Adrian Smith (politician)

This article is about the politician. For other people with the same name, see Adrian Smith.

Andrea McDaniel

​

(m. 2014)​

Adrian Smith
Member of the U.S.HouseofRepresentatives from Nebraska's 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2007
Children	2
Education	University of Nebraska–Lincoln (BA)
Website	House website

Adrian Michael Smith (born December 19, 1970) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Nebraska's 3rd congressional district since 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he represented the 48th district in the Nebraska Legislature from 1999 to 2007. Smith is the dean of Nebraska's congressional delegation.

Early life and education

Smith was born in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, and at a young age moved with his family to a rural neighborhood south of Gering, Nebraska. After graduating from Gering High School in 1989, he attended Liberty University. He transferred to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln midway through his second year of college, graduating in 1993. ^[1] While a student at Nebraska, he interned in the Nebraska Governor's Office and, later, served as a legislative page in the Nebraska Legislature.^{[ citation needed ]}

Early career

Smith returned to Gering after college, and in 1994 began serving as a member of the Gering City Council. He has also worked in the private sector as a realtor and marketing specialist for the housing industry.^{[ citation needed ]}

Nebraska Legislature

Elections

In 1998, Smith defeated incumbent State Legislator Joyce Hillman 55%–45%. ^[2] In 2002, he was reelected to a second term unopposed. ^[3] Since Nebraska voters passed Initiative Measure 415 in 2001, he was term-limited. ^[4]

Committee assignments

Smith sat on the Natural Resources and Building Maintenance committees and was vice chair of the Transportation and Telecommunications committee. ^[5] He served as vice chair of the Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee and chaired the Four State Legislative Conference in 2001.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2006

Smith ran for the open seat in the 3rd district in the 2006 election. Three-term incumbent Tom Osborne gave up the seat to run for governor of Nebraska.

Smith in 2007 (110th Congress)

Smith won the Republican primary with 39% of the vote in a field of five candidates. He faced Democrat Scott Kleeb, a ranch hand and Yale graduate, in the general election.

About a third of the funding for Smith's campaign came from members of the Club for Growth, a fiscally conservative group that supports tax cuts, limited government, school choice, and eliminating agricultural subsidies and the US Department of Agriculture. ^[6]

For a time, Smith was presumed to be a prohibitive favorite in this overwhelmingly Republican district. The 3rd is one of the most Republican districts in the nation; presidential and statewide candidates routinely win it with 70% or more of the vote. The 3rd is extremely difficult to campaign in and has few unifying influences. It covers nearly 65,000 square miles (170,000 km²), two time zones, and 68.5 of Nebraska's 93 counties (one of which, Cherry County, is larger in area than the entire state of Connecticut). Despite that, Kleeb raised more money than any other Democrat had raised in the district in decades. Overall, the race was the most expensive in the district since it assumed its current configuration in 1963.

As the race become more competitive than initially expected, it received late national attention from the House campaign committees. ^{[7] [8]}

President George W. Bush made an appearance in the district two days before the election to campaign for Smith—a sign that the Republican party was concerned about its chances in what had long been presumed to be a very safe seat. ^[9]

In the end, Smith won by 10 percentage points, taking 55% of the vote to Kleeb's 45%. ^[10] This was the closest a Democrat had come to winning the district in 16 years; in 1990, Republican Bill Barrett defeated fellow Unicameral member Sandra Scofield by only 4,400 votes. It was also only the third time a Democrat had come reasonably close to winning this district in its current configuration; besides Barrett's narrow win in 1990, Virginia D. Smith won her first term by 737 votes in 1974.

Besides Bush's visit two days before the election, Smith likely rode the coattails of Governor Dave Heineman, who won many of the counties in the district with 80% or more of the vote in his bid for a full term.

2008

Smith won the primary with 87% of the vote. ^[11] He was reelected to a second term, defeating Democratic nominee Jay Stoddard 77%–23%. ^[12]

2010

Smith won the primary with 88% of the vote. ^[13] He was reelected to a third term, defeating Democratic nominee Rebekah Davis 70%–18%. ^[14]

2012

Smith won the Republican primary with 82% of the vote. ^[15] He was reelected to a fourth term, defeating Democratic nominee Mark Sullivan 74%–26%. ^[16]

2014

Smith won the Republican primary with 68% of the vote. He was reelected to a fifth term, defeating Democratic nominee Mark Sullivan a second time, 75%–25%. ^[17]

2016

Smith was unopposed in the Republican primary and the general election. ^[18]

2018

Smith was renominated with 66% of the vote. He was reelected to a seventh term, defeating Democratic nominee Paul Theobald 77%–23%. ^[19]

2020

Smith won the Republican primary over four other candidates with 83% of the vote, and won the general election with 78% of the vote over Democratic nominee Mark Elworth, a marijuana legalization activist. ^[20]

Tenure

In December 2020, Smith was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania , a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated ^[21] incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state. ^{[22] [23] [24]}

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." She also reprimanded Smith and the other House members who supported the lawsuit: "The 126 Republican Members that signed onto this lawsuit brought dishonor to the House. Instead of upholding their oath to support and defend the Constitution, they chose to subvert the Constitution and undermine public trust in our sacred democratic institutions." ^{[25] [26]} New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, citing section three of the 14th Amendment, called for Pelosi to not seat Smith and the other Republicans who signed the brief supporting the suit, arguing that "the text of the 14th Amendment expressly forbids Members of Congress from engaging in rebellion against the United States. Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of that." ^[27]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Ways and Means
  • Subcommittee on Trade
  • Subcommittee on Social Security
  • Subcommittee on Health

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Rural Caucus (co-chair)
• Tea Party Caucus
• Congressional Constitution Caucus ^[28]
• Congressional Coalition on Adoption ^[29]

References

1. "Biographical Directory of United States Congress". SMITH, Adrian. Retrieved August 1, 2007.
2. "Our Campaigns - NE Legislature 48 Race - Nov 03, 1998" . Retrieved June 9, 2016.
3. "Our Campaigns - NE Legislature 48 Race - Nov 05, 2002" . Retrieved June 9, 2016.
4. "National Conference of State Legislatures". Term Limits in Nebraska: A Timeline. Archived from the original on November 29, 2005. Retrieved March 20, 2006.
5. "Nebraska Unicameral Legislature". Sen. Adrian M. Smith. Archived from the original on February 19, 2006. Retrieved March 15, 2006.
6. O'Hanlon, Kevin (October 16, 2006). "Moul gives Fortenberry run in fundraising". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved November 2, 2006.
7. Walton, Don (October 27, 2006). "GOP eye on 3rd District House race". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved November 10, 2006.
8. Levinson, Nathan (November 3, 2006). "Neb. Roundup: Bush Visit Points to GOP Vulnerability". The New York Times . Retrieved November 10, 2006.
9. Thompson, Jake; Robynn Tysver (November 5, 2006). "Bush rallies GOP faithful in Grand Island". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on April 22, 2005. Retrieved November 10, 2006.
10. Hendee, David; Paul Hammel (November 9, 2006). "Another Smith going to Washington". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on April 22, 2005. Retrieved November 10, 2006.
11. "Our Campaigns - NE District 3 - R Primary Race - May 13, 2008" . Retrieved June 9, 2016.
12. Our Campaigns – NE – District 03 Race – November 4, 2008
13. "Our Campaigns - NE District 03- R Primary Race - May 11, 2010" . Retrieved June 9, 2016.
14. "Our Campaigns - NE - District 03 Race - Nov 02, 2010" . Retrieved June 9, 2016.
15. "Our Campaigns - NE District 3 - R Primary Race - May 15, 2012" . Retrieved June 9, 2016.
16. "Our Campaigns - NE - District 03 Race - Nov 06, 2012" . Retrieved June 9, 2016.
17. "Nebraska's 3rd Congressional District elections, 2014" . Retrieved June 18, 2019.
18. "Nebraska's 3rd Congressional District election, 2016" . Retrieved June 18, 2019.
19. "Nebraska's 3rd Congressional District election, 2018" . Retrieved June 18, 2019.
20. "NE District 03 - 2020". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
21. Blood, Michael R.; Riccardi, Nicholas (December 5, 2020). "Biden officially secures enough electors to become president". AP News . Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
22. Liptak, Adam (December 11, 2020). "Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
23. "Order in Pending Case" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. December 11, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
24. Diaz, Daniella. "Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court". CNN . Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
25. Smith, David (December 12, 2020). "Supreme court rejects Trump-backed Texas lawsuit aiming to overturn election results". The Guardian . Retrieved December 13, 2020.
26. "Pelosi Statement on Supreme Court Rejecting GOP Election Sabotage Lawsuit" (Press release). Speaker Nancy Pelosi. December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
27. Williams, Jordan (December 11, 2020). "Democrat asks Pelosi to refuse to seat lawmakers supporting Trump's election challenges". The Hill . Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
28. "Members". Congressional Constitution Caucus. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
29. "Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute".

External links

• Congressman Adrian Smith official U.S. House website
• Adrian Smith for Congress
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Tom Osborne	Member of the  U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska's 3rd congressional district 2007–present	Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by John Sarbanes	United States representatives by seniority 74th	Succeeded by Bob Latta