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Chet Edwards
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chet Edwards | |
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| In office 1991-present |
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| Preceded by | Charlie Stenholm |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Born | November 24, 1951 Corpus Christi, Texas |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Lea Ann Edwards |
| Religion | Baptist |
Thomas Chester "Chet" Edwards (born November 24, 1951) is an American politician from the Democratic Party. He has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1991, representing a district based in Waco, Texas. He represented Texas's 11th District from 1991 to 2005, and since 2005 has represented the 17th District. A resident of Waco, his district includes the town of Crawford,[1] the home of President George W. Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch, making Edwards the President's congressman.
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Born in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1951, Edwards graduated magna cum laude[2] from Texas A&M University in 1974, earning a bachelor's degree in economics. Upon graduation, he was given the Earl Rudder Award, which is only given to two outstanding seniors.[3] After his graduation, he worked as an aide to Congressman Olin E. Teague for three years.[3]
When Teague announced his retirement in 1978, Edwards ran in the Democratic primary to succeed him. He lost by only 115 votes to future Senator Phil Gramm.[4]
In 1981, Edwards earned his MBA from Harvard Business School.[5]
Edwards was elected to the Texas Senate in 1983, and served until 1990, representing District 9.[5] In the Texas Senate, Edwards was a member of the Senate Education Committee, and helped reduce class sizes in public schools. He was named by Texas Monthly as one of the "Ten Outstanding Legislators" during his tenure.[3]
Currently, Edwards is a member of the House Budget and Appropriations Committees. He is one of only six House members to serve on both the Budget and Appropriations committees. He is also the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction. As the only Texan to chair an Appropriations subcommittee, it can be argued that Edwards is the most influential Texan in the House. Appropriations subcommittee chairmen are often known as "Cardinals" because of their control of the budget.
The 11th District had been trending Republican for some time, but Edwards had been able to hold onto his seat, albeit with increasingly narrow margins.[6] In the 2003 Texas redistricting, however, Edwards' district was renumbered as the 17th District, and the U.S. Army post Fort Hood was removed from the district. His district absorbed College Station, home of Texas A&M University, along with several strongly Republican Fort Worth suburbs. Edwards still defeated State Representative Arlene Wohlgemuth by 9,260 votes, or approximately a 3.8% margin. Edwards and Lloyd Doggett were the only Democrats targeted by the redistricting effort who retained their seats.
Edwards ran for reelection against Republican Van Taylor, a former Marine Corps reservist and Iraq War veteran, in the 2006 House of Representatives elections. Edwards won the election with 58% of the votes, whereas Taylor received only 40% of the votes. The other 2% of the votes went to Independent candidate Guillermo Acosta.[7]
- ^ Vlahos, Kelley. "Texas Rep. Edwards Beats Odds, but Faces Iraq War Vet in Midterm", Fox News, 2006-03-07. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
- ^ Woolstrum, Anthony. "Edwards runs for new district slot", The Battalion, 2004-01-23. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
- ^ a b c Congressman Chet Edwards - Bio. United States House. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
- ^ http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/candidates/election.guide/text/TX11.shtml
- ^ a b Chet Edwards. NNDB. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
- ^ Edwards, T. Chester "Chet". Our Campaigns. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
- ^ U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES / TEXAS 17. CNN. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
- U.S. Congressman Chet Edwards official House site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Federal Election Commission - Chet Edwards campaign finance reports and data
- On the Issues - Chet Edwards issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org - Chet Edwards campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart - Representative Thomas 'Chet' Edwards (TX) profile
- SourceWatch Congresspedia - Chet Edwards profile
- Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Chet Edwards voting record
- Chet Edwards for U.S. Congress official campaign site
| Preceded by Dee Travis |
Texas State Senator from District 9 (Duncanville) 1983–1991 |
Succeeded by David Sibley |
| Preceded by Marvin Leath |
United States Representative for the 11th Congressional District of Texas 1991–2005 |
Succeeded by Mike Conaway |
| Preceded by Charles Stenholm |
United States Representative for the 17th Congressional District of Texas 2005–Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
Categories: 1951 births | Living people | Members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas | Current members of the United States House of Representatives | Texas State Senators | Texas politicians | People from Corpus Christi, Texas | Texas A&M University alumni | Harvard Business School alumni