Blaine Luetkemeyer
| Blaine Luetkemeyer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 3rd district | |
|
Assumed office January 3, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Russ Carnahan |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 9th district | |
|
In office January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Kenny Hulshof |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 115th district | |
|
In office January 1999 – January 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Don Steen |
| Succeeded by | Rodney Schad |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 7, 1952 Jefferson City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Jackie Luetkemeyer |
| Residence | St. Elizabeth, Missouri |
| Alma mater | Lincoln University, Missouri |
| Occupation | Farmer, insurance agent |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Website | House website |
William Blaine Luetkemeyer (/ˈluːtkəmaɪər/; born May 7, 1952) is an American politician currently serving as the incumbent U.S. Representative for Missouri's 3rd congressional district, a seat he has held since 2009. The district, numbered as the 9th Congressional District from 2009 to 2013, contains most of east-central Missouri, including the state capital of Jefferson City and some of the southern and northern St. Louis suburbs and exurbs. Luetkemeyer is a member of the Republican Party.
Early life
Luetkemeyer was born in Jefferson City on May 7, 1952.[1] He attended Lincoln University in Jefferson City and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and with a minor in business administration. A lifelong farmer who is the fourth generation of his family to own their farm, Luetkemeyer has also owned several small businesses, as well as running a bank and serving as an insurance agent. He also served on the Board of Trustees for the village of St. Elizabeth.
Missouri state politics
In 1998, Luetkemeyer was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives from the 115th Legislative District.[2] During his time as a state representative, Luetkemeyer served as chair of the Financial Services Committee and as House Republican Caucus Chairman. During his time in the state legislature, Luetkemeyer co-sponsored the statewide constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between a man and a woman, which was overwhelmingly approved by Missouri voters statewide in 2004 by a margin of 71-29. He also worked on legislation which allowed Missourians to carry concealed firearms, banned partial-birth abortions, and reformed worker compensation laws. In addition, he has supported the deregulation of the financial industry—specifically the lending industry.
In 2004, he did not seek reelection but instead was one of seven Republicans who ran for the office of State Treasurer. He finished second in the Republican primary, losing to Sarah Steelman who went on to win the general election. In 2005, Luetkemeyer was appointed by former Governor Matt Blunt to serve as Missouri Tourism Director, a post he held until running for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008. One of his projects was working with Blunt and Lt. Governor Peter Kinder to start the Tour of Missouri, a cycling event modeled on the Tour de France.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2008
Luetkemeyer became a candidate for the open seat in the 9th Congressional District following incumbent Republican Kenny Hulshof’s resignation in his unsuccessful bid for Governor. In the Republican primary, Luetkemeyer won with 39.7% of the vote against rivals state representatives Bob Onder and Danie Moore, as well as Brock Olivo and Dan Bishir. Luetkemeyer managed to eke out a narrow win in the general election to keep the seat in Republican hands.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Blaine Luetkemeyer | 161,031 | 49.99 | |
| Democratic | Judy Baker | 152,956 | 47.49 | |
| Libertarian | Tamara A. Millay | 8,108 | 2.52 | |
2010
Luetkemeyer defeated Charles Baker in the Republican primary. He faced token third-party opposition as the Democratic Party did not field a candidate for the district's seat and received over three-fourths of the total vote.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Blaine Luetkemeyer (Incumbent) | 162,724 | 77.36 | |
| Libertarian | Christopher W. Dwyer | 46,817 | 22.26 | |
| Write-in | Clifford Jeffery Reed | 748 | 0.36 | |
| Write-in | Ron Burrus | 69 | 0.03 | |
2012
Missouri was reduced to eight districts after the 2010 U.S. Census determined that the state's population growth was slower than that of the national average. Luetkemeyer's district was renumbered as the 3rd Congressional District. It lost most of its northern portion to the newly drawn 6th Congressional District. To make up for the loss of population, it was pushed slightly to the west, gaining all of Jefferson City. Luetkemeyer already represented the share of the capital located in Callaway County, but picked up Cole County in the redistricting process.
Luetkemeyer easily won the general election in his first run in the newly created district.[3]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Blaine Luetkemeyer | 214,843 | 63.49 | |
| Democratic | Eric C. Mayer | 111,189 | 32.86 | |
| Libertarian | Steven Wilson | 12,353 | 3.65 | |
2014
In the August primary, Luetkemeyer defeated two rivals with almost 80% of the vote. He proceeded to easily win the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Blaine Luetkemeyer (Incumbent) | 130,940 | 68.33 | |
| Democratic | Courtney Denton | 52,021 | 27.15 | |
| Libertarian | Steven Hedrick | 8,593 | 4.48 | |
| Write-in | Harold Davis | 66 | 0.03 | |
Committee assignments
Legislation
On October 23, 2013, Luetkemeyer introduced the bill To enhance the ability of community financial institutions to foster economic growth and serve their communities, boost small businesses, increase individual savings (H.R. 3329; 113th Congress) into the House.[4] The bill would direct the Federal Reserve to revise certain regulations related to small bank holding companies (BHCs).[5][6] Current regulations allow BHCs with assets of less than $500 million that satisfy other tests to incur higher amounts of debt than larger institutions in order to acquire other banks.[5] H.R. 3329 would apply the less-stringent standard to more BHCs by raising the asset limit to $1 billion, and the bill also would allow savings and loan holding companies to qualify.[5]
On June 26, 2014, Luetkemeyer introduced H.R.4986, that would end the controversial Operation Choke Point[7] which was designed to limit the activities of money launderers, but has come under criticism for alleged abuse.[8] Later, on November 20, 2014, in a further effort to end Operation Choke Point, Luetkemeyer introduced additional legislation that would require federal banking agencies to put in writing any suggestion or order to terminate a customer’s banking account.[9][10]
Personal life
Luetkemeyer has been married since 1976 to his wife Jackie. They have three children. He has one granddaughter, Riley, and two grandsons, Luke and Evan. Luetkemeyer is a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Eldon Chamber of Commerce, the Farm Bureau, the National Rifle Association, and attends St. Lawrence Catholic Church.[11]
References
- ↑ "Members of Congress: Blaine Luetkemeyer". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
- ↑ http://sos.mo.gov/archives/history/historicallistings/molegl.asp
- ↑ "Election Results U.S. House 3rd District". Missouri Secretary of State website. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
- ↑ "H.R. 3329 - Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
- 1 2 3 "CBO - H.R. 3329". Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
- ↑ Cristina Marcos; Ramsey Cox (6 May 2014). "Tuesday: House reforms Dodd-Frank, Senate debates energy bill". The Hill. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- ↑ "H.R.4986 - End Operation Choke Point Act of 2014". 113th Congress (2013-2014). United States Congress. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ Raasch, Chuck (14 November 2014). "Luetkemeyer says feds to investigate 'Operation Choke Point'". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ↑ "Luetkemeyer Introduces Legislation to Protect Customers from Operation Choke Point". Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "H.R.5758 - Financial Institution Customer Protection Act of 2014". 113th Congress (2013-2014). United States Congress. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Biography - Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer". The Office of Blaine Leutkemeyer. United States House of Representatives. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
External links
- Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer official U.S. House website
- Blaine Luetkemeyer for Congress
- Blaine Luetkemeyer at DMOZ
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Profile at Project Vote Smart
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kenny Hulshof |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 9th congressional district 2009–2013 |
Constituency abolished |
| Preceded by Russ Carnahan |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 3rd congressional district 2013–present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by Leonard Lance |
United States Representatives by seniority 203rd |
Succeeded by Ben Luján |