Mike DeWine
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| Mike DeWine | |
| | |
| 1995- Jan. 2007 | |
| Political party: | Republican |
|---|---|
| Preceded by: | Howard M. Metzenbaum |
| Succeeded by: | Incumbent1 |
| Born: | January 5, 1947 Springfield, Ohio |
| Spouse: | Frances Struewing |
| Religion: | Roman Catholic |
| 1Sherrod Brown will replace Dewine in the Senate on January 3, 2007. | |
Richard Michael "Mike" DeWine (born January 5, 1947) is a politician and a lame duck senator from Ohio. He is completing his second term in the U.S. Senate after being defeated for re-election in the mid-term elections on November 7, 2006. His seat will be taken by Democrat Sherrod Brown.
Born in Springfield, Ohio, to Irish-American parents, DeWine earned a bachelor's degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in 1969 and a Juris Doctor degree from Ohio Northern University.
He and his wife Frances have had eight children, one of whom died. Hamilton County, Ohio, Commissioner R. Patrick DeWine is Mike DeWine's son. Ohio state representative Kevin DeWine (R-Fairborn) is DeWine's second cousin.
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[edit] Political career
DeWine worked as a prosecutor before entering politics. He served a term in the Ohio State Senate before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican in 1982. He was re-elected three times, serving for a total of eight years.
In 1990, he left the House and was elected Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, and served in that position from 1991 to 1995. While Lieutenant Governor, he failed in a bid to unseat Senator John Glenn in 1992.
In 1994, DeWine was elected to the United States Senate, defeating prominent attorney Joel Hyatt (the son-in-law of the then-incumbent U.S. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum). DeWine was reelected in 2000, defeating former U.S. Rep. Frank Cremeans in the primary and Ted Celeste (brother of former Ohio Gov. Richard F. Celeste) in the general election.
On November 7, 2006, DeWine was defeated for re-election to the United States Senate by Democrat Sherrod Brown.
[edit] Political positions
[edit] Social issues
DeWine is pro-life (except in cases of incest, danger to the life of the mother, and some rape).[citation needed] He voted in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment but opposed State Issue 1, Ohio's Defense of Marriage Amendment.[citation needed]
DeWine is a supporter of gun control laws, and in 2004 he co-sponsored an amendment to renew the ban on common semi-automatic weapons.[citation needed] This earned him 'F' ratings from the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America.[1]On July 29, 2005, he was one of only two Republican senators to vote against the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act,[citation needed] which banned lawsuits against gun manufacturers, distributors, and dealers for criminal misuse of their products.[citation needed]
DeWine has also broken with his party on issues such as funding for Head Start programs,[citation needed] the federal minimum wage,[citation needed] and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).[citation needed]
On March 31, 2006, DeWine came out in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment to ban gay marriage, but he has been criticized by conservatives who accuse him of "flip-flopping" to shore up conservative support.<ref>http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1606907/posts</ref> A response by DeWine to a letter from a constituent, regarding his support for a guest worker program, was decried by conservative activists.<ref>http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1605877/posts</ref>
[edit] 2005 filibuster
After President George W. Bush nominated White House Counsel Harriet Miers on October 3, 2005, for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, DeWine said "I think the fact she doesn't have judicial experience will add to the diversity of the Supreme Court... There is no reason everyone has to have that same (judicial) background."<ref>http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051004/NEWS01/510040366/1077/rss02</ref> Opposition from conservative groups unhappy with Miers' resume ultimately sank her nomination.
[edit] Domestic spying
DeWine currently sits on both the Senate Judiciary and Select Intelligence committees. His votes have been instrumental in protecting President Bush from being investigated for domestic spying and passing the USA PATRIOT Act.<ref>http://www.democrats.org/a/p/governor_dean_on_domestic_spying_revelation.html</ref>
[edit] Controversy and criticism
On July 14, 2006, DeWine's campaign began airing TV commercials depicting a smoking World Trade Center. "The senator was notified... by a reporter at U.S. News & World Report that the image of the burning Twin Towers could not have depicted the actual event because the smoke was blowing the wrong way."<ref>http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060719/19dewinead.htm</ref><ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071901663.html</ref> DeWine's campaign admitted that the video was actually a still photo of the World Trade Center with smoke digitally added.<ref>http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060719/19dewinead.htm</ref> He also was criticized for using an emotionally charged image to attack his challenger.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071901663.html</ref>
Another of DeWine's ads suggested that opponent Sherrod Brown didn't pay his taxes for thirteen years. This claim led to the Associated Press reporting on October 19 that, "Several Ohio television stations have stopped airing a Republican ad because state documents contradict the ad's accusation that Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown didn't pay an unemployment tax bill for 13 years." Brown produced a commercial citing these facts.[2] DeWine's ads were changed to state only that he had failed to pay his unemployment taxes until legal action was taken against him.
DeWine has also been criticized on the issue of national security. Pundit Bob Geiger has noted that DeWine, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has missed nearly 50% of that committee's public hearings. Rand Beers, an intelligence critic and expert who has served during the Bush and Clinton administrations, asserted that DeWine's attendance at the Committee's closed meetings has not been better, charging that "he is not a particularly active member."<ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-geiger Bob Geiger, The Huffington Post, October 10, 2006</ref>
[edit] 2006 bid for re-election
DeWine faced conservative Republican challengers William G. Pierce and David R. Smith for the nomination of the Republican Party in the May 2006 primary. DeWine won with 71.82% of the votes.<ref>http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/ElectionsVoter/results2006.aspx?Section=1695</ref>
DeWine's Democratic opponent in the November 2006 general election was Congressman Sherrod Brown of Mansfield, Ohio, who won 78.05% of Democrats' votes in the primary, defeating truck driver Merrill Samuel Keiser, Jr.<ref>2006 Election Results, retrieved 11/7/06.</ref> Iraq War veteran Paul Hackett dropped out of the Democratic race earlier in the election cycle.
Most political watchers believed DeWine was one of the Senate's most vulnerable incumbents in the 2006 elections. Democrats poured resources into the Ohio race while the GOP worked hard to retain Senate control. Many conservative Republicans felt they could not support any Republican as liberal and "out of touch" with conservative values as DeWine.
According to an article in the October 16, 2006, edition of The New York Times, top Republican party officials on the national level determined that DeWine would probably be defeated and and moved financial support from his race to other Republican senatorial candidates they felt were more likely to win.<ref>Adam Nagourney, "In Final Weeks, G.O.P. Focuses on Best Bets", The New York Times, October 16, 2006.</ref>
DeWine lost by a margin of almost 12%, as below:
| 2006 United States Senate election, Ohio | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Sherrod Brown | 2,138,432 | 55.88% | +20.01% | |
| Republican | Mike DeWine (incumbent) | 1,686,857 | 44.08% | -15.82% | |
| Independent | Richard Duncan | 1,540 | 0.04% | n/a | |
| Majority | 451,575 | 11.8% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | Swing | ||||
Senator DeWine is reportedly exploring a run for Ohio Governor in four years. This has already caused a backlash from conservative Republicans.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Campaign Website
- 2006 campaign finances, an analysis by Center for Responsive Politics.
- Positions and voting record, an analysis by Project Vote Smart.
- Voting record maintained by the Washington Post
[edit] See also
- Election Results, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 7th District
- Election Results, U.S. Senator from Ohio
- List of United States Representatives from Ohio
- List of United States Senators from Ohio
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Clarence J. "Bud" Brown Jr. | United States Representative for the 7th Congressional District of Ohio 1983–1991 | Succeeded by: Dave Hobson |
| Preceded by: Paul R. Leonard | Lieutenant Governor of Ohio 1991–1994 | Succeeded by: Nancy P. Hollister |
| Preceded by: Howard M. Metzenbaum | United States Senator (Class 1) from Ohio 1995- Term Ends January 2007 | Succeeded by: Sherrod Brown (Senator-Elect) |
| Gang of 14 (in the United States Senate) |
|---|
| Republicans: McCain • Graham • Warner • Snowe • Collins • DeWine • Chafee Democrats: Lieberman • Byrd • Nelson • Landrieu • Inouye • Pryor • Salazar |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | DeWine, Mike |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | DeWine, Richard Michael (full name) |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Ohio politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 5, 1947 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Springfield, Ohio |
| DATE OF DEATH | living |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
fr:Mike DeWine pl:Mike DeWine ru:ДеУайн, Майк sv:Mike DeWine
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements | 1947 births | Irish-American politicians | Living people | People from Springfield, Ohio | Members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio | Lieutenant Governors of Ohio | Miami University alumni | Ohio Northern University alumni | Ohio lawyers | Ohio State Senators | Roman Catholic politicians | United States Senators from Ohio | Gang of Fourteen
