John Culberson

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John Culberson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 7th district
In office 2001–present
Preceded by	Bill Archer
Born	August 24, 1956 (1956-08-24) (age 51) Houston, Texas
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Belinda Culberson
Religion	Methodist

John Abney Culberson (born August 24, 1956), American politician, is a Republican congressman from Texas, representing that state's 7th congressional district (map) in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2001. The district takes in large portions of western Houston and surrounding Harris County. Culberson has been one of President Bush's staunchest allies regarding the war in Iraq.

Born in Houston, Culberson attended West University Elementary School, Lanier Middle School, and Lamar High School.^[1][2] He graduated from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in 1981 with a degree in history. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from South Texas College of Law in 1989. He is a distant relative of former Governor of Texas Charles Allen Culberson.

During his time in law school, Culberson was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, serving his first term in 1987. He was a member of the Republican Whip team, becoming Minority Whip in 1999 during his last term. Culberson began working for the law firm of Lorance and Thompson after he graduated from SMU. Culberson led the effort to regain state control of the Texas prison system.

Culberson won the Republican nomination for the 7th District in 2000 after 15-term incumbent Bill Archer announced his retirement. He finished first in the Republican primary — previously the real contest in this Republican district — and defeated Peter Wareing in the runoff. He won easily in November, taking about 75% of the vote. He has since been reelected three times, the last against his 2006 opponent Jim Henley, a middle school debate teacher.

Like Archer, Culberson is an ardent fiscal and social conservative; his Website includes the slogan "Letting Texans run Texas."

Culberson is a member of the Appropriations Committee.

[edit] 2008 Campaign

John Culberson will face businessman Michael Skelly in the November 2008 election. Skelly, a former executive of Horizon Wind Energy, earned an MBA from Harvard after serving in the Peace Corps. Skelly currently serves on Mayor Bill White's Green Building Advisory Committee [1]. As of February 28, 2008, Culberson has raised $322,292 and has $82,204 cash on hand. As of the same date, Skelly has raised $463,748 and has $402,525 cash on hand. In the previous four election cycles, Culberson has raised $1,092,972 (2000), $508,138 (2002), $628,783 (2004), and $718,882 (2006). In 2006, Jim Henley raised $122,145, more than any of Culberson's previous challengers.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• U.S. Congressman John Culberson official House site
• John Culberson at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission — John Culberson campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — John Culberson issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — John Culberson campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative John A. Culberson (TX) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — John Culberson profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: John Culberson voting record
• John Culberson for U.S. Congress official campaign site