Pat Toomey

Infobox_Congressman
name = Patrick J. Toomey


width = 200
date of birth = birth date and age|1961|11|17
place of birth = Providence, Rhode Island
state = Pennsylvania
district = 15th
term_start = January 3, 1999
term_end = January 3, 2005
preceded = Paul F. McHale, Jr.
succeeded = Charles Dent
party = Republican
spouse = Kris Toomey
religion = Roman Catholic

Patrick Joseph "Pat" Toomey, Sr. (born November 17, 1961 in Providence, Rhode Island) is a United States politician. He was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, representing the Lehigh Valley-based 15th congressional district from 1999 to January 2005. He is also the current president of the Club for Growth.

Toomey was raised by working-class Catholic parents and was one of six children. Through scholarships, he was able to attend LaSalle Academy and Harvard University. After graduating, he worked for several investment firms, living mostly in New York City and, for a time, in Hong Kong.

In the early 1990s, Toomey moved to the Lehigh Valley with his brothers to open a series of bars and restaurants in the area. He often cites his experience as a small-business owner to criticize what he refers to as excessive government regulation and taxes. He also became the part of the area Government Study Commission.

In November 1997, Toomey married his wife Kris. They have two children, Bridget and Patrick, Jr.

Toomey retired at the end of his last Congressional term, in January 2005, fulfilling a pledge that he had signed in 1998 to only serve three terms( [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2519/is_1_20/ai_53889297/pg_2] ).

In 2004, he challenged incumbent Senator Arlen Specter in the Republican primary election. Aided by $2 million of advertising from the Club for Growth (a conservative political action committee that focuses on fiscal issues and targets moderate Republican incumbents), Toomey criticized Specter as a liberal spendthrift. Toomey's campaign theme was that Specter, a moderate, was not fiscally conservative enough.

However, most of the state's Republican establishment closed ranks behind Specter. This included Pennsylvania's other Senator, Rick Santorum, who was noted for his social conservative views. Many Republicans at the state and national level feared that if Toomey beat Specter, he wouldn't be able to defend the seat against his Democratic opponent, fellow Congressman Joe Hoeffel. [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4847842 Sen. Specter ekes out narrow win in Pa. primary - Politics - MSNBC.com ] ]

Toomey lost by a 1.7 percent margin after an 11th-hour endorsement of the incumbent, Specter, by President George W. Bush. [cite web
url = http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5367075
title = npr.org, "Moon Over New Orleans"
publisher = NPR]

In January 2005, Toomey assumed the presidency of the Club for Growth, which had greatly supported his 2004 race against Specter.

Political future

Toomey's name has surfaced among political pundits as a possible Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate in 2010 [http://www.pittsburgpost-gazette.com/pg/06316/737687-178.stm] , but Toomey has so far not announced plans for a return to elected office.

References

External links

* Pat Toomey joined the board of the [http://www.CommonwealthFoundation.org/ Commonwealth Foundation] in August 2007.
* [http://www.clubforgrowth.org/ Club for Growth]