Luke Messer

Luke Messer
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 6th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2013
Preceded by	Mike Pence
Member of the Indiana House of Representatives from the 57th district
In office January 2003 – January 2007
Preceded by	Roland Stine
Succeeded by	Sean Eberhart
Personal details
Born	Allen Lucas Messer February 27, 1969 Evansville, Indiana, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Jennifer
Alma mater	Wabash College (BA) Vanderbilt University (JD)
Website	House website

Allen Lucas "Luke" Messer (born February 27, 1969) is an American politician who has represented Indiana's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Born in Evansville, Indiana, Messer is a graduate of Wabash College and Vanderbilt University Law School. After an unsuccessful run for the U.S. House in 2000, Messer served as the executive director of the Indiana Republican Party from 2001 to 2005. He was appointed to serve in the Indiana House of Representatives in 2003, after State Representative W. Roland Stine was killed in a car accident. Messer represented Indiana's 57th District from 2003 to 2007. In 2012, Messer defeated Democratic challenger Brad Bookout and was elected to a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Early life, education, and law career

Messer graduated from Greensburg Community High School in 1987.^[1]

Messer attended Wabash College where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and majored in speech. He graduated in 1991.^[2] He received a law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1994.^[3][4] Shortly after Messer graduated from Vanderbilt, he served as an Associate Counsel at Koch Industries from 1995 to 1996.^[5]

Early political career

Messer started his political career serving as the press secretary for Tennessee Representative Ed Bryant in 1997. He served as the legal counsel on the House Subcommittee for Government Reform for Indiana Representative's David McIntosh and Dan Burton from 1998 to 1999, and as the legal counsel to U.S. Representative Jim Duncan later in 1999.^[6] In 1998, he served as the campaign manager for Virginia Murphy Blankenbaker's unsuccessful congressional campaign.^[7] In 1999, Messer returned to Indiana and was a practicing attorney at the Barnes & Thornburg Law Firm in Indianapolis.^[8]

In 2000, Messer ran for the United States House of Representatives in Indiana's 2nd congressional district, where incumbent David M. McIntosh was retiring to run for governor. Messer received the endorsement of The Indianapolis Star.^[9] He lost the election to Mike Pence.

Indiana House of Representatives

On May 23, 2003, Messer was sworn in by the Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court Randall Shepard to fill the remainder of the late W. Roland Stine's term.^[1] From 2003 to 2006, Messer represented District 57 in the Indiana House of Representatives, which contained portions of Shelby County and Bartholomew County.^[10] During the 2005-2006 legislative session, Messer served as the Assistant Majority Floor Leader.^[11] His legislation aimed at curbing high school drop-out rates received national attention after Shelbyville High School became a symbol of a national dropout crisis.^[12] He did not run for re-election as State Representative in 2006, and was succeeded by Sean Eberhart.^[13] Messer joined the law firm Ice Miller LLP as a partner in their public affairs group.^[14]

Messer served as the Indiana co-chair of John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign.^[15] In 2010, Messer ran for the House of Representatives in Indiana's 5th congressional district. He challenged Dan Burton, the incumbent representative, in the Republican primary. Burton narrowly defeated Messer in the election.^[16] Messer then became president and CEO of School Choice Indiana, a lobbying group that supported Indiana's private school voucher law.^[17]

United States House of Representatives

Elections

In May 2011, Mike Pence announced his intentions to run for Governor of Indiana. Messer subsequently declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination to represent the 6th District. His home in Shelbyville had been shifted from the 5th District to the 6th District in redistricting.^[18] On May 8, 2012, Messer defeated the grassroots effort by Columbus real estate investor Travis Hankins, winning with 71% of the vote.^[19] He faced Democrat Brad Bookout, a Delaware County councilman, in the general election.^[20][21] Messer, described as a "Libertarian-Leaning Conservative" by OnTheIssues.org,^[22] aligned his views with the views of Pence, saying: "If you like Congressman Mike Pence, we’re going to have very similar philosophy in the way we approach the job," he was also described by Bookout as "a clone" of Pence.^[23] On November 6, 2012, Messer defeated Bookout with roughly 59% of the vote.^[24] After the election, Messer was selected by his peers as Freshman Class President for the 113th Congress.^[25]

Committee assignments

• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Education and the Workforce
  • Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training
  • Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions
• Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
• Committee on Financial Services

Tenure

In 2013, Messer signed a pledge sponsored by conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity promising to vote against any global warming legislation that would raise taxes.^[26]

In November 2014, Messer was elected by his colleagues as the House Republican Policy Committee Chairman, succeeding James Lankford, who had been elected to the United States Senate. Messer defeated Tom Reed and Rob Woodall.^[27]

Personal life

Messer and his wife Jennifer, have two daughters and one son. They reside in Shelbyville, Indiana. Messer is the author of a children’s book called Hoosier Heart.^[28]

Electoral history

2006

Indiana House of Representatives, 57th District, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Luke Messer	16,004	100
Total votes			16,004	100
	Republican hold

2012

Indiana's 6th Congressional District election, 2012 ^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Luke Messer	162,613	59
	Democratic	Brad Bookout	96,678	35
	Libertarian	Rex Bell	15,962	6
Total votes			275,253	100
	Republican hold

References

1. "Luke Messer Sworn in Today as State Representative for House District 57". in.gov. May 28, 2003. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
2. Torrez, Jonathan. "The Wabash College Bachelor" (PDF). wabash.edu. Wabash College Board of Publications. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
3. "Indiana's 6th House District Luke Messer bio; The National Journal". nationaljournal.com. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
4. "Ex-McIntosh aide is seeking GOP nod to fill seat". The Indianapolis Star. October 14, 1999. Retrieved September 15, 2012. (subscription required)
5. "LUKE MESSER INFORMATION". solitical.com. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
6. "REPRESENTATIVE LUKE MESSER'S BIOGRAPHY". votesmart.org. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
7. "President George W. Bush-Campaign Organization, Indiana". georgewashingtonuniversity.edu. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
8. "Wabash Alumnus Elected to Indiana General Assembly". wabash.edu. May 22, 2003. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
9. "Candidate Messer's good ideas for positive change". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. April 17, 2000. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
10. "IBJ Newsbank Archives". Nl.newsbank.com. February 7, 2005. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
11. "INDIANA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE CHAIRS // 2005-2006". state.in.us. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
12. Thornburgh/Shelbyville, Nathan (April 9, 2006). "Drop Out Nation; Time Magazine". www.time.com. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
13. "Election 2006: Indiana House". Indianapolis Star. October 31, 2006. Retrieved September 15, 2012. (subscription required)
14. InsideIndianaBusiness.com Report. "State Representative Luke Messer Joins Ice Miller – Newsroom – Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick". Insideindianabusiness.com. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
15. Davies, Tom (September 24, 2008). "Politics | Obama out to flip Indiana to Dems | Seattle Times Newspaper". Seattletimes.com. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
16. Schneider, Mary Beth (July 9, 2011). "Candidates line up for Pence's open seat in Congress". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
17. "Messer defeats Bookout, wins Pence's 6th seat". San Francisco Chronicle. Associated Press. November 6, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
18. "Former state lawmaker announces run for Congress". Los Angeles Times. May 21, 2011. Archived from the original on December 21, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
19. "Messer conquers crowded Republican field in 6th District". indystar.com. May 8, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
20. "Bookout to face 'young gun' Messer in race for U.S. Congress seat | The Star Press". thestarpress.com. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
21. "Messer, Bookout win vote in Delaware County for U.S. Congress seat | The Star Press". thestarpress.com. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
22. "IN Luke Messer". ontheissues.org. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
23. "6th District Candidates Compare Themselves To Mike Pence". indianapublicmedia.org. October 29, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
24. Johannesen, Kirk (November 7, 2012). "Messer puts focus on jobs, budget work". The Republic. Columbus, Indiana.
25. "Indiana's-new-federal-lawmakers-seek-leadership-roles-learn-ropes; The Indianapolis Star". indystar.com. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
26. http://americansforprosperity.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Messer_Luke.pdf
27. http://www.rollcall.com/news/home/republican-policy-committee-chairman
28. "Election 2012 Luke Messer bio; The Wallstreet Journal". projects.wsj.com. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
29. "Election Results". Indiana Elections Division. November 28, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2012.

External links

• Congressman Luke Messer's official U.S. House webite
• Luke Messer for Congress
• 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