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Rush D. Holt Jr.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rush Holt, Jr. | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1999 |
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| Preceded by | Mike Pappas |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Born | October 15, 1948 (age 58) Weston, West Virginia |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Margaret Lancefield |
| Religion | Quaker |
Rush Dew Holt, Jr. (born October 15, 1948, Weston, West Virginia) is an American Democratic Party politician and the current U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 12th Congressional District. He is currently the only Quaker in the Congress.
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Rush Holt was born to Rush D. Holt Sr., who served as a United States Senator for West Virginia (1935 – 1941), and his wife Helen Holt, the first woman to be appointed West Virginia Secretary of State (1957 – 1959).[1] Holt Sr. was the youngest person ever to be elected to the U.S. Senate, at age 29. He died of cancer when Rush was six years old.
Holt graduated with a BA degree in physics from Carleton College in Minnesota, and holds MS and PhD degrees in physics from New York University.
Holt served as a faculty member at Swarthmore College from 1980 to 1988 where he taught physics, public policy, and religion courses. During that time, he also worked as a Congressional Science Fellow for U.S. Representative Bob Edgar of Pennsylvania. From 1987 until 1989, Holt headed the Nuclear and Scientific Division of the Office of Strategic Forces at the U.S. Department of State.
From 1989 until his successful congressional campaign in 1998, Holt was the Assistant Director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory at Princeton University, the University's largest research facility and the largest center for energy research in New Jersey.
Holt is married to Margaret Lancefield, a physician and Medical Director of the charity clinic of the University Medical Center at Princeton. They have three grown children: Michael, Dejan and Rachel; and six grandchildren: Noah, Niala, Boaz, Varun, Cecile, and Rohan.
Holt's first race was in 1996, where he finished in third place in the Democratic party primary. Holt ran again in 1998 and won the primary, pitting him against conservative Congressman Mike Pappas in the general election. Pappas' campaign experienced a setback after he read a poem, set to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", praising Kenneth Starr on the floor of the House of Representatives. Holt won the election by a 51-48% margin, becoming the first Democrat to represent the district in two decades.[2]
Holt was challenged by former Republican Congressman Dick Zimmer in the 2000 election; Holt's prior win was thought by Republicans to be a fluke, and the race attracted considerable money and advertising. The election was hotly contested, with Zimmer ahead on election night, but Holt ahead the next day. Ten days after the election, Holt declared himself the winner by 481 votes. Zimmer challenged the results, but conceded after the count began to go against him.[3][4]
Redistricting before the 2002 elections made Holt safer, in part by adding much of Trenton. While Holt faced a fairly well-funded challenge from New Jersey Secretary of State Buster Soaries, an African-American, he defeated Soaries handily with 61% of the vote. He was reelected again in 2004 over Bill Spadea (59-41%) and in 2006 over former Helmetta, New Jersey Council President Joseph Sinagra (65-35%).
On May 22, 2003, Holt introduced legislation to require electronic voting machines to produce a paper record in time for the 2004 elections. The bill entitled Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003 is designed to address concerns that there is no way to verify vote counts on electronic touch screen voting machines, should a similar situation arise as did in Florida during the 2000 presidential election.At the first meeting of the 110th Congress Rush Holt was the first Congressman to bring an issue to the Speaker. He has been active in contested elections especially the current one in Florida.
In Congress, Holt serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was appointed Chairman of the Subcommittee on Intelligence Policy by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi at the start of the 110th Congress. Congressman Holt is the only representative from New Jersey to serve on the committee. [5]He also serves on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Holt received a grade of 100% on the progressive Drum Major Institute's 2005 Congressional Scorecard on middle-class issues.[6]
- ^ http://www.wvculture.org/HiStory/government/holthelen01.html
- ^ "Twinkle, twinkle Kenneth Starr: how physicist Rush Holt used the Clinton scandal to oust a Republican congressman", Campaigns & Elections, May 1999
- ^ CNN.com - Zimmer concedes congressional race in N.J. after 22 days - November 29, 2000
- ^ The Daily Princetonian - Page 3, Wednesday, September 25, 2002
- ^ [1]
- ^ Congress at the Midterm: Their 2005 Middle-Class Record
- Official House of Representatives site
- Official campaign site
- Voting record maintained by the Washington Post
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mike Pappas |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 12th congressional district 1999 – present |
Incumbent |
Categories: 1948 births | Living people | American physicists | American Quakers | Carleton College alumni | Current members of the United States House of Representatives | Members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey | New York University alumni | People from West Virginia | Princeton University faculty | Swarthmore College faculty