8. Texas is under District 6, represented by Joe Barton Total Number of Representatives: 32
9. Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison Previous Political Work: Hutchison was the first Republican Woman elected to the Texas House of Representatives. She was also the first Republican elected as State Treasurer of Texas. As the senior United States Senator from Texas she is the highest ranking Republican woman in Congress. Personal Info: Kay Bailey Hutchison was raised in La Marque, Texas and graduated from the University of Texas and UT Law School. Thomas J. Rusk of Nacogdoches was the first Texan to hold the U.S. Senate seat she currently occupies. He and Senator Hutchison's great-great-grandfather, Charles S. Taylor, were law partners, and both signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. Hutchison made it a goal as a State Senator and has visited all 254 countries in Texas. Terms Served: Hutchison was elected in 1993 and has served 30 years (5 terms) as a Texas Senator. Re-Election: Hutchison’s term ends in 2012, leaving her to a tough decision; whether to step down or run for another 6 years.
10. Texas Senator Terms Served: Elected in 2002, Cornyn has only served 1 term in the Senate. However, he was currently elected this past year in 2008 to serve for another 6 years, earning himself a second term. Previous Political Work: Cornyn served in Texas as a district judge, a member of the Texas Supreme Court, and as Texas Attorney General. Re-Election: In 2008, Cornyn was re-elected to represent the US Senate for another 6 years leaving him up for re-election in 2014. Personal Info: John Cornyn was born in Houston, Texas and raised in San Antonio, Texas. Cornyn is a graduate of Trinity University and St. Mary’s School of Law earning a masters in law from the University of Virginia Law School in 1995. Senator Cornyn is a married man of 29 years and has two daughters. John Cornyn
11. Texas Congressman Joe Barton Terms Served: Barton was first elected in 1984 Personal Info: Born in Waco, Texas, Barton grew up playing baseball. This passion soon grew to earn him a 4 year scholarship to Texas A&M University. Later earning a Master’s of Science degree in Industrial Administration from Purdue University. Barton returned to Texas later in life to be a natural gas decontrol consultant for Atlantic Richfield Oil and Gas Company before being elected to Congress. Barton is married with two children, two stepchildren, and five grandchildren. Previous Political Work: In 2004, Barton was selected to be the Chairman of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce making him the oldest standing legislative House committee. Barton currently serves as a Congressman over the 6 th District of Texas. Re-Election: Barton is currently serving his
12. Senate Leaders Joe Biden Robert Byrd President of the Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1942 and later raised in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden currently lives with his wife and their daughter. Joe Biden was first elected to the Senate in1972, becoming the 6 th youngest senator in U.S history. In 2008, Biden ended his 6 th term, focusing on starting his seventh term in the Senate. Biden was chosen by Obama, the current President of the United States, to become the first Roman Catholic and the first Delawarean to become the Vice President of the United States. Biden has just begun his seventh term in office, however, he will be up for re-election in November of 2013. Robert Byrd was born in North Wilksboro, North Carolina in 1917 and later raised in Southern West Virgina. Byrd now lives with wife and two children, has two sons in law, and five living grandchildren. At age 24, Byrd realized he was born to be a leader by joining the Klu Klux Klan in 1942. Byrd was first elected into the Senate in 1959 and is the longest-serving member in the Senate’s history. He is also the oldest current member of the U.S Congress, and is the first person to serve uninterrupted for half a century as a U.S. senator. Byrd also served as a member of West Virginia’s 6 th Congressional district. Never losing an election, Byrd was elected into his 9 th term in 2006. Byrd’s term will eventually end this year, November 2009, and will be up for re-election.
