Mike Conaway

Mike Conaway
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 11th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Chet Edwards
Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Frank Lucas
Chairman of the House Ethics Committee
In office January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Jo Bonner
Succeeded by	Charlie Dent
Personal details
Born	Kenneth Michael Conaway June 11, 1948 Borger, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Suzanne Conaway
Alma mater	Texas A&M University, Commerce
Religion	Southern Baptist
Awards	Army Commendation Medal
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1970–1972
Rank	Specialist 5

Kenneth Michael Conaway, known as Mike Conaway (born June 11, 1948), is the U.S. Representative for Texas's 11th congressional district, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is located in West Texas and includes Midland, Odessa, San Angelo, Brownwood and Granbury.

Early life, education and career

Conaway was born in Borger in the Texas Panhandle northeast of Amarillo. He graduated in 1966 from Permian High School in Odessa in Ector County, where he was a standout player for the Permian Panthers and a member of the first Permian State Championship team in 1965. After High School, he attended Texas A&M University-Commerce (then named East Texas State University), lettering in Football for the Lions from 1966-1969 and was a member of two Lone Star Conference championship teams. He majored in Accounting, graduating in 1970. He is married to Suzanne Conaway and has four children.

Conaway served in the United States Army from 1970 to 1972,^[1] was an accountant and became a Certified Public Accountant in 1974, chief financial officer at a bank, and from 1981 to 1986 was the chief financial officer of Arbusto Energy Inc, an oil and gas exploration firm operated by George W. Bush.

Soon after Bush was elected governor of Texas, he appointed Conaway to the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy, which regulates accountancy in Texas. He served on the board as a volunteer for seven years, the last five as chairman.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

• Committee on Agriculture (Chairman)
• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
  • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
• Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

Caucus memberships

• CPA Caucus (Founder)
• International Conservation Caucus
• Reliable Energy Caucus
• Sportsmen's Caucus

Tenure

In 2006, Conaway voted against extending the Voting Rights Act of 1965.^[2][3]

Party leadership

In January 2007, Conaway began chairing the three-member audit committee for the National Republican Congressional Committee. By January 28, 2008, Conaway had uncovered a fraud, where hundreds of thousands of dollars were missing from NRCC bank accounts, and supposed annual audits on the NRCC books had actually not been performed since 2001.^[4]

Conaway is one of the few Certified Public Accountants in Congress.

Political campaigns

Conaway first ran for elective office in 2003, when he ran in a special election for the 19th Congressional District, which came open after 18-year Republican incumbent Larry Combest stepped down shortly after winning a 10th term. Conaway lost by 587 votes to fellow Republican Randy Neugebauer. A few months later, the Texas Legislature redrew the state's districts in an effort engineered by then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Three brand-new districts were created, one of them being the 11th, which was based in Midland. Previously, Midland had been part of the Lubbock-based 19th District. DeLay was particularly keen to draw a district based in Midland, Odessa and the oil-rich Permian Basin in part because Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick was from that area. This district is heavily Republican – by some accounts, the most Republican district in Texas. Republican candidates usually garner 70 percent or more of the vote in this area (Glasscock County had voted 93 percent for Bush in 2000, the highest percentage of any county in the nation). The race was essentially over when Conaway announced his candidacy. He won in November with 77 percent of the vote, one of the largest percentages by anyone facing major-party opposition. He was reelected unopposed in 2006 and faced no major-party opposition in 2008.

Conaway endorsed former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for president in 2008.

Conaway won re-nomination to a sixth term in the U.S. House in the Republican primary held on March 4, 2014. He polled 53,107 votes (74 percent); his challenger, Wade Brown, received 18,979 votes (26 percent).^[5]

Conaway won re-election in the general election held on November 4, 2014. He polled 107,752 votes (90 percent); his challenger, Ryan T. Lange, received 11,607 (10 percent).^[6]

Personal life

Conaway has long been friends with George W. Bush, and the two mixed in many of the same social circles in Midland.

Conaway served on the Midland Independent School District Board from 1985 to 1988.

References

1. "Veterans in the US House of Representatives 109th Congress" (PDF). Navy League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
2. https://votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/49935/mike-conaway/13/civil-liberties-and-civil-rights
3. http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/state-politics/20131224-aides-to-texans-on-capitol-hill-alter-bosses-wikipedia-entries.ece
4. Suzanne Gamboa, "Texas lawmaker uncovers GOP committee fraud", Associated Press, published by the Houston Chronicle (March 13, 2008).
5. "Republican primary election returns, March 4, 2014". enr.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
6. "2014 General Election Returns". enr.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved November 6, 2014.

External links

• Congressman Mike Conaway official U.S. House site
• Mike Conaway for Congress
• Mike Conaway at DMOZ
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress
• Profile at the Texas Tribune
• Mike Conaway - Lessons Learned at Odessa Permian Five Part Series
• Profile at SourceWatch