Brad Ashford

Brad Ashford
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Lee Terry
Succeeded by	Don Bacon (elect)
Member of the Nebraska Legislature from the 20th district
In office January 2007 – January 2015
Preceded by	Jim Jensen
Succeeded by	John McCollister
Member of the Nebraska Legislature from the 6th district
In office January 1987 – January 1995
Preceded by	Peter Hoagland
Succeeded by	Pam Brown
Personal details
Born	November 10, 1949 Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Political party	Democratic (1984–1988, 2013–present)[1]
Other political affiliations	Republican (1967–1983, 1989–2011) Independent (2011–2013)
Alma mater	Colgate University Creighton University

John Bradley "Brad" Ashford (born November 10, 1949) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party from the state of Nebraska, who is the U.S. Representative for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district. He was formerly a member of the Nebraska Legislature, representing the 6th district from 1987 to 1995 and the 20th district from 2007-15.

He defeated Republican Congressman Lee Terry in the 2014 elections, one of only two Democrats to defeat incumbent House Republicans in that year's elections. He lost his seat to Republican Don Bacon in the 2016 general election.

Early life, education and career

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, he attended Westside High School. He received his B.A. from Colgate University in 1971. He earned his J.D. from Creighton University School of Law in 1974.^[2]

Political career

Ashford served as an attorney in the general counsel's office of the Federal Highway Administration from 1974-75, and as a judge on the Nebraska Court of Industrial Relations from 1984-86.^[2]

Nebraska legislature

He was first elected to the Legislature in 1986 serving Nebraska's 6th legislative district. He was reelected in 1990 and retired in 1994. He ran for legislature again in 2006, and was elected to serve Nebraska's 20th legislative district. He served as the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and served on the Education Committee and the Committee on Committees.

He was on the following committees:

• Business and Labor, Member
• Judiciary, Chair
• Urban Affairs, Member^[2]

Omaha Mayoral election, 2013

Ashford ran for Mayor of Omaha in 2013 as an independent candidate. He was defeated in the primary.

Omaha mayoral primary results, April 2, 2013^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Jean Stothert	18,870	32.20
	Nonpartisan	Jim Suttle (incumbent)	14,309	24.41
	Nonpartisan	Dave Nabity	10,204	17.41
	Nonpartisan	Brad Ashford	7,745	13.21
	Nonpartisan	Dan Welch	7,083	12.08
	Nonpartisan	Maura DeLuca	195	0.33
	Nonpartisan	Mort Sullivan	153	0.26
	Write-in		52	0.09
Total votes			58,611	100

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

1994

In 1994, Ashford, then a state senator, ran in the Republican primary for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district seat.^[4] Jon Christensen won the 1994 primary with 26,494 votes, for 52.7% of the total. Ashford was second in the primary with 12,340 votes (24.5%), and Ron Staskiewicz finished third in the primary with 11,436 votes (22.7%).^[5]

In the general election, Christensen defeated incumbent Congressman Peter Hoagland of the Democratic Party by a margin of 92,516–90,750 (49.9%–49.0%), with 2,044 write-ins.^[6]

2014

In 2014, Ashford was elected as Representative for the 2nd Congressional District, defeating 8-term Republican incumbent Lee Terry with 49.0% of the vote to Terry's 45.7%.^[7]

2016

Ashford ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on May 10, 2016. On November 8, 2016, he was defeated by Republican challenger, retired brigadier general Don Bacon, 49.3% - 47.3%.^[8]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on Nutrition
  • Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
  • Subcommittee on Intelligence, Emerging Threats and Capabilities

Tenure

The Lugar Center, a nonprofit organization led by former U.S. senator Richard Lugar, and the McCourt School of Public Policy of Georgetown University, developed a "Bipartisan Index" that assigned scores to almost all members of Congress, using an algorithm based on their sponsorship of bills that drew co-sponsors from the other party, and on their co-sponsorship of bills introduced by members of the other party. In the 2015 session of Congress, scores for members of the House of Representatives ranged from a low of -2.07 to a high of 1.88. Ashford's rating was 0.78, the 34th-highest of the 438 House members who were rated.^[9]

Personal life

Ashford is married to Ann Ferlic Ashford. The couple has three children.

References

1. Ryan, Laura. "Brad Ashford's Kindness Campaign". NationalJournal.com. Retrieved 2015-04-07.
2. "Senator Brad Ashford's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
3. "2013 Primary Election Unofficial Results". Douglas County Election Commission. April 2, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
4. "Omaha Democrats have candidate for Congress: Ex-Republican Ashford". Watchdog.org. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
5. "Official Report of the Board of State Canvassers of the State of Nebraska: Primary Election Held May 10, 1994", p. 10. Downloadable with 1916–1998 canvass books from "Previous Elections", Nebraska Secretary of State; retrieved 2015-01-20.
6. "Official Report of the Board of State Canvassers of the State of Nebraska: General Election Held November 8, 1994", p. 4. Downloadable with 1916–1998 canvass books from "Previous Elections", Nebraska Secretary of State. Retrieved 2015-01-20.
7. "Official Results: General Election—November 4, 2004". Archived 4 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Nebraska Secretary of State; retrieved 2015-01-05. Archived 2015-01-04 at Wayback Machine.
8. James, Karla (May 11, 2016). "Congressman Ashford preparing for General Election". Nebraska Radio Network. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
9. "Bipartisan Index", The Lugar Center; retrieved July 11, 2016. Archived June 5, 2016, at Wayback Machine. Explanation of rating scheme is at "Methodology" tab; ratings for House members are at "New—2015 House Scores" tab.

Sources

• "Nebraska Unicameral Legislature". Sen. Brad Ashford. Retrieved March 10, 2007.

External links

• Brad Ashford at DMOZ