John Culberson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| John Culberson | |
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Texas's 7th district |
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2001-present |
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| Preceded by: | Bill Archer |
| Succeeded by: | Incumbent |
| Born: | August 24, 1956 Houston, Texas |
John Abney Culberson (born August 24, 1956), American politician, has been the Republican congressman representing the Texas 7th congressional district (map) in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2001.
Born in Houston, Culberson attended West University Elementary School and Lamar High School. He graduated from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in 1981 with a degree in history. While attending SMU he received widespread recognition for his work with Dallas elementary school students, whom he would entertain by dressing up his teddy bear "Cubby" as various historical figures and engaging it in conversations about significant events in that person's life.[citation needed] 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, and began practicing law there after he received his law degree, which he continues to do to this day.
Culberson was elected to the House in his first attempt in 2000, taking about 75% of the vote and facing no serious competition. He has since been reelected twice. He faces reelection in 2006. Culberson's intimate relationship with Tom DeLay, who was indicted in the Jack Abramoff scandal, has yet to be fully researched by the media.
The Cook Political Report named Culberson as a "Potentially Vulnerable Republican Candidate" on July 19, 2006, though his race is "not considered competitive at all" through Oct. 20.
Culberson is a member of the Appropriations Committee where he has used his influence to block federal public transportation dollars from coming to Houston.
In 2006 Culberson said: "I think the percentage of people unhappy with the deadbeats from New Orleans would be larger but for the big hearts of Houstonians who want these folks to get back on their feet, as I do." [1]
Culberson is ardently opposed to government funding of embryonic stem cell research. In August 2006, he defended his vote against federal funding for life saving research, saying the research "would create an atmosphere encouraging the production and harvesting of human embryos like a crop of corn, which is creepy and unacceptable."
[edit] 2006 elections
Jim Henley, a middle school teacher, ran a grass roots campaign against Mr. Culberson in the 2006 elections. Culberson defeated Henley, taking 59% of the vote against Henley's 39%.
[edit] References
- Official Site of Congressman John Culberson
- Official Campaign Site of Congressman John Culberson
- Project Vote Smart - Representative Culberson
- Election Statistics - Office of the Clerk of the House
- 2006 Texas CD 7 Candidate List from VIS
- Don't Mention the War
- Voting record maintained by the Washington Post
