Steve Scalise
Encyclopedia
Stephen Joseph "Steve" Scalise (born October 6, 1965) is the U.S. Representative
for , serving since 2008. He is a member of the Republican Party
. He previously served in the Louisiana Senate and the Louisiana House of Representatives
.
Archbishop Rummel High School
in Metairie
in Jefferson Parish
and earned a bachelor of science
degree from Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge, with a major in computer programming
and a minor in political science
.
: 1995, 1999, and 2003. His legislative peers named him to the House Appropriations Committee as the representative of the First Congressional District. Scalise initially succeeded fellow Republican Representative Quentin D. Dastugue
, who made an ill-fated bid for governor
in the 1995 primary. Scalise opposed the 2002 Stelly Plan
, a proposal by Lake Charles
Representative Vic Stelly
to reduce certain state sales taxes on food for home consumption and utilities in exchange for higher state income tax
es.
Scalise was elected in the October 20, 2007, combined primary
to the District 9 seat in the Louisiana Senate. That position was vacated by the term-limited Ken Hollis
of Metairie
. Scalise received 19,154 votes (61 percent) in a three-way contest. Fellow Republican Polly Thomas polled 8,948 votes (29 percent). A Democrat, David Gereighty, polled 3,154 votes (10 percent) in the heavily Republican-oriented district. In the special election on November 4 to fill the remaining three and one-half years in Scalise's state Senate term, Conrad Appel
defeated Polly Thomas, 21,853 (52.1 percent) to 20,065 (47.9 percent). Thomas had also lost the race for the seat in 2007 to Scalise. Scalise was succeeded in his state legislative post by his aide, Cameron Henry
of Metairie
.
Barack Obama
a letter grade for Obama's first 100 days as President
, Scalise awarded the new president an L (for "liberal").
Scalise encouraged residents throughout Southeast Louisiana to provide feedback about the Corps of Engineers' Category 5 proposal, titled Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration (LACPR) report.http://www.lacpr.usace.army.mil/ In a June 5, 2009 Times-Picayune Letter to the Editor, Anne Milling, founder of the Women of the Storm wrote, "Kudos to Rep. Steve Scalise, who led his congressional colleagues here last week for a first-hand glimpse of Louisiana's offshore oil and gas production and its critical importance to the nation."
.
In 2007, when Jindal was elected to the governorship of Louisiana, Scalise announced his intentions to seek the seat yet again. This time he received Republican party backing.
Scalise's strongest Republican primary opponent, State Representative
Timothy G. "Tim" Burns
from Mandeville
in St. Tammany Parish, accused Scalise of push polling, a practice in which a campaign contacts voters by telephone and asks probing questions which leave a negative impression of his opponent. Scalise defended his poll from criticism by Burns: "We were running a public opinion survey this week conducted by the largest Republican polling firm in the country, Public Opinion Strategies. . . . conducted with a sample of 300 people, and it shows Scalise at 57 percent, Burns at 26 percent and undecided at 17 percent The margin of error is 5.6 percent. We ran a fact-based public opinion survey, not a push poll."
In the March 8 Republican primary, Scalise polled 16,799 votes (48 percent). He went on to win the runoff election on April 5 against Burns, who received 9,631 votes (28 percent) in the initial primary.
In the May 3 general election, Scalise received 33,867 votes (75.13 percent) to Democrat
Gilda Reed's 10,142 ballots (22.5 percent). Two minor candidates polled the remaining 2.36 percent of the vote. Reed was a favorite of organized labor and the Democratic constituency groups. The First District has been Republican since 1977, when Bob Livingston
won a special election.
Scalise was sworn in on May 7, 2008.
, the former legislative auditor and the treasurer of the Louisiana GOP, as directors of a national presidential fund-raising effort promoting Governor Jindal. According to Kyle, the group hopes to raise $60 million to persuade Jindal to seek the 2012 party nomination. Others on the committee include former State Representative Woody Jenkins
. Former Republican State Senator
Tom Schedler
of Slidell
had his name removed from the group, not because he opposes Jindal but because such fund-raising activity could conflict with Schedler's role as first assistant to Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne
.
Renaissance Foundation. He is married to the former Jennifer Letulle (born 1975). The couple has two children, Madison Carol Scalise (born March 17, 2007), and Harrison Joseph Scalise (born May 8, 2009).
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for , serving since 2008. He is a member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. He previously served in the Louisiana Senate and the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
.
Early life and education
Scalise graduated from the CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Archbishop Rummel High School
Archbishop Rummel High School
Archbishop Rummel High School is a Catholic secondary school located in Metairie, a community in unincorporated Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. The school is named after Archbishop Joseph Rummel, a former Archbishop in the Archdiocese of New Orleans....
in Metairie
Metairie, Louisiana
Metairie is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States and is a major part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish. It is an unincorporated area that would be larger than most of the state's cities if it were...
in Jefferson Parish
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Jefferson Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States that includes most of the suburbs of New Orleans. The seat of parish government is Gretna....
and earned a bachelor of science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge, with a major in computer programming
Computer programming
Computer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...
and a minor in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
.
Louisiana Legislature
Scalise was elected three times to the Louisiana House of RepresentativesLouisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
: 1995, 1999, and 2003. His legislative peers named him to the House Appropriations Committee as the representative of the First Congressional District. Scalise initially succeeded fellow Republican Representative Quentin D. Dastugue
Quentin Dastugue
Quentin D. Dastugue is a founding partner and the chief executive officer of the New Orleans-based real estate firm Property One, Inc., and a former four-term member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. Dastugue was elected as a Democrat to the state House in 1979 and 1983 as the District 82...
, who made an ill-fated bid for governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
in the 1995 primary. Scalise opposed the 2002 Stelly Plan
Stelly Plan
The Stelly Plan is a since repealed 2002 tax measure in the U.S. state of Louisiana designed to shift certain state sales taxes on food for home consumption and utilities to increases in state income taxes. Narrowly approved by voters, the proposal soon ran into criticism as middle-class taxpayers...
, a proposal by Lake Charles
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
Representative Vic Stelly
Vic Stelly
Victor Theodore Stelly, known as Vic Stelly , is a retired businessman from Lake Charles, Louisiana, a member of the Louisiana Board of Regents for Higher Education, and from 1988-2004 a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 35 in Calcasieu Parish in the...
to reduce certain state sales taxes on food for home consumption and utilities in exchange for higher state income tax
State income tax
State and local income taxes are imposed in addition to Federal income tax. State income tax is allowed as a deduction in computing Federal income tax, subject to limitations for individuals. Some localities impose an income tax, often based on state income tax calculations. Forty-three states...
es.
Scalise was elected in the October 20, 2007, combined primary
Jungle primary
A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for elected office run in the same primary regardless of political party. Under this system, the top two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the next round, as in a runoff election...
to the District 9 seat in the Louisiana Senate. That position was vacated by the term-limited Ken Hollis
Ken Hollis
Jesse Kendrick Hollis, Jr., known as Ken Hollis , was a Republican Party member of the Louisiana State Senate from Metairie in Jefferson Parish in the New Orleans suburbs...
of Metairie
Metairie, Louisiana
Metairie is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States and is a major part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish. It is an unincorporated area that would be larger than most of the state's cities if it were...
. Scalise received 19,154 votes (61 percent) in a three-way contest. Fellow Republican Polly Thomas polled 8,948 votes (29 percent). A Democrat, David Gereighty, polled 3,154 votes (10 percent) in the heavily Republican-oriented district. In the special election on November 4 to fill the remaining three and one-half years in Scalise's state Senate term, Conrad Appel
Conrad Appel
Conrad Henry Appel, III , is a Metairie, Louisiana, businessman who since 2008 has been a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate from District 9 in suburban Jefferson Parish. Appel won a special election to succeed short-term Senator Steve Scalise, after Scalise was instead elected to the...
defeated Polly Thomas, 21,853 (52.1 percent) to 20,065 (47.9 percent). Thomas had also lost the race for the seat in 2007 to Scalise. Scalise was succeeded in his state legislative post by his aide, Cameron Henry
Cameron Henry
John Cameron Henry, Jr. is a business analyst from Metairie, Louisiana, who has been a Republican member of his state's House of Representatives from District 82 since January 2008. Henry is a former member of the Jefferson Parish School Board and was an aide to Steve Scalise, his predecessor in...
of Metairie
Metairie, Louisiana
Metairie is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States and is a major part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish. It is an unincorporated area that would be larger than most of the state's cities if it were...
.
U.S. House of Representatives
On being asked by the Times-Picayune to assign DemocratDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
a letter grade for Obama's first 100 days as President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, Scalise awarded the new president an L (for "liberal").
Scalise encouraged residents throughout Southeast Louisiana to provide feedback about the Corps of Engineers' Category 5 proposal, titled Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration (LACPR) report.http://www.lacpr.usace.army.mil/ In a June 5, 2009 Times-Picayune Letter to the Editor, Anne Milling, founder of the Women of the Storm wrote, "Kudos to Rep. Steve Scalise, who led his congressional colleagues here last week for a first-hand glimpse of Louisiana's offshore oil and gas production and its critical importance to the nation."
Committee assignments
- Committee on Energy and CommerceUnited States House Committee on Energy and CommerceThe Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more than 200 years...
- Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
- Subcommittee on Energy and Power
- Subcommittee on Oversight and InvestigationsUnited States House Energy Subcommittee on Oversight and InvestigationsThe U.S. House Energy Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations is a subcommittee within the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.-Jurisdiction:...
2008 special election
In 2004, Scalise announced that he would run for the U.S. House but thereafter deferred to the preference of party leaders and supported Jindal, who won the position vacated by the successful senatorial candidate, David VitterDavid Vitter
David Vitter is the junior United States Senator from Louisiana and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served in the United States House of Representatives, representing the suburban Louisiana's 1st congressional district. He served as a member of the Louisiana House of...
.
In 2007, when Jindal was elected to the governorship of Louisiana, Scalise announced his intentions to seek the seat yet again. This time he received Republican party backing.
Scalise's strongest Republican primary opponent, State Representative
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
Timothy G. "Tim" Burns
Timothy Burns (Louisiana politician)
Timothy G. Burns , also known as Tim Burns, is a tax attorney from Mandeville, Louisiana, who is a two-term Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 89 in St. Tammany Parish....
from Mandeville
Mandeville, Louisiana
Mandeville is a city in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,421 in 2008. Mandeville is located on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, south of Interstate 12. It is across the lake from the city of New Orleans and its southshore suburbs...
in St. Tammany Parish, accused Scalise of push polling, a practice in which a campaign contacts voters by telephone and asks probing questions which leave a negative impression of his opponent. Scalise defended his poll from criticism by Burns: "We were running a public opinion survey this week conducted by the largest Republican polling firm in the country, Public Opinion Strategies. . . . conducted with a sample of 300 people, and it shows Scalise at 57 percent, Burns at 26 percent and undecided at 17 percent The margin of error is 5.6 percent. We ran a fact-based public opinion survey, not a push poll."
In the March 8 Republican primary, Scalise polled 16,799 votes (48 percent). He went on to win the runoff election on April 5 against Burns, who received 9,631 votes (28 percent) in the initial primary.
In the May 3 general election, Scalise received 33,867 votes (75.13 percent) to Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Gilda Reed's 10,142 ballots (22.5 percent). Two minor candidates polled the remaining 2.36 percent of the vote. Reed was a favorite of organized labor and the Democratic constituency groups. The First District has been Republican since 1977, when Bob Livingston
Bob Livingston
Robert Linlithgow "Bob" Livingston Jr. is a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist and a former Republican U.S. Representative from Louisiana...
won a special election.
Scalise was sworn in on May 7, 2008.
2008
In the regularly scheduled election, Scalise was reelected over Democrat Jim Harlan, 66 percent to 34 percent.2010
Republican incumbent Steve Scalise is running for re-election, challenged by Democratic nominee Myron Katz and Independent Arden Wells.2012 presidential election
In June 2009 Scalise joined Dan KyleDan Kyle
Daniel Guin Kyle, known as Dan Kyle , is a businessman from Baton Rouge Louisiana, who served as his state's legislative auditor from 1989–2003, when he stepped down to run unsuccessfully for insurance commissioner. An active Republican, Kyle uncovered many instances of misappropriations in state...
, the former legislative auditor and the treasurer of the Louisiana GOP, as directors of a national presidential fund-raising effort promoting Governor Jindal. According to Kyle, the group hopes to raise $60 million to persuade Jindal to seek the 2012 party nomination. Others on the committee include former State Representative Woody Jenkins
Woody Jenkins
Louis Elwood "Woody" Jenkins is a newspaper editor in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972–2000 and waged three unsuccessful races for the United States Senate....
. Former Republican State Senator
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
Tom Schedler
Tom Schedler
John Thomas Schedler, known as Tom Schedler , is a politician from suburban St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, USA, who served as the District 11 Louisiana state senator from 1996 to 2008, when he was term-limited after twelve years...
of Slidell
Slidell, Louisiana
Slidell is a city situated on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 25,695 at the 2000 census. The Greater Slidell Community has a population of about 90,000...
had his name removed from the group, not because he opposes Jindal but because such fund-raising activity could conflict with Schedler's role as first assistant to Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne
Jay Dardenne
John Leigh "Jay" Dardenne, Jr. , has been Louisiana's Republican lieutenant governor since November 22, 2010. He won a special election to the position held in conjunction with the regular November 2 general election. At the time, Dardenne was Louisiana secretary of state...
.
Personal life
He is a member of the Seventh Ward Senior Center and the American ItalianItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Renaissance Foundation. He is married to the former Jennifer Letulle (born 1975). The couple has two children, Madison Carol Scalise (born March 17, 2007), and Harrison Joseph Scalise (born May 8, 2009).
External links
- Congressman Steve Scalise official U.S. House site
- Steve Scalise official campaign site