John Barrow (U.S. politician)

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This article is about the U.S. politician John Barrow. For other uses see John Barrow.

John Barrow
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 12th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Max Burns
Born	October 31, 1955 (1955-10-31) (age 52) Athens, Georgia
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	divorced
Religion	Baptist

John Jenkins Barrow (born October 31, 1955), American politician, is currently a Democratic Congressman from Georgia's 12th District. The district stretches along the eastern portion of the state, from Augusta to Savannah. Barrow is a Blue Dog Democrat as well as a member of the New Democrat Coalition.

[edit] Education

Barrow was born in Athens, Georgia to Phyllis Jenkins and James Barrow.^[1] He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1976. While a student, he was a member of the University's Demosthenian Literary Society. In 1979, he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard University. After graduation, he entered private practice as a lawyer, working in that capacity until his election to public office.

[edit] Athens-Clarke County

Barrow was elected to the Athens City Council, representing the city's fourth district, in 1990. That same year, the voters of Athens and Clarke County voted in favor of unifying the two governments. Two years later, Barrow was able to win election to the new unified County Commission. He won re-election again in 1996 and in his final re-election in 2000, he turned away a spirited challenge from young newcomer Michael Le Houllier.

[edit] Election to Congress

In 2004, Barrow entered the Democratic primary for Georgia's 12th District. The 12th had been one of the districts Georgia gained as a result of the 2000 United States Census. The district, with its 40% African-American population, had supposedly been drawn for a Democrat. However, Republican college professor Max Burns had won the seat in 2002 because of ethical questions surrounding the Democratic nominee, Charles "Champ" Walker, Jr. Barrow won a four-way primary and went on to defeat Burns by four percentage points.

At the same time Barrow was elected, the Republicans won control of both houses of the Georgia state legislature for the first time since Reconstruction. One of their first acts was an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting that targeted Barrow and the other white Democrat in the Georgia delegation, Jim Marshall. One proposed map, seriously considered, would have drawn his home in Athens into the heavily Republican 10th District of seven-term incumbent Nathan Deal, while throwing the other half of Athens into the equally Republican 9th District of six-term incumbent Charlie Norwood.

The final plan was somewhat less ambitious, but shifted all of Athens into the 9th District. Rather than face certain defeat, Barrow moved to Savannah in the newly redrawn 12th, which is slightly less Democratic than its predecessor. The newly drawn 12th included several Republican-leaning Savannah suburbs that had previously been in the heavily Republican 1st District. Barrow faced Burns in the general election and won by only 864 votes — the narrowest margin of any Democratic incumbent nationwide. However, he trounced Burns in Chatham and Richmond counties — home to Savannah and Augusta (cities that largely lean Democratic), respectively — by a total of over 17,000 votes.

Barrow's 2006 candidacy faced not only the mid-decade redistricting but also 2 visits by President George W. Bush to the 12th Congressional District as well as campaigning by national figures on behalf of former Representative Burns, including RNC Chair Ken Mehlman and U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

Barrow and his wife Victoria were divorced in 2005.

[edit] Committee Assignments

• Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Energy and Air Quality
  • Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection
  • Environment and Hazardous Materials
• Committee on Agriculture
  • Horticulture and Organic Agriculture
  • Specialty Crops, Rural Development, and Foreign Affairs

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• U.S. Congressman John Barrow official House site
• John Barrow (U.S. politician) at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission — John J Barrow campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — John Barrow issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — John Barrow campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative John Barrow (GA) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — John Barrow profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: John Barrow voting record
• John Barrow official campaign site
• "Curb Your Enthusiasm" The Rothenberg Political Report, March 2006
• 2005 Map of Georgia Congressional Districts