David Dewhurst
Encyclopedia
David Dewhurst is the 41st and current Lieutenant Governor of Texas
, serving under Governor
Rick Perry
since January 21, 2003. A member of the Republican Party
, he previously served as Texas Land Commissioner
from 1999 to 2003. Dewhurst announced on July 18, 2011, that he was running for the vacant U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Republican U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
in the upcoming 2012 election.
, where he has served on civic and charitable boards. He graduated from Lamar High School
in Houston and earned his bachelor's degree and played basketball
at the University of Arizona
in Tucson.
He was previously an officer in the U.S. Air Force, an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency
, and worked in the United States State Department. In 1981, Dewhurst founded Falcon Seaboard, a Texas-based diversified energy and investments company in Houston.
He breeds registered Black Angus cattle and rides cutting horses in American Quarter Horse Association
and National Cutting Horse Association competitions.
Dewhurst is considered the wealthiest man in Texas politics.
, Garry Mauro
, waged an unsuccessful campaign for governor
against George W. Bush
. A self-described "George Bush Republican," he defeated Democratic State Representative Richard Raymond
, then of Benavides
and thereafter of Laredo
. Dewhurst received 2,072,604 votes (57.42 percent) to Raymond's 1,438,378 ballots (39.85 percent). A Libertarian
polled the remaining 2.72 percent.
Dewhurst was elected Lieutenant Governor in November 2002, when he defeated former Democratic Comptroller John Sharp
of Victoria
. He succeeded Bill Ratliff
. (Ratliff did not contest the lieutenant governor's position in the primary, opting instead for re-election to his state senate seat.) Dewhurst polled 2,341,875 votes (51.77 percent) to Sharp's 2,082,281 (46.03 percent). (Two minor candidates polled the remaining 2.19 percent.) In that campaign, Dewhurst stressed his interest in public education and opposition to school vouchers.
Dewhurst was easily renominated for lieutenant governor in the Republican primary held on March 7, 2006. He defeated Tom Kelly, the same candidate whom he bested for the nomination in 2002. In the November 7, 2006, general election, Dewhurst overwhelmed Democrat Maria Luisa Alvarado, a veterans issues research analyst and the winner of her April 11 runoff primary. He received 2,512,197 votes (58.2 percent) to Alvarado's 1,616,945 (37.4 percent). Libertarian Judy A. Baker polled another 188,956 votes (4.4 percent).
Dewhurst filed for Lt. Governor of Texas in the 2010 election. It was widely assumed that he would run for United States Senate if Kay Bailey Hutchison had resigned. He was his party's nominee for a third term as lieutenant governor and faced Democrat Linda Chavez-Thompson, Libertarian
Scott Jameson, and Green Party
Herb Gonzales, Jr. in the November 2, 2010, general election
. He was re-elected to a third term on November 2, 2010, having polled 3,044,770 votes (61.80 percent) to the Democrat
Linda Chavez-Thompson
's 1,715,735 votes (34.82 percent).
Tom DeLay
, Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick
, and Governor Rick Perry
, in passing a sweeping congressional redistricting
bill that increased the number of Republican U.S. House seats in Texas from fifteen to twenty-one in the 2004 elections. The Republican seats dropped to nineteen in the 2006 elections under a modified court redistricting plan. Minority Democrats retain thirteen U.S. House seats from Texas. In his capacity as the presiding officer of the Texas Senate, Dewhurst, in the third consecutive special session called by the governor, allowed the suspension of the custom that two thirds of the body must vote to consider a bill.
Dewhurst's leadership on redistricting brought him into legal conflict with his former land commissioner opponent, Richard Raymond, the only elected official to have been a plaintiff in the 2006 U.S. Supreme Court review of the constitutionality of the redistricting plan. Dewhurst and Raymond have also sparred over education policy.
He is known by his "Texas Children First" initiative which is part of cracking down on child sexual predators in Texas and throughout the United States
. The initiative includes extending statute of limitations
on child sex crimes and leading the passage of Jessica's Law
. David Dewhurst is also attempting to pass legislation that would allow for the death penalty to be imposed on second time violent child predators. This bill has received some controversy as it has been asserted by some that the death penalty for anything other than murder
is unconstitutional
. No one has been executed in the US for a crime other than murder since 1964.
Dewhurst used the Senate's rules to help defeat a voter identification bill in 2009.
Dewhurst has been accused by state senator Dan Patrick of helping to stop a bill that would have made the TSA's pat downs of airplane passengers a felony in Texas.
In March 2010, a student performance of the play Corpus Christi
by Terrence McNally
, in which Jesus and the disciples are portrayed as being gay, was canceled at Tarleton State University
in Stephenville, Texas
following a condemnatory statement by Dewhurst. The university had received many complaints about the play's scheduled performance as a class project for a directing class, but in a letter posted on the university's website on March 11, President F. Dominic Dottavio, citing freedom of speech, declared that the play would be performed. The day before the performance, Dewhurst issued his statement saying, "No one should have the right to use government funds or institutions to portray acts that are morally reprehensible to the vast majority of Americans," and the performance was cancelled by the professor, who cited safety concerns. A subsequent statement by Dewhurst praised the university for canceling the performance, whereas the professor claimed to have acted on his own. Dewhurst's statement also claimed that whereas he is "a strong defender of free speech, we must also protect the rights and reasonable expectations of Texas taxpayers and how their money is used. A play that is completely contrary to the standards of decency and moral beliefs of the vast majority of Texans should not be performed using any state resources, especially by an institution of higher learning."
On July 18, 2011, Dewhurst addressed his supporters in an online video on his campaign website, announcing his candidacy for the vacant U.S. Senate seat for the Republican nomination. He will likely face rivals such as former Mayor of Dallas Tom Leppert
, and former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz
.
Lieutenant Governor of Texas
The Lieutenant Governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the...
, serving under Governor
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
Rick Perry
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
since January 21, 2003. A member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, he previously served as Texas Land Commissioner
Texas General Land Office
.The Texas General Land Office is a state agency of Texas. It manages state-controlled lands and mineral rights properties. The agency originally collected and kept records regarding lands controlled by the state. The agency has its headquarters in the Stephen F. Austin State Office Building in...
from 1999 to 2003. Dewhurst announced on July 18, 2011, that he was running for the vacant U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Republican U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
Kay Bailey Hutchison
Kathryn Ann Bailey Hutchison, known as Kay Bailey Hutchison , is the senior United States Senator from Texas.She is a member of the Republican Party. In 2001, she was named one of the thirty most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal. The first woman to represent Texas in the U.S....
in the upcoming 2012 election.
Personal life
Dewhurst is a businessman, a rancher, and a community leader in HoustonHouston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, where he has served on civic and charitable boards. He graduated from Lamar High School
Lamar High School (Houston)
Mirabeau B. Lamar Senior High School is a secondary school located at 3325 Westheimer Road in Houston, Texas, United States, with a zip code of 77098...
in Houston and earned his bachelor's degree and played basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
in Tucson.
He was previously an officer in the U.S. Air Force, an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, and worked in the United States State Department. In 1981, Dewhurst founded Falcon Seaboard, a Texas-based diversified energy and investments company in Houston.
He breeds registered Black Angus cattle and rides cutting horses in American Quarter Horse Association
American Quarter Horse Association
The American Quarter Horse Association , based in Amarillo, Texas, is an international organization dedicated to the preservation, improvement and record-keeping of the American Quarter Horse. The association sanctions many competitive events and maintains the official registry...
and National Cutting Horse Association competitions.
Dewhurst is considered the wealthiest man in Texas politics.
Land Commissioner
Dewhurst was elected as Commissioner of the General Land Office of Texas in 1998, when the 16-year incumbentIncumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
, Garry Mauro
Garry Mauro
Garry Mauro is an American Democratic Party politician from Texas, most noted for being the four-term commissioner of the Texas General Land Office from 1983 to 1999 during the administrations of Governors Mark White, Bill Clements, Ann Richards, and George W...
, waged an unsuccessful campaign for governor
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
against George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. A self-described "George Bush Republican," he defeated Democratic State Representative Richard Raymond
Richard Raymond (Texas politician)
Richard Peña Raymond is a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives. He currently represents District 42, which encompasses western Webb County and includes most of the city of Laredo. He is Vice-Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations and is also a member of the Border...
, then of Benavides
Benavides, Texas
Benavides is a city in Duval County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,686 at the 2000 census.-History:The town is named after Plácido Benavides, namesake nephew of Plácido Benavides , Tejano 1832 alcalde of Victoria, who served under Stephen F...
and thereafter of Laredo
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
. Dewhurst received 2,072,604 votes (57.42 percent) to Raymond's 1,438,378 ballots (39.85 percent). A Libertarian
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
polled the remaining 2.72 percent.
2002 election
Dewhurst was elected Lieutenant Governor in November 2002, when he defeated former Democratic Comptroller John Sharp
John Sharp (Texas politician)
John Sharp is the former Democratic Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, having held the office from 1991 to 1999. He is currently a principal in the Austin office of the Dallas-based Ryan & Company, a tax consulting firm. In 2005, he was appointed to serve as Chair of the Texas Tax Reform...
of Victoria
Victoria, Texas
Victoria is a city in and the seat of Victoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 60,603 at the 2000 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 at the 2000 census,...
. He succeeded Bill Ratliff
Bill Ratliff
William Roark Ratliff, known as Bill Ratliff , is a Texas politician who served as a member of the Texas State Senate from 1988 to 2004. Between 2000 and 2003 he served as Lieutenant Governor of Texas, after former lieutenant governor Rick Perry succeeded to the governorship to replace George W...
. (Ratliff did not contest the lieutenant governor's position in the primary, opting instead for re-election to his state senate seat.) Dewhurst polled 2,341,875 votes (51.77 percent) to Sharp's 2,082,281 (46.03 percent). (Two minor candidates polled the remaining 2.19 percent.) In that campaign, Dewhurst stressed his interest in public education and opposition to school vouchers.
2006 election
Dewhurst was easily renominated for lieutenant governor in the Republican primary held on March 7, 2006. He defeated Tom Kelly, the same candidate whom he bested for the nomination in 2002. In the November 7, 2006, general election, Dewhurst overwhelmed Democrat Maria Luisa Alvarado, a veterans issues research analyst and the winner of her April 11 runoff primary. He received 2,512,197 votes (58.2 percent) to Alvarado's 1,616,945 (37.4 percent). Libertarian Judy A. Baker polled another 188,956 votes (4.4 percent).
2010 election
Dewhurst filed for Lt. Governor of Texas in the 2010 election. It was widely assumed that he would run for United States Senate if Kay Bailey Hutchison had resigned. He was his party's nominee for a third term as lieutenant governor and faced Democrat Linda Chavez-Thompson, Libertarian
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
Scott Jameson, and Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
Herb Gonzales, Jr. in the November 2, 2010, general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
. He was re-elected to a third term on November 2, 2010, having polled 3,044,770 votes (61.80 percent) to the Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Linda Chavez-Thompson
Linda Chavez-Thompson
Linda Chavez-Thompson is a second-generation Mexican American and union leader. She was elected the executive vice-president of the AFL-CIO in 1995 and served until September 21, 2007. She is also a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee and a member of the board of trustees of United Way...
's 1,715,735 votes (34.82 percent).
2003 redistricting
In 2003, Dewhurst assisted the Republican leadership, including then U.S. House Majority LeaderParty leaders of the United States House of Representatives
Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives are elected by their respective parties in a closed-door caucus by secret ballot and are also known as floor leaders. The U.S. House of Representatives does not officially use the term "Minority Leader", although the media frequently does...
Tom DeLay
Tom DeLay
Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...
, Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick
Tom Craddick
Thomas Russell Craddick, known as Tom Craddick , was the first Republican to have served as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives since Reconstruction. Craddick wielded the Speaker's gavel from 2003-2009...
, and Governor Rick Perry
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
, in passing a sweeping congressional redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
bill that increased the number of Republican U.S. House seats in Texas from fifteen to twenty-one in the 2004 elections. The Republican seats dropped to nineteen in the 2006 elections under a modified court redistricting plan. Minority Democrats retain thirteen U.S. House seats from Texas. In his capacity as the presiding officer of the Texas Senate, Dewhurst, in the third consecutive special session called by the governor, allowed the suspension of the custom that two thirds of the body must vote to consider a bill.
Dewhurst's leadership on redistricting brought him into legal conflict with his former land commissioner opponent, Richard Raymond, the only elected official to have been a plaintiff in the 2006 U.S. Supreme Court review of the constitutionality of the redistricting plan. Dewhurst and Raymond have also sparred over education policy.
Childhood legislation
He is known by his "Texas Children First" initiative which is part of cracking down on child sexual predators in Texas and throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The initiative includes extending statute of limitations
Statute of limitations
A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
on child sex crimes and leading the passage of Jessica's Law
Jessica's Law
Jessica's Law is the informal name given to a 2005 Florida law, as well as laws in several other states, designed to punish sex offenders and reduce their ability to re-offend...
. David Dewhurst is also attempting to pass legislation that would allow for the death penalty to be imposed on second time violent child predators. This bill has received some controversy as it has been asserted by some that the death penalty for anything other than murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
is unconstitutional
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
. No one has been executed in the US for a crime other than murder since 1964.
Voter ID bill
Dewhurst used the Senate's rules to help defeat a voter identification bill in 2009.
TSA inspection bill
Dewhurst has been accused by state senator Dan Patrick of helping to stop a bill that would have made the TSA's pat downs of airplane passengers a felony in Texas.
Condemnation of play
In March 2010, a student performance of the play Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (play)
Corpus Christi is a passion play by Terrence McNally dramatizing the story of Jesus and the Apostles. Written in 1997 and first staged in New York in 1998, it depicts Jesus and the Apostles as gay men living in modern-day Texas. It utilizes modern devices like television with anachronisms like...
by Terrence McNally
Terrence McNally
Terrence McNally is an American playwright who has received four Tony Awards, an Emmy, two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Hull-Warriner Award, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has been a member of the Council of the...
, in which Jesus and the disciples are portrayed as being gay, was canceled at Tarleton State University
Tarleton State University
Tarleton State University is a public, coeducational, state university located in Stephenville, Texas. It is the largest non-land-grant university primarily devoted to agriculture in the United States....
in Stephenville, Texas
Stephenville, Texas
Stephenville is a city in and the county seat of Erath County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,921 at the 2000 census. Founded in 1856, it is home to Tarleton State University. Stephenville is among several communities that calls itself the "Cowboy Capital of the...
following a condemnatory statement by Dewhurst. The university had received many complaints about the play's scheduled performance as a class project for a directing class, but in a letter posted on the university's website on March 11, President F. Dominic Dottavio, citing freedom of speech, declared that the play would be performed. The day before the performance, Dewhurst issued his statement saying, "No one should have the right to use government funds or institutions to portray acts that are morally reprehensible to the vast majority of Americans," and the performance was cancelled by the professor, who cited safety concerns. A subsequent statement by Dewhurst praised the university for canceling the performance, whereas the professor claimed to have acted on his own. Dewhurst's statement also claimed that whereas he is "a strong defender of free speech, we must also protect the rights and reasonable expectations of Texas taxpayers and how their money is used. A play that is completely contrary to the standards of decency and moral beliefs of the vast majority of Texans should not be performed using any state resources, especially by an institution of higher learning."
2012 United States Senate race
United States Senate election in Texas, 2012United States Senate election in Texas, 2012
The 2012 United States Senate election in Texas will be held on November 6, 2012 along other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives. Incumbent Republican U.S...
On July 18, 2011, Dewhurst addressed his supporters in an online video on his campaign website, announcing his candidacy for the vacant U.S. Senate seat for the Republican nomination. He will likely face rivals such as former Mayor of Dallas Tom Leppert
Tom Leppert
Tom Leppert is an American politician who served as mayor of Dallas, Texas from 2007 to 2011, and who worked as CEO of the Turner Corporation...
, and former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz
Ted Cruz
Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz is the former Solicitor General of Texas, a position he held from 2003 to May 2008. Cruz was appointed by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. He was the first Hispanic Solicitor General in Texas, the youngest Solicitor General in America and the longest to hold the...
.
External links
- Official Website of the Lieutenant Governor of Texas
- Dewhurst for U.S. Senate campaign Web site