Geoff Davis
Encyclopedia
Geoffrey C. "Geoff" Davis (born October 26, 1958) is the U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party.

The district includes 24 counties in the northeastern part of the state, stretching from the fringes of the Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

 area to the West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

 border. Most of its vote, however, is cast in the counties bordering Cincinnati.

Early life, education and career

Davis was born in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 to American parents (one of few sitting House members to be born in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

), and attended the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...

. 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
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...

 in the manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...

 field.

Committee assignments

  • Committee on Ways and Means
    United States House Committee on Ways and Means
    The Committee of Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Members of the Ways and Means Committee are not allowed to serve on any other House Committees unless they apply for a waiver from their party's congressional leadership...

    • Subcommittee on Trade
      United States House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade
      The House Way and Means Subcommittee on Trade is one of the six subcommittees within the House Ways and Means Committee-Jurisdiction:From the House Rules:...

    • Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures
      United States House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures
      The Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measure is a subcommittee of the Committee on Ways and Means in the United States House of Representatives.-Jurisdiction:From the House rules:...



Davis has a solidly conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...

 voting record; according to his congressional website, he has positioned himself as pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...

 and in favor of industrial deregulation.

In November, 2005, Davis made headlines for his response to Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 representative John Murtha
John Murtha
John Patrick "Jack" Murtha, Jr. was an American politician from the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Murtha, a Democrat, represented Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1974 until his death in 2010....

'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 Ken Lucas to run against him in 2006.

Davis is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...

. In 2006, he supported H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. In 2008, he opposed H.R. 5767, the Payment Systems Protection Act (a bill that sought to place a moratorium on enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act while the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve defined "unlawful Internet gambling").

2002 and 2004

In the 2002 elections, Davis challenged Ken Lucas
Ken Lucas
Kenneth Ray "Ken" Lucas is an American politician. Lucas, a Democrat, was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky's 4th congressional district from 1999 until 2005....

, the Democratic incumbent
Incumbent
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...

 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 his Democratic opponent Nick Clooney
Nick Clooney
Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Clooney is an American journalist, anchorman, and television host. He is the brother of the late singer Rosemary Clooney, and father of actor and film director George Clooney.-Early life:...

, father of actor George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...

. The race had been rated as highly competitive by outside observers.

2006

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
Congressional Quarterly
Congressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...

 rated this race as "Lean Republican." In late July the Washington Post also rated the race as a toss-up. A SurveyUSA poll released on July 25, 2006 showed Lucas leading 50% to 41%. However, the most recent independent SurveyUSA poll shows Davis up by two percentage points (46% Davis - 44% Lucas). Davis has a decisive lead in fundraising.

The Cook Political Report
Cook Political Report
The Cook Political Report is an independent, non-partisan online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, Governor's offices and the American Presidency. The Cook Political Report is led by a staff of five...

, 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.

Election-night (uncertified) count, gave Davis a lead of 7-points and over 73,000 votes more than Lucas.

2008

Davis formally filed to run for re-election in 2008. He was challenged in the Republican Primary by Gerald Edward Puckett, who was indicted in early 2008 on charges of improperly using charitable gaming money. Democrat Michael Kelley, a doctor from LaGrange, ran in the Democratic primary.

2010

Davis was challenged by Democrat John Waltz
John Waltz
John Waltz is a veteran's rights advocate and candidate for United States House of Representatives in Michigan's 6th congressional district. The seat is currently held by Republican Fred Upton.-Early life, education and career:...

, whom he defeated with nearly 70% of the votes cast.

Contributors

The Davis campaign has received contributions from the Americans for a Republican Majority
Americans for a Republican Majority
Americans for a Republican Majority was a political action committee formed by former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and directed by Karl Gallant. On July 7, 2006 ARMPAC reached an agreement with the Federal Election Commission to pay a fine of $115,000 for various violations and to...

 Political Action Committee (ARMPAC), which was led by former Texas Congressman 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...

. As of June 30, 2006, according to the Federal Election Commission
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...

, of the $2.4 million contributed to the Davis campaign for the current 2006 electoral cycle, $10,000 was contributed by ARMPAC. Tom DeLay is the subject of indictments sought by Ronnie Earle
Ronnie Earle
Ronald Dale "Ronnie" Earle was, until January 2009, the District Attorney for Travis County, Texas. He became nationally known for filing charges against House majority leader Tom DeLay in September 2005 for conspiring to violate Texas' election law and/or to launder money...

, the district attorney for Travis County, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, alleging violations of Texas campaign-finance law. Judge Pat Priest
Pat Priest (judge)
Pat Priest is a Texas state court judge from San Antonio. The Senior District Judge of Bexar County status, he was appointed to preside over the Tom DeLay campaign finance trial in Austin, Texas by Chief Justice of Texas Supreme Court Wallace B. Jefferson after two judges Pat Priest (born 1940)...

 has dismissed one indictment against DeLay, the second has not yet come to trial. The charges against DeLay are considered by some to be politically motivated. Democrats have indicated that they consider the ARMPAC contributions to be a campaign issue. Davis has not, as of June 2007, been accused of any misconduct.

Davis has received donations from Republican Duke Cunningham
Duke Cunningham
Randall Harold Cunningham , usually known as Randy or Duke, is United States Navy veteran, convicted felon, and former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from California's 50th Congressional District from 1991 to 2005.Cunningham resigned from the House on November 28,...

, 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. Davis received a donation from Congressman Bob Ney
Bob Ney
Robert William Ney is an American politician from the U.S. state of Ohio. A Republican, Ney represented Ohio's 18th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 until November 3, 2006, when he resigned...

, who pleaded guilty for bribery and his involvement with convicted felon Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff is an American former lobbyist and businessman. Convicted in 2006 of mail fraud and conspiracy, he was at the heart of an extensive corruption investigation that led to the conviction of White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine...

.

Controversies

On April 12, 2008, at a Northern Kentucky Lincoln Day dinner, Davis compared the campaign slogans of Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 to the sales pitch of a "snake oil salesman". He said in his remarks at the GOP dinner that he participated in a "highly classified, national security simulation" with Obama.

"I'm going to tell you something: That boy's finger does not need to be on the button," Davis added. "He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country."

Davis also made reference to Obama as being put into the Senate by someone who will probably spend many years of his life in prison (presumably a reference to Tony Rezko
Tony Rezko
Antoin "Tony" Rezko is a Assyrian -American businessman, political fundraiser, restaurateur, and real estate developer in Chicago, Illinois, convicted on several counts of fraud and bribery in 2008. Rezko has been involved in fundraising for local Illinois Democratic and Republican politicians...

) and that Obama had never had a real job before.
Davis later apologized for his comment in a letter:

Dear Senator Obama:

On Saturday night I gave a speech in which I used a poor choice of words when discussing the national security policy positions of the Presidential candidates. I was quoted as saying "That boy's finger does not need to be on the button."

My poor choice of words is regrettable and was in no way meant to impugn you or your integrity. I offer my sincere apology to you and ask for your forgiveness.

Though we may disagree on many issues, I know that we share the goal of a prosperous, secure future for our nation. My comment has detracted from the dialogue that we should all be having on legitimate policy differences and in no way reflects the personal and professional respect I have for you.

Sincerely,

Geoff Davis

External links

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