Randy Weber

Randy Weber
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 14th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2013
Preceded by Ron Paul
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 29th district
In office
January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2013
Preceded by Mike O'Day
Succeeded by Ed Thompson
Personal details
Born Randall Keith Weber
(1953-07-02) July 2, 1953
Pearland, Texas, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Brenda
Children 3
Education Alvin Community College
University of Houston–Clear Lake (BS)
Website House website

Randall Keith Weber (born July 2, 1953)[1] is an American businessman and a politician. He is a member of the United States House of Representatives. He has represented Texas' 14th congressional district since 2013, succeeding Ron Paul. He defeated former Congressman Nick Lampson on November 6, 2012, by a 53% to 45% margin. He was a member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing the 29th district. He is a member of the Republican Party.[2]

Early life, education, and business career

He graduated from Alvin Community College and in 1977 earned a BS in public affairs from the University of Houston–Clear Lake. In 1981, he founded Weber's Air & Heat Air-Conditioning Company.[3]

Early political career

He was a city councilman of Pearland, Texas, for six years. In addition he served as Brazoria County Grand Jury Commissioner, Brazoria County Redistricting Committee, Texas Republican Party Convention delegate, president of Brazoria County Cities Association, member of the Brazoria County Republican Party, and chairman of the Pearland Area Republican Party Headquarters.[4]

Texas House of Representatives

Elections

After State Representative Glenda Dawson died on September 12, 2006,[5] a special election was held on December 19. Businessman Mike P. O'Day earned 48% of the vote, falling just short of the 50% threshold. Weber earned 28% of the vote, qualifying for the run-off.[6] In the January run-off, O'Day defeated him 57%–43%.[7]

O'Day decided to retire. Weber ran for the March 2008 primary and won with 59% of the vote.[8] He won the general election with 60% of the vote.[9] He won re-election to a second term in 2010 with 85% of the vote.[10]

Committee assignments

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2012

After Republican U.S. Representative Ron Paul of Texas' 14th congressional district decided to retire, nine Republicans decided to run in the newly redrawn district. Weber received endorsements from Governor Rick Perry and Ron Paul. He ranked first with 28% of the vote, but failed to reach the 50% threshold. In the run-off, he defeated Pearland City Councilwoman Felicia Harris 62%–37%.[13] He faced former Congressman Nick Lampson in the general election; Lampson jumped into the race after the 14th had been redrawn to include much of the territory he had represented in Congress from 1997 to 2005. In the general election held on November 6, 2012, Weber defeated Lampson by a 53% to 45% margin.[2] Based upon Weber's vote total in 2012, Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball named Weber one of their "Underachievers" because he received only 54% of the vote in his Congressional district while Mitt Romney received 59%.[14]

2016

Weber was reelected on November 8, 2016. He polled 160,631 votes (61.9 percent) to 99,054 (38.1 percent) for the Democrat Michael Cole.[15]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Controversies

In January 2014, during President Obama's State of the Union address, Weber in a tweet referred to the President as "Kommandant-In-Chef" [sic] and "the Socialist dictator." After the White House apologized for failing to send a more high profile leader to a demonstration in Paris following the January 2015 terrorist attacks in that city, Weber tweeted, "Even Adolph [sic] Hitler thought it more important than Obama to get to Paris."[18] Weber then wrote that he needed to "apologize to all those offended by my tweet". He did not choose to withdraw his earlier tweet made during the State of the Union address.[18]

In April 2015, Weber met with Aleksandr Torshin, the alleged handler for Russian spy Maria Butina,[19] according to internal documents from Center for the National Interest.[20]

Personal life

He has been married to Brenda Weber, a Pearland schoolteacher, for over 30 years. They have three children and four grandchildren.[3] He lives in Alvin, Texas.[21]

References

  1. ↑ Randy Weber – Texas – Bio, News, Photos – Washington Times Archived 2013-01-10 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. 1 2 Pinkerton, James. GOP's Weber beats Lampson in race to succeed Ron Paul, Houston Chronicle, November 7, 2012.
  3. 1 2 Randy Weber – Meet Randy
  4. ↑ Representative Randy Weber Biography – Project Vote Smart
  5. ↑ State Rep. Glenda Dawson, of Pearland, dies – Houston Chronicle
  6. ↑ Our Campaigns – TX State House 029 – Special Election Race – Dec 19, 2006
  7. ↑ Our Campaigns – TX State House 029 – Special Election Runoff Race – Jan 16, 2007
  8. ↑ Our Campaigns – TX State House 029 – R Primary Race – Mar 04, 2008
  9. ↑ Our Campaigns – TX State House 029 Race – Nov 04, 2008
  10. ↑ Our Campaigns – TX State House 029 Race – Nov 02, 2010
  11. ↑ Texas House of Representatives : Representative Thompson, Ed
  12. ↑ "Member List". Republican Study Committee. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  13. ↑ Our Campaigns – TX District 14 – R Runoff Race – Jul 31, 2012
  14. ↑ Kondik, Kyle. Sanford Joins “the Underachievers”, Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball, May 9, 2013.
  15. ↑ "General Election Results". Texas Secretary of State. November 8, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  16. ↑ "What is the House Freedom Caucus, and who's in it?". Pew research center. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  17. ↑ "Members". House Baltic Caucus. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  18. 1 2 Ohlheiser, Abby (13 January 2015). "Texas Rep. Randy Weber said Obama is basically worse than Hitler. He has since apologized". www.washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  19. ↑ Helson, Kevin. "Butina Affidavit". U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  20. ↑ Lynch, Sarah (June 22, 2018). "Exclusive: Alleged Russian agent Butina met with U.S. Treasury, Fed officials". Reuters. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  21. ↑ McCutcheon, Michael; Barone, Chuck (2013). 2014 Almanac of American Politics. The University of Chicago Press.
Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by
Mike O'Day		 Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 29th district
2009–2013		 Succeeded by
Ed Thompson
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Ron Paul		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 14th congressional district
2013–present		 Incumbent
Current U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Jackie Walorski		 Seniority in the U.S. House of Representatives
301st		 Succeeded by
Brad Wenstrup
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