Ron Lewis
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| Ron Lewis | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office May 26, 1994 |
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| Preceded by | William Natcher |
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| Born | September 14, 1946 South Shore, Kentucky |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Kayi Lewis |
| Religion | Southern Baptist |
Ronald (Ron) Lewis (born September 14, 1946), an American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1994, representing the 2nd Congressional District of Kentucky.
Lewis announced on January 29, 2008 that he will not run for an eighth term.
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[edit] Early life, education, and career
Lewis was born in South Shore, Kentucky. He graduated from McKell High School in 1964. He attended Morehead State University from 1964 to 1967 and graduated from the University of Kentucky at Lexington in 1969 with a bachelor of arts degree in history and political science. Lewis returned to Morehead in 1980 to earn a master's degree in education in 1981.
Lewis worked in the gubernatorial campaign of Louie B. Nunn in 1967. Nunn's victory got Lewis a state job for a time and encouragement to run for the state House in his native Greenup County in 1971. Lewis lost, but kept an interest in GOP politics. In 1972, Lewis served briefly in the U.S. Navy,[1] attending the Navy Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida; a kidney ailment resulted in his medical discharge that year.
Lewis worked in sales for several companies, including Ashland Oil, before teaching for five years at Watterson College in Louisville, Kentucky, beginning in 1980 (the school closed in the 1990s). He also was ordained as a Southern Baptist minister in 1980, having served as pastor for the historic White Mills Baptist Church, after attending the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In 1985 Lewis opened a religious bookstore, Alpha and Omega Bookstore, in Elizabethtown. He was also a pastor at Friendship Baptist Church, located outside Hodgenville, in the early 1980s.
Lewis has been married to Kayi Gambill Lewis since 1966. They live in Cecilia, near Elizabethtown, and have two children.
[edit] Congressional career
[edit] 1994 election
In 1994, Lewis filed to run against longtime Democratic William H. Natcher in the general election in November 1994. The Second District was predominantly Democratic in terms of voter registration, and Lewis, named as a candidate by the state GOP leadership and Senator Mitch McConnell, was considered somewhat of a "sacrificial lamb".
Natcher died in late March 1994, and a special election was called in May 1994 to replace him. In the special election, Lewis faced Joe Prather, a state senator from Hardin County, Kentucky. Lewis got support from numerous national Republican sources and many religious conservative groups, enabling him to run a very strong campaign in a district that had not elected a Republican in 129 years. Lewis tied Prather to an unpopular Bill Clinton and a proposal to raise taxes on tobacco, the staple crop of the state. He also took advantage of the 2nd's socially conservative tilt.
In a major upset, Lewis defeated Prather by a 55-45 percent in an election with less than a 20 percent turnout. It was a result that many political pundits saw as a harbinger of the Republican gains in Congress in the regular election later that year.[2] Lewis was elected to a full term that November, defeating Democrat David Adkisson with 60 percent of the vote.
One of the centerpieces of Lewis' 1994 campaign was term limits in Washington. He was one of five Republicans who signed a pledge committing themselves to a limited number of terms if elected.[3] In 1998, Lewis sent a letter to 3,000 constituents in 1998 informing them he had changed his mind about running in 2002 and beyond. "I made a mistake in 1994, and I admit that. I had said I would not run past 2002," he told the Elizabethtown News Enterprise in October 1998.[4]
[edit] Political positions
According to the non-partisan website TheMiddleClass.org[5], Ron Lewis has consistently voted against tax increases and expansion of social programs.
In 2004 Lewis joined numerous Republican colleagues in sponsoring legislation that would allow lawmakers to override certain Supreme Court decisions by a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate. Lewis likened his proposal to the existing right of Congress to override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority.
[edit] 1996–2004 campaigns
Lewis won a second full term in 1996 with 58 percent of the vote, but did not face another serious bid until 2006. In the 2004 election, he defeated Democrat Adam Smith, getting 68 percent of the vote.
[edit] 2006
In the 2006 election, Lewis defeated retired U.S. Army Colonel Mike Weaver, a former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives. Weaver gave Lewis his first credible challenge in a decade, holding him to only 55 percent of the vote.
[edit] Committee Assignments
- Ways and Means Committee
- Subcommittee on Social Security
- Subcommittee on Trade
- Republican Policy Committee
[edit] Retirement
On January 29, 2008, Lewis announced he will not run for reelection in 2008. The decision shocked and angered many prominent Kentucky Republicans,[6][7] Lewis said he was tired of splitting his time between Washington and Kentucky, and that serving in congress hadn't been as much fun since Democrats took over control in 2006.[8]
On the same day Lewis pulled out, his chief of staff, Daniel London, filed for the seat, as did State Senator Brett Guthrie. On the Democratic side, State Senator David Boswell and Daviess County Judge-Executive Reid Haire have both filed.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.war-veterans.org/Vetlegis1.htm
- ^ Election Exceptions, Crystal Ball, U.Va
- ^ Mark Birtel, "Term-limits: as the pledges come home to roost", Campaigns & Elections, February 1999
- ^ John Stamper, "Term-limits promise, 'change of heart' have candidates at odds", Lexington Herald-Leader, October 27, 2006
- ^ Ron Lewis (R-KY) | TheMiddleClass.org
- ^ "Veteran Democrat state senator to take on Lewis", Associated Press, 2008-01-04.
- ^ Gerth, Joseph. "Lewis drops re-election bid", Courier-Journal, 2008-01-29.
- ^ Gerth, Joseph. "Lunsford to challenge McConnell; Lewis is out", Courier-Journal, 2008-01-30.
[edit] External links
- U.S. Congressman Ron Lewis official House site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
- Campaign 2004 Profile of Lewis USA Today
- Stand on taxing social security income
| Preceded by William H. Natcher |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 2nd congressional district May 26, 1994 – present |
Incumbent |
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Lewis, Ron |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Kentucky politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 14, 1946 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | South Shore, Kentucky |
| DATE OF DEATH | living |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
