Kevin McCarthy
House Majority Whip
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011
Leader	Eric Cantor
Preceded by	Jim Clyburn
Republican Chief Deputy Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives
In office January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011
Leader	John Boehner
Preceded by	Eric Cantor
Succeeded by	Peter Roskam
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 23rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2013
Preceded by	Lois Capps
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 22nd district
In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2013
Preceded by	Bill Thomas
Succeeded by	Devin Nunes
Minority Leader of the California Assembly
In office January 5, 2004 – April 17, 2006
Preceded by	Dave Cox
Succeeded by	George Plescia
Member of the California State Assembly from the 32nd district
In office December 2, 2002 – November 30, 2006
Preceded by	Roy Ashburn
Succeeded by	Jean Fuller
Personal details
Born	(1965-01-26) January 26, 1965 (age 59) Bakersfield, California, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Judy McCarthy
Children	Connor Meghan
Alma mater	California State University, Bakersfield
Website	House website Party website

Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is the majority leader of the United States House of Representatives, a post he has served since 2014.^[1]

A member of the Republican Party, he is the U.S. representative for California's 23rd congressional district. The district is primarily within Kern County and Tulare County.

He previously served two terms in the California State Assembly, including two years as the Republican floor leader.

Early life and education

Born in Bakersfield, California, McCarthy is a fourth-generation resident of Kern County. He states that he is the first Republican in his immediate family.^[2] In one campaign ad, he claimed that, "Jeremiah McCarthy's house still stands". At the age of 19 he opened his first business, a deli, after winning a few thousand dollars from a lottery ticket.^[3][2] He subsequently sold the deli to attend California State University, Bakersfield.^{[citation needed]} He obtained a B.S. in marketing, in 1989 and an M.B.A., in 1994.^{[citation needed]}

Early political career

In 1995, he was chairman of the California Young Republicans. From 1999 to 2001, he was chairman of the Young Republican National Federation.^{[citation needed]} From the late 1990s until 2002, he was the district director for U.S. representative Bill Thomas, who, at the time, chaired the House Ways and Means Committee.^{[citation needed]}

McCarthy was elected to the California State Assembly in 2002, becoming Republican floor leader in his freshman term in 2003. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2006.^[4]

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

• Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit

Party leadership

• Majority whip, 2011–present
• Republican chief deputy whip, 2009–2011
• House Republican Steering Committee

As a freshman, he was appointed to the Republican Steering Committee. In 2008, Republican leader John Boehner appointed him chairman of the Republican Platform Committee during the committee's meetings in Minneapolis in August 2008, which produced the Republican Party Platform for 2008. He was also one of the three founding members of the GOP Young Guns Program.^{[citation needed]}

After the 2008 elections, he was chosen as chief deputy minority whip, the highest-ranking appointed position in the House Republican caucus. His predecessor, Eric Cantor, was named minority whip. On November 17, 2010, he was selected by the House Republican caucus to be the House majority whip in the 112th Congress. In this post, he is the third-ranking House Republican, behind Speaker John Boehner and majority leader Eric Cantor.

Cantor lost the June 2014 primary for his seat in Congress, and announced he would step down from House leadership at the end of July. McCarthy is seeking to succeed Cantor, and after some speculation that Representatives Pete Sessions and Jeb Hensarling would challenge him, both dropped out leaving what appeared to be a clear path for McCarthy to become House Majority Leader.^[5] However on June 13 conservative Representative Raul Labrador announced he also was seeking the position of House Majority Leader.^[6] The Republican caucus will elect a new majority leader on June 19.^[7]

House campaigns

2006

McCarthy entered the Republican primary for the 22nd—the real contest in this heavily Republican district—after his former boss, Thomas, announced his retirement. He won the general election with 70.7% of the vote.^{[citation needed]}

2008

He ran unopposed.^{[citation needed]}

2010

He was virtually unopposed, winning 98.8% of the vote, with opposition coming only from a write-in candidate.^{[citation needed]}

He was a primary author H.R. 1581 Wilderness and Roadless Area Release Act of 2011. It released wilderness study areas and forest service road-less areas administered and managed by the Bureau of Land Management from federal protection.^{[citation needed]} It also attempted to undo the decades-old multiple use approach enshrined in the National Forest Management Act and Federal Land Policy and Management Act, where wilderness is balanced with other public uses. Over 4 million acres in California alone would have been stripped of wilderness protection.^{[citation needed]} The bill was widely opposed by environmentalists, as well as outdoor recreation advocates and businesses, and ultimately died in committee.^[8]

2012

After representing District 22 for six years, McCarthy ran in District 23 in 2012 due to redistricting. In the 2012 general election, McCarthy won 73.2% of the vote vs. 26.8% for his No Party Preference (NPP) opponent Terry Phillips.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

McCarthy and his wife Judy have two children. They are lifelong residents of Bakersfield.^[9]

In 2000, he was elected as a trustee on the Kern Community College District board.^[9] He has also been on the board of directors for Community Action Partnership of Kern.^[10]

References

External links

• Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy
• Congressman Kevin McCarthy official U.S. House site
• Kevin McCarthy for Congress
• Kevin McCarthy at Curlie
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart

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