Carol Shea-Porter

Infobox_Congressman
name =Carol Shea-Porter


date of birth= birth date and age|1952|12|2
place of birth=New York, New York
state = New Hampshire
district = 1st
term_start=January 4, 2007
preceded = Jeb Bradley
residence= Rochester, New Hampshire
occupation= social worker
alma_mater= University of New Hampshire
party = Democratic
religion =Roman Catholic
spouse = Gene Porter

Carol Shea-Porter (born December 2, 1952) is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of New Hampshire. She was previously the City Chair of the Rochester, New Hampshire Democratic Party. On November 7, 2006, she defeated incumbent Republican Jeb Bradley of New Hampshire's 1st congressional district in the 2006 midterm elections in an upset victory to become the first woman ever elected to Congress from New Hampshire. She voted against the bailout.

Early life and career

Shea-Porter grew up on the New Hampshire seacoast, and graduated from Oyster River High School. The Associated Press reports that a 16-year-old Carol Shea-Porter was advised by her high school guidance counselor to "forget about college and try secretarial school." Shea-Porter disavowed that advice and graduated from the University of New Hampshire. [http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2006/11/08/carol_shea_porters_unusual_journey_to_us_congress/ Boston.com "Carol Shea Porter's unusual journey to Congress"] (registration required)] She earned a bachelor's degree in social services and a master's degree in public administration from the University of New Hampshire. In 2004, she worked on Wesley Clark's New Hampshire primary campaign and for Strafford County Democrats running for the Legislature. A social worker by profession, she directed senior centers in New Orleans and Maryland. She was a volunteer relief worker in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Political views

Shea-Porter is a strong supporter of a timetable for troop withdrawals. [ [http://www.politicsnh.com/?q=node/267 Statement on Politics NH.com] ] She also supports rolling back the Bush tax cuts to pay for additional social spending, and supports increasing the minimum wage. [http://www.carolforcongress.com/index.php?blog=5&cat=36 Carol Shea-Porter for US Congress ] ] Regarding healthcare, Shea-Porter supports a change in the new Medicare Part D drug benefit to allow the government to negotiate prices for prescription drugs.

Congresswoman Shea-Porter recently received a perfect score of 100% from the New Hampshire Association for Retired Americans for her support for 10 issues of key importance to New Hampshire's seniors. [ [http://www.retiredamericans.org/ht/display/ReleaseDetails/i/6822 New Hampshire Retirees Concerned About Threats to Social Security ] ] , referencing her votes in favor of blocking Social Security privatization, lowering Medicare costs, expanding access to affordable health care, stopping oil price gouging, and protecting voting rights.

Fund Raising

During her 2006 campaign, Shea-Porter received 85% of her campaign contributions from individuals; as of September 2008, 63% of her 2008 contributions have been individual. [ [http://opensecrets.org/races/summary.php?id=NH01&cycle=2008 Congressional Elections: New Hampshire District 01 Race: 2008 Cycle | OpenSecrets ] ] . While Shea-Porter does accept money from PACs, the campaign does not accept money from business PACs or lobbyists.

Carol Shea-Porter's Campaign set a fundraising record in 2008, by raising more in one quarter than any congressional campaign in New Hampshire's history. [ The New Hampshire Union Leader, http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=John+DiStaso%27s+Granite+Status%3a+Shea-Porter%27s+campaign+has+about+%24750K&articleId=4ff5a337-c130-42a0-9618-300ccba0ff14] She totaled more than 260,000 from 2,589 donors, the bulk of which were individual donors. [ [http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=John+DiStaso%27s+Granite+Status%3a+Shea-Porter%27s+campaign+has+about+%24750K&articleId=4ff5a337-c130-42a0-9618-300ccba0ff14 UnionLeader.com - New Hampshire news, business and sports - John DiStaso's Granite Status: Shea-Porter's campaign has about $750K - Tuesday, Jul. 15, 2008 ] ]

2006 election campaign

Shea-Porter faced three other Democrats in primary on September 12, 2006.fact|date=March 2008 She won with 12,497 votes (54%); Jim Craig, the New Hampshire House minority leader, finished second with 34%. [ [http://www.sos.nh.gov/stateprimary2006/dcongress1.htm Secretary of State Results for New Hampshire 1st Congressional District, Democratic Primary, September 12, 2006] ]

Upset victory

She then defeated Republican incumbent Jeb Bradley in the general election, becoming the first Congresswoman from New Hampshire. Shea-Porter received 100,899 votes (52%) to Bradley's 94,869 votes (48%), despite Bradley's lead in the polls up until the election. Carol Shea-Porter was outspent 5-to-1 by Bradley and received very little support from the Democratic National Committee. [ [http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/states/NH/ Election 2006 Results] ]

Outrage in New Hampshire over the War in Iraq, President Bush, and the Republican Party in general brought Shea-Porter to Congress, replaced the other Republican representative in Congress, Charles Bass with Democrat Paul Hodes, and gave control of New Hampshire's State Senate and House to the Democrats for the first time since the 1800s.

Committee Assignments

* Armed Services Committee
** Military Personnel Subcommittee
** Readiness Subcommittee
* Education and Labor Committee
** Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities
** Subcommittee on Workforce Protections

Votes in Congress

In her first two months as a Congresswoman, Shea-Porter helped to pass the First 100 Hours legislative package and other bills: the Employee Free Choice Act, the Fair Minimum Wage Act, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act, the College Student Relief Act, the Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation Act, and the Advanced Fuels Infrastructure Research and Development Act.

Election History

ee also

*United States House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire, 2008

References

External links

* [http://shea-porter.house.gov/ U.S. Representative Carol Shea-Porter] official site
* [http://www.carolforcongress.com/ Carol Shea-Porter for US Congress] official campaign site
** [http://www.carolforcongress.com/media/c4c_listenupnh_05192006.mp4 Introduction from Listen Up New Hampshire] (MP4 format)
** [http://www.carolforcongress.com/media/c4c_06032006_manchester.mp4 Speech before June 2006 Democratic state convention] (MP4 format)
* [http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2006/11/08/carol_shea_porters_unusual_journey_to_us_congress/ Carol Shea-Porter's unusual journey to U.S. Congress] Beverley Wang, Associated Press Writer, "The Boston Globe", November 8, 2006