Roger Wicker

Roger Wicker
United States Senator from Mississippi
Incumbent
Assumed office  December 31, 2007 Serving with Thad Cochran
Preceded by	Trent Lott
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 1st district
In office January 4, 1995 – December 31, 2007
Preceded by	Jamie Whitten
Succeeded by	Travis Childers
Mississippi State Senator
In office 1987–1994
Personal details
Born	July 5, 1951 (age 59) Pontotoc, Mississippi
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Gayle Wicker
Children	Margaret Wicker Caroline Wicker McDaniel Wicker
Residence	Tupelo, Mississippi
Alma mater	University of Mississippi (B.A.)
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	Southern Baptist
Website	Roger Wicker, United States Senator
Military service
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1976-2004
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel

Roger Frederick Wicker (born July 5, 1951) is the junior U.S. Senator from Mississippi and a member of the Republican Party. In December 2007 he was appointed by Governor Haley Barbour to fill the seat vacated by Trent Lott. He subsequently won the 2008 special election for the remainder of the term. Wicker served in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Mississippi's 1st congressional district from 1995 to 2007.

Early life

Wicker was born in Pontotoc, Mississippi on July 5, 1951, and is of English, German, French, and Native American descent. He served as a page in the U.S. House of Representatives when he was 16.^{[citation needed]} He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and political science and a law degree from the University of Mississippi where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity.^{[citation needed]}

After graduation, Wicker served as an officer in the United States Air Force from 1976 to 1980.^[1][2] Starting in 1980, he was a member of the Air Force Reserve; he retired from the Reserve in 2003 as a lieutenant colonel.^[1] Wicker served as a judge advocate.^[3]

Early political career

Wicker began his political career as a member of Trent Lott's political counsel. He then served in the Mississippi State Senate from 1987 to 1994, representing a district that included Tupelo. He was the first Republican elected to the legislature from Northern Mississippi since Reconstruction.^{[citation needed]}

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

In 1994, Democrat Jamie Whitten declined to seek re-election; he had represented the 1st District for 54 years, a historical record at the time. Wicker finished first in a crowded six-way Republican primary; the other big name in the primary, former U.S. Attorney Bob Whitwell, finished 600 votes short of the other runoff spot. In the runoff, Wicker defeated attorney Grant Fox with 53 percent of the vote.

In the general election, Wicker defeated Fulton attorney Bill Wheeler, capturing 63 percent of the vote,^[4] making him the first Republican to represent the 1st District in over a century. However, this was not considered an upset, as the 1st has always been a rather conservative district (especially in the Memphis suburbs). The last time it supported a Democrat for president was in 1976, when Jimmy Carter carried the district. Before then, Mississippi had not supported the official Democratic candidate since 1956 (it voted for George Wallace in 1968). Although Whitten had a nearly unbreakable hold on the district, it had been considered very likely that he would be succeeded by a Republican once he retired.

Wicker was reelected six more times without much difficulty, never dropping below 60 percent of the vote.

Tenure

He was formerly a member of the House Appropriations Committee. He was also Deputy Republican Whip.

In Congress, Wicker worked on issues related to medical research and on economic development for his home state. He advocated private-public partnerships to bring investment to rural areas. Wicker also worked for veterans' issues while serving as a member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee.^[5] In his final year as Representative, Wicker topped the list in earmarks.^[6]

U.S. Senate

Committee Assignments, 112th Congress

• Senate Committee on Armed Services
  • United States Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Airland
  • United States Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
  • United States Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower (Ranking Member)
• Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Economic Policy
  • Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
  • Subcommittee Securities, Insurance, and Investment
• Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance
  • Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
  • Subcommittee on Science and Space
  • Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security (Ranking Member)

• Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs

• Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Human Rights Caucus
• Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• Interstate 69 Caucus (Co-Chair)
• Sportsmen's Caucus
• Tennessee Valley Authority Congressional Caucus

Tenure

At a press conference on December 31, 2007, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour appointed Wicker to fill the Senate seat vacated by Trent Lott on December 18, 2007.^[7] He was sworn in by the clerk of the U.S. Senate just prior to that news conference.^[8]

Wicker ran for the remainder of Lott's term in the November 2008 special election against Ronnie Musgrove, Barbour's predecessor as governor. He won the seat with 55% of the vote. Wicker's resignation from the House also triggered a May 13, 2008 special election to fill the vacancy in the House, which was won by Democrat Travis Childers.

On September 16, 2010, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Wicker as representative of the United States to the Sixty-fifth Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.^[9]

Electoral history

The following is a partial summary of Wicker's election results.^{[citation needed]}

2008 Mississippi United States Senate election

Roger Wicker (R) (inc.) 55%

Ronnie Musgrove (D) 45%

2006 Mississippi 1st District United States Congressional election

Roger Wicker (R) (inc.) 65.9%

Ken Hurt (D) 34.1%

2004 Mississippi 1st District United States Congressional election

Roger Wicker (R) (inc.) 79%

Barbara Dale Washer (Reform) 21%

1994 Mississippi 1st District United States Congressional election

Roger Wicker (R) 63%

Bill Wheeler (D) 37%

Personal life

Wicker is married to the former Gayle Long of Tupelo. They have three children: Margaret and son-in-law Manning McPhillips; Caroline and son-in-law Kirk Sims; and McDaniel; and one granddaughter, Caroline McPhillips. The Wickers reside in Tupelo, where he is a deacon at First Baptist Church.

References

External links

• Official Senate website
• Official campaign website
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack.us
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Profile at SourceWatch

United States Senate
Preceded by Trent Lott	United States Senator (Class 1) from Mississippi December 31, 2007 – present Served alongside: Thad Cochran	Incumbent
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Jamie Whitten	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 1st congressional district 1995–2007	Succeeded by Travis Childers
United States order of precedence
Preceded by John Barrasso R-Wyoming	United States Senators by seniority 70th	Succeeded by Mark Udall D-Colorado