Mike Kelly (Pennsylvania politician)

Mike Kelly
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 3rd district
Assumed office
January 3, 2011
Preceded by Kathy Dahlkemper
Personal details
Born (1948-05-10) May 10, 1948
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Victoria Kelly
Children 4
Education University of Notre Dame (BA)
Website House website

George Joseph "Mike" Kelly Jr. (born May 10, 1948), is an American politician in the Republican Party who has been the U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district since 2011.[1]

Education and early career

Kelly was born on May 10, 1948, in Pittsburgh, PA. He has spent most of his life in Butler, a city north of Pittsburgh. He played varsity football as a fullback in high school, and his team reached two WPIAL championship games. He graduated from Butler High School in 1966. He received a scholarship to play football at University of Notre Dame, but his playing ended because of an injury.

After college, he worked for his father's Chevrolet/Cadillac car dealership. In 1995, he purchased his father's business, and then added Hyundai and KIA to his dealership lineup.[2]

Kelly is a former member of the Butler City Council.

United States House of Representatives

Elections

2010

Kelly challenged incumbent Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper in 2010.[3] He won the election by 10%,[4] largely by running up his margins outside of heavily Democratic Erie.

2012

Kelly defeated Democrat Missa Eaton 55%–41%.[5] His district had been made slightly friendlier in redistricting. The district was pushed slightly to the south, absorbing some rural and Republican territory east of Pittsburgh.

2014

Kelly defeated Democrat Dan LaVallee of Cranberry Township 60.5%-39.5%.[6]

2016

Kelly ran unopposed and received 100% of the vote.

2018

Kelly represented the 3rd Congressional District, but due to redistricting, he is running for the 16th Congressional District in Pennsylvania in 2018.[7]

PoliticsPA wrote that Kelly's seat might not be one of the seats considered safe for re-election. Public Policy Polling found that Kelly had a 48% to 43% lead over Democratic opponent Ron DiNicola. According to the same poll, Kelly has a job approval rating of just 38%, with a 41% disapproval rating.[8]

Ratings

Kelly has received the following ratings from advocacy organizations:[9]

Committee assignments

In addition, Kelly serves as the co-chair of the Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition, a bipartisan group of U.S. Representatives from the 18 Northeastern and Midwestern States.[10]

Caucus memberships

Political positions

"Deep state" remarks

When speaking at a Mercer County Republican Party event in 2017, Kelly advanced the conspiracy theory that former president Barack Obama was running a "shadow government" to undermine President Trump.[15][16][17] When asked about these remarks, Kelly said that they were meant to be private.[18][15] After the remarks made national news, Kelly's spokesperson said that Kelly did not believe that Obama "is personally operating a shadow government".[15][16][17]

Environment

Speaking at a Heritage Foundation event in July 2014, Kelly compared the Environmental Protection Agency to terrorists while attacking EPA regulations limiting power plant emissions, saying "You talk about terrorism – you can do it in a lot of different ways,... But you terrorize the people who supply everything this country needs to be great – and you keep them on the sidelines – my goodness, what have we become?"[19]

In September 2018, Kelly was rated 0% by the Clean Water Action group.[20]

Healthcare

On August 1, 2012, Kelly called the HHS mandate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) - which requires health insurers or employers that provide their employees with health insurance to cover some contraceptive costs in their health insurance plans - an attack on Americans' constitutionally protected religious rights and that August 1, 2012, would go down in infamy as "the day that religious freedom died".[21]

Redistricting

When Kelly was elected, the district was located in the northwestern corner of the state, stretching from Erie to rural territory near Pittsburgh. In February 2018, after the Supreme Court ruled the Pennsylvania districts to be unconstitutionally gerrymandered, most of his district will become the 16th District.

Personal life

Kelly lives in Butler, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Victoria. They have four children, George III, Brendan, Charlotte, and Colin, and ten grandchildren.[22] He is the brother-in-law of Tennessee's 1st congressional district Congressman Phil Roe.

References

  1. ↑ Hildebrand-----, Nick. "Clock starts to tick for Kelly to get specific about his agenda". The Herald. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-01-07. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  3. ↑ http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbs.dll/article?AID=/20101103/NEWS02/311029900/-1/news
  4. ↑ "USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  5. ↑ "2016 Election Results: President Live Map by State, Real-Time Voting Updates". Election Hub. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  6. ↑ "Pennsylvania Election Results". Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  7. ↑ Cohn, Nate. "The New Pennsylvania Congressional Map, District by District". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  8. ↑ "PoliticsPA". Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  9. ↑ "Mike Kelly, Representative for Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District - GovTrack.us". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  10. ↑ "Northeast-Midwest Insititute » The Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition". www.nemw.org. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  11. ↑ "Our Members". U.S. House of Representatives International Conservation Caucus. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  12. ↑ "Member List". Republican Study Committee. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  13. ↑ "Members". Republican Mains Street Partnership. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  14. ↑ "Members". Congressional Western Caucus. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  15. 1 2 3 "Analysis | GOP congressman offers strange Obama conspiracy theory — and even stranger explanations". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  16. 1 2 "Kelly backtracks on claim of Obama". Early Returns:. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  17. 1 2 "Western PA congressman backs off 'strange' Obama shadow gove". @politifact. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  18. ↑ "Philly Clout: Congressman's conspiracy theory was supposed to be 'private'". Philly.com. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  19. ↑ "Congressman Compares EPA's New Climate Rule To Terrorism". Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  20. ↑ "Mike Kelly, Jr.'s Political Summary". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  21. ↑ "Congressman: 'We're Still Home of the Brave, But We're Not the Land of the Free Anymore'". CNS News. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  22. ↑ http://www.mikekellyforcongress.com/mikes-story/
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Kathy Dahlkemper		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district
2011–present		 Incumbent
Current U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
William Keating
D-Massachusetts		 United States Representatives by seniority
216th		 Succeeded by
Adam Kinzinger
R-Illinois
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