Gwen Graham

This article is about the politician. For the serial murderess, see Gwendolyn Graham and Cathy Wood.
Gwen Graham
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 2nd district
Assumed office
January 3, 2015
Preceded by Steve Southerland
Personal details
Born (1963-01-31) January 31, 1963
Miami Lakes, Florida, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Mark Logan (Married 1985;
Divorced)
Stephen Hurm
Children 3 (with Logan)
Alma mater University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill
American University
Religion Episcopalian
Website House website

Gwen Graham (born January 31, 1963) is an American attorney, politician and member of the Democratic Party who is the U.S. Representative for Florida's 2nd congressional district.

The daughter of Bob Graham, a former United States Senator and former Governor of Florida, she defeated Republican Congressman Steve Southerland in the 2014 elections 50.4% to 49.6%, one of only two Democrats to defeat incumbent House Republicans in that year's elections, along with Brad Ashford of Nebraska.

Early life

Graham was born in Miami Lakes, Florida[1] to Daniel Robert and Adele (née Khoury) Graham.[2] She moved to Tallahassee in 1978, when her father became Governor.[1] Graham graduated from Leon High School in 1980.[3]

Early life and career

Graham received her bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1984 and her law degree from American University's Washington College of Law in 1988.[3] She worked for Andrews & Kurth.[4][5] She joined her father's 2004 presidential campaign. When he dropped out of the race following a heart attack, Graham joined Howard Dean's presidential campaign.[6] After John Kerry secured the Democratic Party's nomination, she went to work for his campaign.[7] Graham worked as a Leon County school administrator.[1]

U.S. House of Representatives

In 2013, Graham announced her candidacy against incumbent Republican Congressman Steve Southerland in 2014.[8] The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced that they will target the race and provide support to her.[9] Graham defeated Southerland in the November election.[10]

Prior to her swearing in, Graham said that she would oppose Nancy Pelosi for the top Democratic leadership position.[11] Graham voted for Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee instead.[12] Graham voted for Cooper again when the House voted on the new Speaker after John Boehner announced his resignation.[13]

Graham voted to stop accepting Syrian refugees until more stringent safeguards are in place.[14] Graham introduced a bill to help Israel develop an anti-tunneling defense system to detect, map, and destroy underground tunnels between the Gaza Strip and Israel.[15] Graham introduced a bill to prohibit members of Congress from using federal funds to pay for first-class airfare.[16]

Graham voted against the Iran nuclear deal that President Barack Obama supported.[17] Graham voted to keep the military detention camp open at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.[17] Graham voted against enforcement of an Environmental Protection Agency clean-water rule saying that it would hurt farmers.[17] Graham says that the problems with the Affordable Care Act must be fixed,[18] She supports the legalization of medical marijuana but not recreational marijuana.[19] Graham is pro-choice, supports same-sex marriage, and opposes gun control.[19] She has voted for the Keystone XL pipeline.[20]

Committee assignments

Political future

A court-ordered redistricting made the 2nd heavily Republican by shifting most of Tallahassee's African Americans to the 5th district. Graham now found herself in a district that would have given Mitt Romney 68 percent of the vote in 2012, making it on paper the third-most Republican district in the state.[21] Concluding that the new map made the 2nd unwinnable, Graham announced that she would not run for reelection to the House in 2016. She said that she is considering running for Governor of Florida in the 2018 election.[22]

Personal life

Graham lives in Tallahassee.[2] She married Mark Logan in 1985,[23] and they had three children together.[2] Graham and Logan divorced, and Graham is now married to Stephen Hurm.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Daughter Of Former Fla. Sen. Bob Graham Running For Congress". NPR. April 2, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "With Graham name, Democrats see rare chance for Florida win". Reuters. August 25, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "Sen. Bob Graham's daughter, Gwen, holds fundraiser". Miamilaker.com. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Steve Southerland says Gwen Graham 'was a Washington lobbyist'". @politifact. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  5. ↑ Ledyard King (September 14, 2014). "Florida District 2 race heats up between Steve Southerland, Gwen Graham". PolitiFact. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Graham's Daughter Steps Into Politics". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  7. ↑ "State: New Graham rising on political horizon". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  8. ↑ King, Ledyard (May 5, 2013). "Southerland faces tough 2014 re-election bid". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  9. ↑ Isenstadt, Alex (May 9, 2013). "DCCC unveils plan to boost top prospects in 2014". Politico. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  10. ↑ Karl Etters, Tallahassee Democrat (November 4, 2014). "Gwen Graham defeats Steve Southerland". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  11. ↑ Sherman, Jake. "Gwen Graham: 'I am not Nancy Pelosi'". Politico. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 2". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. January 6, 2015.
  13. ↑ King, Ledyard. "Rep. Gwen Graham votes against Pelosi – again". Tallahassee Democrat. October 29, 2015.
  14. ↑ Leary, Alex. "Gwen Graham, Patrick Murphy only two Florida Dems to vote for Syrian refugee crackdown". Tampa Bay Times. November 19, 2015.
  15. ↑ "H.R. 1349: United States-Israel Anti-Tunnel Defense Cooperation Act". govtrack.us. March 10, 2015.
  16. ↑ "H.R.1339 - To prohibit the use of official funds for airline accommodations for Members of Congress which are not coach-class accommodations or for long-term vehicle leases for Members of Congress, and for other purposes". Library of Congress. March 6, 2015.
  17. 1 2 3 King, Ledyard. "Graham's independence confounds some Democrats". USA Today. September 18, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Rep. Gwen Graham Talks Obamacare and Dep. of Homeland Security". WJHG-TV. March 4, 2015.
  19. 1 2 "Steve Southerland vs. Gwen Graham Nonpartisan Candidate Guide For Florida District 2 Congressional Race 2014". Huffington Post. October 29, 2014.
  20. ↑ Leary, Alex (January 24, 2015). "Democrat Gwen Graham takes heat for right-leaning votes". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  21. ↑ [ https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cJHl0AxhYSblXZBhZxjj--nJATzXflAdZwHrI3CXUd4/edit#gid=2096544461 Florida election results by congressional district]
  22. ↑ "Gwen Graham might run for governor". Tallahassee Democrat. April 21, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Democrats recruiting Gwen Graham, daughter of former governor Bob Graham, to challenge Steve Southerland". SaintPetersBlog. Retrieved November 5, 2014.

External links

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Steve Southerland		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 2nd congressional district
2015–present 		Incumbent
United States order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Ruben Gallego		 United States Representatives by seniority
396th 		Succeeded by
Garret Graves
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, April 27, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.