| Frank Lucas | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office May 10, 1994 |
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| Preceded by | Wes Watkins |
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| Born | January 6, 1960 Cheyenne, Oklahoma |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Lynda Lucas |
| Residence | Cheyenne, Oklahoma |
| Alma mater | Oklahoma State University |
| Occupation | rancher |
| Religion | Baptist |
Frank D. Lucas (born January 6, 1960) is a politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma, currently representing Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district in the U.S. House (map). The district, the largest in the state and one of the largest in the country, stretches from the Panhandle to the fringes of the Tulsa suburbs.
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Early life and career
Oklahoma House of Representatives
Lucas is a lifelong resident of Cheyenne, a town in western Oklahoma. His family has lived and farmed in western Oklahoma for over a century. He graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1982 with a degree in agricultural economics. He first ran for the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1984 as a Republican against the incumbent Democrat, narrowly losing. A second attempt in 1986 also fell short, but he won in 1988. Immediately after being seated, Lucas became very vocal for causes he supported (among other positions, he supports the death penalty and opposes abortion rights). The Democratic-controlled state house responded by making his district somewhat less friendly, and he was defeated in 1990. Lucas immediately began knocking on doors in his new district and with the help of his campaign slogan, "Frank Lucas don't run from nobody. This is America", he was voted into office in 1992.[citation needed]
U.S. House of Representatives
In 1994, 6th district Congressman Glenn English stepped down to become a lobbyist for rural electric cooperatives. Lucas won the Republican nomination for the special election on May 10. He faced Dan Webber, press secretary to former Governor and U.S. Senator David L. Boren, now president of the University of Oklahoma. The 6th was already the largest in the state, stretching from the Panhandle to the town of Spencer, in the far northeastern Oklahoma City metropolitan area. However, the state legislature had redrawn it so that it included many poor Oklahoma City neighborhoods that had never voted Republican. Lucas scored a major upset; he won by eight percentage points, carrying 18 of the district's 24 counties. His victory has been seen by some pundits as an early sign of the wave six months later that saw the Republicans take control of the House for the first time in 40 years. Lucas himself won a full term in that wave and has been re-elected five times, never dropping below 59 percent of the vote. He faced no Democratic opposition in 2002 and 2004, and easily won reelection in 2006 and 2008.
Lucas' district was renumbered as the 3rd after Oklahoma lost a district in the 2000 Census. His already huge district was made even larger. He lost most of his old district's share of Oklahoma City, which was home to 60% of the district's population. He once represented much of the downtown area, including the site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. He still represents the portion of the city located in Canadian County. However, in place of his share of Oklahoma City, Lucas gained portions of the Tulsa suburbs (including a small portion of Tulsa itself) and some rural areas. As a result, his district is now as large as the state's other four districts combined.
Lucas is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker. In 2006, he cosponsored H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act[1] and voted for H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.[2] In 2008, he opposed H.R. 5767, the Payment Systems Protection Act (a bill that sought to place a moratorium on enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act while the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve defined "unlawful Internet gambling").
Lucas is an ardent conservative. On his campaign Website, he bills himself as providing "effective conservative leadership for Oklahoma.
Committee assignments
Lucas is a member of the following committees:
- Committee on Agriculture (Ranking Member)
- Committee on Financial Services
- Committee on Science and Technology
Agriculture Committee
From 2003 through 2005, $14.7 billion in crop subsidies went to the congressional districts of members on the House Committee on Agriculture, an analysis by the non-partisan Environmental Working Group found. That was 42.4% of the total subsidies. Lucas is reported to have brought $422 million to his District.[3]
See also
- Oklahoma Congressional Districts
- Politics of Oklahoma
- Oklahoma House of Representatives
- Oklahoma Republican Party
Electoral history
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
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| 1992 | Glenn English * | 134,734 | 68% | Bob Anthony | 64,068 | 32% | ||||||||
| 1994 | Jeffrey S. Tollett | 45,399 | 30% | Frank D. Lucas | 106,961 | 70% | ||||||||
| 1996 | Paul M. Barby | 64,173 | 36% | Frank D. Lucas | 113,499 | 64% | ||||||||
| 1998 | Paul M. Barby | 43,555 | 33% | Frank D. Lucas | 85,261 | 65% | Ralph B. Finkle, Jr. | Independent | 2,455 | 2% | ||||
| 2000 | Randy Beutler | 63,106 | 39% | Frank D. Lucas | 95,635 | 59% | Joseph V. Cristiano | Libertarian | 2,435 | 2% |
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
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| 2002 | (no candidate) | Frank D. Lucas | 148,206 | 76% | Robert T. Murphy | Independent | 47,884 | 24% | ||||||
| 2004 | (no candidate) | Frank D. Lucas | 215,510 | 82% | Gregory M. Wilson | Independent | 46,621 | 18% | ||||||
| 2006 | Sue Barton | 61,749 | 33% | Frank D. Lucas | 128,042 | 67% |
References
- ^ Thomas (Library of Congress): HR 4777
- ^ Thomas (Library of Congress): HR 4411
- ^ Dilanian, Ken, " Billions go to House panel members' districts", USA Today. July 26, 2007.
- ^ a b "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/index.html. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
External links
- U.S. Congressman Frank Lucas official U.S. House website
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
- Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
- Congressional profile at GovTrack.us
- Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
| United States House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by Glenn English |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 6th congressional district May 10, 1994–2003 |
Succeeded by District Dissolved after 2000 Census |
| Preceded by Wes Watkins |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district 2003–Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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