Brett Guthrie

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Guthrie's voice
Guthrie supporting the CARES Act
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Brett Guthrie
Brett Guthrie, Official Photo.jpg
Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee
Designate
Assuming office
January 3, 2025

Steven Brett Guthrie (born February 18, 1964) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Kentucky's 2nd congressional district since 2009. The district is in central Kentucky and includes Fort Knox, Owensboro, Bowling Green, and a portion of eastern Louisville. Guthrie previously served as a Republican member of the Kentucky Senate.

Contents

Early life, education, and career

Guthrie was born in Florence, Alabama, the son of Carolyn P. (née Holt) and Lowell M. Guthrie. [2] He earned his Bachelor of Science in mathematical economics at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1987 [3] and his Master's of Public and Private Management at the Yale School of Management in 1997.

Guthrie is a former vice president of Trace Die Cast, Inc., an automotive parts supplier based in Bowling Green. He previously served as a field artillery officer in the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Kentucky Senate

Guthrie represented the 32nd district in the Kentucky Senate from 1999 to 2008, serving as vice chair of the Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee and chairing the Transportation Committee.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2008

In the 2008 congressional general election, Guthrie defeated Democratic nominee State Senator David Boswell for the right to succeed the retiring U.S. Representative Ron Lewis. Lewis announced his retirement on the last day for candidates to file for the seat in 2008, in hopes of steering the Republican nomination to his chief of staff, Daniel London. Guthrie defeated London for the nomination.

Guthrie in Hawesville, Kentucky. Brett Guthrie by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Guthrie in Hawesville, Kentucky.

This set up the closest race in the 2nd in 14 years. Democrats had a large advantage in registration, but voters had been very conservative on social issues. This was a major reason Lewis had been able to hold the district with little trouble since winning it in a 1994 special election. Guthrie prevailed by 15,500 votes, mostly on the strength of rural voters. He may have been boosted by voters being more motivated to come to the polls due to the presidential and Senate election held at the same time. Republican presidential nominee John McCain carried the district with 60% of the vote and won all but one county entirely within the district. Incumbent Republican Senator Mitch McConnell also carried the 2nd district easily.

2010

The 2nd reverted to form in 2010, and Guthrie defeated Democratic nominee Ed Marksberry by a large margin.

2012

Guthrie won reelection in 2012 with over 64% of the vote.

2018

Guthrie filed for reelection on November 27, 2017. Two Democratic challengers filed against Guthrie: Grant Short and Brian Pedigo, both of whom ultimately lost to Democratic candidate Hank Linderman in the primary. [4] [5]

Tenure

2011

In 2011, Guthrie voted for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 as part of a controversial provision that allows the government and the military to indefinitely detain American citizens and others without trial. [6] In July 2013, he voted against defunding the National Security Agency due to the alleged privacy violations reported by whistleblower Edward Snowden. [7]

2013

Guthrie voted in favor of ending the 2013 United States federal government shutdown. [8]

In September, Guthrie introduced the Missing Children's Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2013, authorizing the continued funding of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children through fiscal year 2018 and to strengthen additional programs that prevent the abduction and sexual exploitation of children. [9]

2017

Guthrie and Virginia Foxx introduced the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success and Prosperity through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act, an act that would eliminate Public Service Loan Forgiveness and reduce federal funding made available to for-profit colleges. [10]

On December 19, Guthrie voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. [11] Before his vote, he said he was "willing to accept" criticism about the bill making American businesses more competitive on a global scale. [4]

2022

In August 2022, Guthrie criticized President Joe Biden for forgiving up to $10,000 of student loan debt for eligible borrowers. Guthrie was criticized for hypocrisy because he had $4.3 million of debt from his PPP loan forgiven. [12]

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress: [13]

Caucus memberships

Political positions

Interest group ratings

Guthrie has an "A" rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund for his gun rights voting record. [19] [20]

In 2016, Guthrie received a "D" rating from marijuana legalization advocacy group NORML for his voting record on cannabis-related causes. [21]

Health care

Guthrie supports the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"). [4] He also co-sponsored, along with Representatives Greg Murphy and Don Davis, a bill to reduce the power of Medicare to negotiate drug prices. [22]

Abortion

Guthrie opposes abortion. In 2008, Kentucky Right for Life endorsed him. He has a 100% rating from the National Right to Life Committee for his voting record on abortion-related matters. [23]

Personal Life

He married Beth Clemmons and has 3 children and 3 grandchildren. [24]

Electoral history

Kentucky 32nd State Senate District General Election, 1998 [25]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Brett Guthrie 13,493 50.24
Democratic Ron Murphy13,36349.76
Total votes26,856 100.0
Kentucky 32nd State Senate District General Election, 2002 [26]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Brett Guthrie (incumbent) 19,498 100.0
Total votes19,498 100.0
Kentucky 32nd State Senate District General Election, 2006 [27]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Brett Guthrie (incumbent) 21,695 100.0
Total votes21,695 100.0
Kentucky 2nd Congressional District General Election, 2008 [28]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican S. Brett Guthrie 158,936 52.57
Democratic David E. Boswell143,37947.43
Total votes302,315 100.0
Kentucky 2nd Congressional District General Election, 2010 [29]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican S. Brett Guthrie (incumbent) 155,906 67.89
Democratic Ed Marksberry73,74932.11
Total votes229,655 100.0
Kentucky 2nd Congressional District General Election, 2012 [30]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican S. Brett Guthrie (incumbent) 181,508 64.30
Democratic David Lynn Williams89,54131.72
Independent Andrew R. Beacham6,3042.23
Libertarian Craig R. Astor4,9141.74
Total votes282,267 100.0
Kentucky 2nd Congressional District General Election, 2014 [31]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican S. Brett Guthrie (incumbent) 156,936 69.19
Democratic Ron Leach69,89830.81
Total votes226,834 100.0
Kentucky 2nd Congressional District General Election, 2016 [32]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican S. Brett Guthrie (incumbent) 251,825 100.0
Total votes251,825 100.0
Kentucky 2nd Congressional District General Election, 2018 [33]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican S. Brett Guthrie (incumbent) 171,700 66.72
Democratic Hank Linderman79,96431.07
Independent Thomas E. Loecken5,6812.21
Total votes257,345 100.0

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References

  1. ↑ "Brett Guthrie Collection". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
  2. ↑ "Brett Guthrie ancestry". Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
  3. ↑ USMA 1987 article on Guthrie retrieved 2008 December 31.
  4. 1 2 3 Swietek, Wes (28 November 2017). "Guthrie files for re-election, now faces 2 challengers". Bowling Green Daily News. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  5. ↑ "Hank Linderman Takes Victory Tour Of Kentucky's 2nd Congressional District". 23 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "NDAA Bill: How Did Your Congress Member Vote?". Ibtimes.com. 2011-12-16. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
  7. ↑ "How The House Voted Down Effort To Curb NSA Surveillance". Huffington Post. July 24, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Final vote results". house.gov. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  9. ↑ "Committee Members Applaud Bipartisan Passage of Missing Children's Assistance Reauthorization Act". Committee on Education and the Workforce. U.S. House of Representatives. 17 September 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  10. ↑ Friedman, Zack. "House Republicans May End Student Loan Forgiveness". Forbes. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  11. ↑ Almukhtar, Sarah (19 December 2017). "How Each House Member Voted on the Tax Bill". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  12. ↑ "Column: GOP ratchets up the hypocrisy in opposing Biden's student debt plan". Los Angeles Times. August 29, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Brett Guthrie". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Membership". Congressional Arts Caucus. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  15. ↑ "Member List". Republican Study Committee. Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  16. ↑ "90 Current Climate Solutions Caucus Members". Citizen´s Climate Lobby. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  17. ↑ "Members". U.S. - Japan Caucus. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  18. ↑ "Rare Disease Congressional Caucus". Every Life Foundation for Rare Diseases. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  19. ↑ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  20. ↑ "YOUR VOTE DEFENDS FREEDOM! – VOTE BRETT GUTHRIE FOR U.S. HOUSE!". nrapvf.org. NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on 9 August 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  21. ↑ "Kentucky Scorecard". NORML. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  22. ↑ Cohrs, Rachel (5 February 2024). "The lone Democrat willing to weaken Medicare's power to negotiate drug prices". Stat News . Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  23. ↑ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  24. ↑ "Biography". guthrie.house.gov/about/. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
  25. ↑ "1998 Primary and General Election Results". Kentucky State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  26. ↑ "2002 Primary and General Election Results". Kentucky State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  27. ↑ "2006 Primary and General Election Results". Kentucky State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  28. ↑ "2008 Primary and General Election Results". Kentucky State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  29. ↑ "2010 Primary and General Election Results" (PDF). Kentucky State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  30. ↑ "2012 Primary and General Election Results" (PDF). Kentucky State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  31. ↑ "2014 Primary and General Election Results" (PDF). Kentucky State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  32. ↑ "2016 Primary and General Election Results" (PDF). Kentucky State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  33. ↑ "2018 Primary and General Election Results" (PDF). Kentucky State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 2nd congressional district
2009–present		Incumbent
Preceded by Chair of the House Energy Committee
Taking office 2025		Designate
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
80th		Succeeded by
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