John Raese
Encyclopedia
John R. Raese (born April 10, 1950) is an American business owner and politician
. He has lost campaigns to represent West Virginia
in the U.S. Senate in 1984, 2006 and 2010
, and a campaign for Governor of West Virginia in 1988.
(WVU).
Raese graduated from WVU with a Bachelor of Science
degree in Education in 1973. He is President and Chief Executive Officer
of Greer Industries
, a steel and limestone producer. His business interests also include The Dominion Post (Morgantown), the West Virginia Radio Corporation
, which owns 15 radio station
s, and the MetroNews radio network
serving 56 stations. Greer Industries also owns Seneca Caverns, a tourist spot in Eastern West Virginia.
(GOP), Raese supported allowing independent voters in West Virginia to vote in Republican Party primaries. He joined with the West Virginia Federation of Young Republicans
to promote "Initiative, Referendum, and Recall," debating the Democratic Speaker
of the West Virginia House of Delegates
, Chuck Chambers.
, the Department of Education
, Department of Energy
and the Internal Revenue Service
.
Raese opposes abortion
, human cloning
and federally funded stem cell research. He favors repealing the entire Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
of 2010 and supports the U.S. Military's now-defunct Don't Ask Don't Tell policy.
, during a difficult economic downturn
. Rockefeller outspent Raese tenfold $12 million to $1.2 million. Raese ran as a "Reagan Republican
", a traditional conservative
on both economic and social policies, and he challenged Rockefeller's record on such sensitive issues, such as coal mine
closures in the state. Some national news organizations
were preparing for a possible upset by the little-known Raese as the general election
day approached. Raese narrowly lost the U.S. Senate race to Rockefeller in the general election 52%-48%. Raese challenged the outcome of the race.
, losing 53%-47%. Moore later lost the general election
.
and Senate Appropriations Chair.
He won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate with 58 percent of the vote in a field of six candidates. In radio advertisements aired during the primary race, Raese's campaign replayed a tape of an endorsement from Ronald Reagan
made during the 1984 Senate race.
In the general election, Republicans such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
of Kentucky
stumped for Raese. Raese stressed the value of the private sector in creating jobs, and the importance of honoring traditional values
. He also supported the pro-life movement
, the right to bear arms
, and tax cuts. During the election, the Byrd campaign criticized Raese for making a comment about Byrd's deceased wife, Erma Ora Byrd. Byrd was reelected by a margin of 64.4% to 33.7%.
. More recently, the group has been supportive of some of the initiatives of the WV Republican Party, including helping with the May 2009 speaking engagement of Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele
.
In 2008, Raese donated money to the National Republican Senatorial Committee
, to the unsuccessful US Senate campaign of Jay Wolfe
and to the "Raese for Senate" committee. In the 2008 Republican presidential primaries, he supported former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani
, donating $1,000 to his campaign in 2007.
Shelly Moore Capito, daughter of former Governor Arch A. Moore, was initially considered to be a potential candidate for the seat. Raese announced that he was considering a third Senate bid, stating that he might run to her right in a potential primary between the two. Ultimately, Capito declined to run for the seat. Raese subsequently won the Republican nomination, but was defeated by his Democratic opponent, Joe Manchin
, in the general election.
, Telluride, Colorado
, and Morgantown, West Virginia
. In 2010 Liz Raese was registered to vote in Florida, where their children go to school, so her West Virginia voter registration was purged, leaving her unable to vote for her husband in his 2010 race for the US Senate from West Virginia.
Raese, along with Greer Industries colleague Bob Gwynne, designed the golf course at the invitation-only Pikewood National Golf Club in Morgantown, WV. In 2010 Golf Digest
http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2010-01/bestnewprivate#ixzz1O27aPJF3 rated it a Best New Private course, "in part because of [the] dogleg par 5 around the rim of a deep gulch, the sort of audacity one would expect from amateur architects."
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He has lost campaigns to represent 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...
in the U.S. Senate in 1984, 2006 and 2010
United States Senate special election in West Virginia, 2010
The 2010 United States Senate special election in West Virginia was held on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd died in office on June 28, 2010. Democrat Governor Joe Manchin appointed Carte Goodwin to temporarily fill the vacancy. Goodwin pledged to not run for...
, and a campaign for Governor of West Virginia in 1988.
Early life, education and career
Raese is the son of Jane Greer Raese and Richard Aubrey "Dyke" Raese, a former head basketball coach at West Virginia UniversityWest Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
(WVU).
Raese graduated from WVU with a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in Education in 1973. He is President and Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Greer Industries
Greer Industries
Greer Industries is a privately-held producer of limestone, steel and other products based in Morgantown, West Virginia. The company is currently led by John Raese, who is active in Republican politics.The company’s holdings include;...
, a steel and limestone producer. His business interests also include The Dominion Post (Morgantown), the West Virginia Radio Corporation
West Virginia Radio Corporation
West Virginia Radio Corporation or WVRC is a media corporation comprising exclusively radio stations and two radio networks based in the state of West Virginia.The company is controlled by Greer Industries, and the Greer Family.-Radio markets:...
, which owns 15 radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s, and the MetroNews radio network
Radio network
There are two types of radio networks currently in use around the world: the one-to-many broadcast type commonly used for public information and mass media entertainment; and the two-way type used more commonly for public safety and public services such as police, fire, taxicabs, and delivery...
serving 56 stations. Greer Industries also owns Seneca Caverns, a tourist spot in Eastern West Virginia.
Chairman of the WV Republican Party
During his tenure as Chairman of the West Virginia Republican PartyWest Virginia Republican Party
The West Virginia Republican Party is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in West Virginia. As of 2010, it is headed by Mike Stuart, State Chairman.-Current elected officials:...
(GOP), Raese supported allowing independent voters in West Virginia to vote in Republican Party primaries. He joined with the West Virginia Federation of Young Republicans
Young Republicans
The Young Republicans is an organization for members of the Republican Party of the United States between the ages of 18 and 40. It has both a national organization and chapters in individual states....
to promote "Initiative, Referendum, and Recall," debating the Democratic Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
of the West Virginia House of Delegates
West Virginia House of Delegates
The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates.-Historical:-Current:-District organization:...
, Chuck Chambers.
Political positions
Raese supports eliminating the Federal minimum wageMinimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
, the Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
, Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
and the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
.
Raese opposes abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, human cloning
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
and federally funded stem cell research. He favors repealing the entire Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
of 2010 and supports the U.S. Military's now-defunct Don't Ask Don't Tell policy.
1984 candidate for U.S. Senate
Raese ran for the US Senate against two-term Governor Jay RockefellerJay Rockefeller
John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV is the senior United States Senator from West Virginia. He was first elected to the Senate in 1984, while in office as Governor of West Virginia, a position he held from 1977 to 1985...
, during a difficult economic downturn
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
. Rockefeller outspent Raese tenfold $12 million to $1.2 million. Raese ran as a "Reagan Republican
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
", a traditional conservative
Paleoconservatism
Paleoconservatism is a term for a conservative political philosophy found primarily in the United States stressing tradition, limited government, civil society, anti-colonialism, anti-corporatism and anti-federalism, along with religious, regional, national and Western identity. Chilton...
on both economic and social policies, and he challenged Rockefeller's record on such sensitive issues, such as coal mine
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
closures in the state. Some national news organizations
News agency
A news agency is an organization of journalists established to supply news reports to news organizations: newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasters. Such an agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire or news service.-History:The oldest news agency is Agence...
were preparing for a possible upset by the little-known Raese as the 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...
day approached. Raese narrowly lost the U.S. Senate race to Rockefeller in the general election 52%-48%. Raese challenged the outcome of the race.
Candidate in 1988 Republican Gubernatorial Primary
In 1988, Raese ran against three-term Republican Governor Arch A. Moore in the GOP gubernatorial primaryPrimary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
, losing 53%-47%. Moore later lost the 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...
.
2006 candidate for U.S. Senate
In 2006 Raese ran against Robert C. Byrd, the longest serving member of the U.S. Senate and former Senate Majority LeaderParty leaders of the United States Senate
The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive...
and Senate Appropriations Chair.
He won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate with 58 percent of the vote in a field of six candidates. In radio advertisements aired during the primary race, Raese's campaign replayed a tape of an endorsement from Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
made during the 1984 Senate race.
In the general election, Republicans such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
Mitch McConnell
Addison Mitchell "Mitch" McConnell, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Kentucky and the Republican Minority Leader.- Early life, education, and military service :...
of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
stumped for Raese. Raese stressed the value of the private sector in creating jobs, and the importance of honoring traditional values
Traditional values
Traditional values refer to those beliefs, moral codes, and mores that are passed down from generation to generation within a culture, subculture or community.-Summary:Since the late 1970s in the U.S., the term "traditional values" has become synonymous...
. He also supported the pro-life movement
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...
, the right to bear arms
Right to bear arms
The right to keep and bear arms is the assertion that people have a personal right to firearms for individual use, or a collective right to bear arms in a militia, or both....
, and tax cuts. During the election, the Byrd campaign criticized Raese for making a comment about Byrd's deceased wife, Erma Ora Byrd. Byrd was reelected by a margin of 64.4% to 33.7%.
2007-2009
In 2007, Raese's wife, Elizabeth, launched a new statewide women's group, "Conservative Women of West Virginia." The group was active for the GOP national and state ticket in the 2008 electionUnited States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
. More recently, the group has been supportive of some of the initiatives of the WV Republican Party, including helping with the May 2009 speaking engagement of Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele
Michael S. Steele
Michael Stephen Steele is an American politician who served as the first African-American chairman of the Republican National Committee from January 2009 until January 2011. From 2003 to 2007, he was the seventh Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, the first African American elected to statewide...
.
In 2008, Raese donated money to the National Republican Senatorial Committee
National Republican Senatorial Committee
The National Republican Senatorial Committee is the Republican Hill committee for the United States Senate, working to elect Republicans to that body. The NRSC was founded in 1916 as the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee...
, to the unsuccessful US Senate campaign of Jay Wolfe
Jay Wolfe
- Early life :Wolfe was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia to Donald and Emogene Moore Wolfe. He graduated from Parkersburg South High School in 1973...
and to the "Raese for Senate" committee. In the 2008 Republican presidential primaries, he supported former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
, donating $1,000 to his campaign in 2007.
2010 candidate for U.S. Senate
Following the death of Senator Robert C. Byrd in 2010, plans were made to hold a special election to fill the unexpired term of his US Senate seat. Republican CongresswomanUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
Shelly Moore Capito, daughter of former Governor Arch A. Moore, was initially considered to be a potential candidate for the seat. Raese announced that he was considering a third Senate bid, stating that he might run to her right in a potential primary between the two. Ultimately, Capito declined to run for the seat. Raese subsequently won the Republican nomination, but was defeated by his Democratic opponent, Joe Manchin
Joe Manchin
Joseph "Joe" Manchin III is the junior United States Senator representing West Virginia. Manchin, a Democrat, was Governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010...
, in the general election.
Personal life
Raese and his wife Liz have two daughters. His wife, Liz, is the founder of the Conservative Women of West Virginia (CWWV). They have homes in Palm Beach, FloridaPalm Beach, Florida
The Town of Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth...
, Telluride, Colorado
Telluride, Colorado
The town of Telluride is the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The town is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River in the western San Juan Mountains...
, and Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...
. In 2010 Liz Raese was registered to vote in Florida, where their children go to school, so her West Virginia voter registration was purged, leaving her unable to vote for her husband in his 2010 race for the US Senate from West Virginia.
Raese, along with Greer Industries colleague Bob Gwynne, designed the golf course at the invitation-only Pikewood National Golf Club in Morgantown, WV. In 2010 Golf Digest
Golf Digest
Golf Digest is a monthly golf magazine published by Condé Nast Publications in the United States. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. Condé Nast Publications also publishes the more specialized , and Golf World Business. The...
http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2010-01/bestnewprivate#ixzz1O27aPJF3 rated it a Best New Private course, "in part because of [the] dogleg par 5 around the rim of a deep gulch, the sort of audacity one would expect from amateur architects."
External links
- Greer Industries, Inc. official business site
- John Raese for Senate official campaign site
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org