060417/17fallout.htm
15.^ http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/can_com/H0CA45012
16.^ http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/can_give/H2KY04071
17.^ http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/can_com/H4OH18079
Courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoff_Davis
|
