Robert Lee "Bob" Stump (April 4, 1927 – June 20, 2003) was a
U.S. CongressmanThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from
ArizonaThe State of Arizona is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix. The second largest city is Tucson, followed in size by the four Phoenix metropolitan area cities of Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, and Scottsdale.Arizona was the 48th and...
.
Stump was born in
PhoenixPhoenix is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the fifth most populous city in the United States...
and was a
U.S. NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
combat veteran, where he served on the USS Tulagi from 1943 to 1946. He graduated from Tolleson High School in 1947, and
Arizona State UniversityArizona State University is the largest public research university in the United States under a single administration, with total student enrollment of 68,064 as of fall 2009...
in 1951. For many years, he owned a cotton and grain farm in the Phoenix suburb of
TollesonTolleson is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 6,812...
.
He served four terms in the
Arizona House of RepresentativesThe Arizona House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its members are elected to two-year terms with a term limit of four consecutive terms...
from 1959 to 1967, and five terms in the Arizona State Senate, from 1967 to 1976. He served as President of the Arizona State Senate from 1975 to 1976.
He was first elected to the 95th Congress on November 2, 1976, originally as a
DemocratThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
from the 3rd Congressional District. Despite his Democratic affiliation, he considered himself a "Pinto", or rural, Democrat and his voting record was very conservative. He voted for
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California .Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s...
's tax cuts in 1981. Shortly after that vote, he announced he would become a Republican when Congress reconvened in January 1982. Regardless of his party affiliation, he never faced serious competition at the ballot box. He briefly considered running for the
SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
in 1986 after
Barry GoldwaterBarry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. He was also a Major General in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He was known as "Mr...
decided to retire.
Stump kept a fairly low profile for most of his tenure; he was known to answer the phone himself at his
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
office and usually returned home to work his farm in Tolleson on weekends. In his 26 years in the House, he became a noted member of the House Armed Services Committee, serving as chairman from 2001 to 2003.
However, he was sometimes criticized for addressing himself mainly to Phoenix and the West Valley, even though his district included the entire northwestern portion of Arizona. Many residents of his far-flung district rarely saw him. For many years, he maintained his district office in downtown Phoenix, outside the district.
He decided not to run for re-election in 2002 due to declining health. He endorsed his chief of staff, Lisa Jackson Atkins, as his successor in what was now the 2nd District. However, Atkins was defeated in a seven way Republican primary by
Trent FranksTrent Franks is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 2003, representing . The district takes in the entire northwestern corner of the state, including Kingman and Lake Havasu City, but most of its vote is cast in the Phoenix suburbs.-Early life and...
, who still holds the seat. Stump died June 20, 2003.
The Bob Stump Veteran's Administration Medical Center in
Prescott, ArizonaPrescott is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, USA. Local inhabitants prefer to pronounce the name PRES-kit in a way that rhymes with "biscuit."...
was named in his honor. Stump is of no relation to the member of the
Arizona Corporation CommissionThe Arizona Corporation Commission is the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Arizona, established by Article 15 of the Arizona Constitution. There are currently five members of the commission . Arizona is one of only a handful of states with elected commissioners...
of the same name.
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