Come January, notwithstanding the January 5 Senate run-off elections, there will be a total of 66 new Members of Congress (six in the Senate and 60 in the House). These new Members have diverse backgrounds, including a former major party presidential nominee, an ambassador, returning lawmakers and first-time candidates. Some will come to Washington with backgrounds in education and CTE, and some will learn when they get here. Over the course of this week, we will be profiling these new Members to highlight any relevant education- or workforce-related backgrounds they bring to Congress.
Alabama
Alabama will have three new Members of Congress come January: two in the House and one in the Senate. In the Senate, Tommy Tuberville (R), defeated incumbent Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) to become Alabama’s new junior senator. He spent his entire career as a college football coach, most notably at the University of Mississippi and Auburn University. According to his campaign website, Sen.-elect Tuberville believes that the “federal government is not the solution to improving our nation's education system,” and that the “best and most viable solutions come from the local level.”
In the House, Republican Jerry Carl won election in the state's First Congressional District, replacing Rep. Bradley Byrne, who unsuccessfully ran for Senate. Carl is currently a county commissioner and entrepreneur, credited with creating around a dozen different businesses. On his website, Carl makes no mention of education policy, focusing mainly on agriculture and national security issues.
Lastly, representing Alabama's Second Congressional District will be Republican Barry Moore, replacing Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL), who decided not to run for re-election. He is a veteran (Army), small business owner and has previously served in the state legislature, where he was on the education committee. While not much is known about his education priorities, he has historically supported ending the federal government’s involvement in education policy.
Arizona
Arizona will have one new Member of Congress, Democrat Mark Kelly, who defeated Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ), to become the state’s junior senator. Kelly became a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy upon graduation of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. During his Naval career he became a naval aviator and made two deployments to the First Gulf War and flew 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm. In 1996, Kelly was selected to be an astronaut for NASA, where he served multiple missions to space. According to his campaign website, Kelly believes that education should prepare students for successful lives by preparing them for both college and careers. He supports community colleges and believes “we need to invest more in career training, apprenticeship programs and work to streamline professional certification.”
California
California will have six new Members of Congress, all serving in the House of Representatives. In California’s Eighth Congressional District, Jay Obernolte (R) will replace Rep. Paul Cook (R-CA), who retired to run for County Board of Supervisors. Obernolte is a technology business owner, former state assemblyman, and mayor. During his tenure as an assemblyman, he long supported “investments in career technical education to better prepare students for the workplaces of tomorrow.”
In the 21st District, former Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) has regained his seat by defeating incumbent Rep. TJ Cox (D-CA). Aside from representing the agriculture-heavy 21st district from 2013-2019, Valadao spent time in the state legislature and works on his family’s dairy farm. During his previous tenure in Congress, he sat on the Appropriations Committee, which oversees funding for the Perkins Basic State Grant. He also supported the passage of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V), and more generally, “supports expanding vocational and trade school options for our students.”
Republican Young Kim defeated incumbent Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-CA), to represent the 39th Congressional District in the 117th Congress. Kim, a longtime congressional aide for former Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) and former state legislator, will be among the first Korean American women in Congress. According to her campaign website, Kim will “fight for increased funding in STEM education and to ensure education dollars go to educators and their classrooms, and not bureaucrats in Sacramento and DC.”
Republican Michelle Steel defeated incumbent Rep. Harley Rouda (D-CA), to become the new representative for California’s 48th Congressional District. Steel has served on the Orange County Board of Supervisors since 2015, is a former member of the State Board of Equalization and served on various commissions under the Bush Administration. There is no mention of education issues on her campaign website, where she heavily focuses on tax issues and other business-centric policies.
In the 50th District, former Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is replacing Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), who resigned in January after being indicted on 60 federal charges. Issa spent 19 years in Congress, previously representing California’s 48th and 49th Congressional districts. During his previous tenure in Congress, he sat on the Judiciary and Oversight Committees. While it does not have jurisdiction over CTE issues, during his time on the Judiciary Committee, he promoted legislation to provide green cards to foreign graduates of American universities in the STEM fields. Prior to serving in Congress, Issa served 10 years in the U.S. Army and created multiple businesses, making him one of the richest Members of Congress.
Lastly, representing California’s 53rd Congressional District will be Democrat Sara Jacobs, who is replacing Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA), who decided to retire at the end of the 116th Congress. Jacobs has previously worked at the United Nations, UNICEF, U.S. Department of State as a contractor, and as a policy advisor for the Hillary Clinton Campaign (2016). Education, specifically early childhood education, is one of the main tenets of her policy platform. Regarding policies important to ACTE members, Jacobs believes, “we can broaden opportunities for students through tuition-free community college and by supporting more career and technical training, including and especially for teachers.” She further lists on her campaign website that the federal government needs to provide better incentives for companies to create apprenticeship opportunities for students and recent graduates and expand internships so that students of all means are able to participate in them.
Colorado
Colorado will have two new Members of Congress come January: one in the House and one in the Senate. In the Senate, Democrat Jim Hickenlooper defeated incumbent Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), to become the new junior senator from Colorado. Prior to the Senate, Hickenlooper served as Colorado’s Governor, Mayor of Denver and Denver City Auditor. He also ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 presidential election. He has long been an ardent support of providing robust resources for education, specifically CTE and workforce education. According to his campaign website, he believes “the federal government should expand apprenticeship opportunities so that more students can graduate with an industry-recognized credential or certificate that prepares them for success in higher education and the workforce.” Further, he states he will work “to expand access to high-quality career and technical education by providing more funding for the Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) Act.”
In the House, Republican Lauren Boebert defeated Incumbent Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO) in the Republican primary and went on to win the general election to represent Colorado’s Third District. Boebart is a businesswoman who owns two restaurants with her husband and a guns-rights activist. There is not much mention of education policy on her campaign website, except that she supports the elimination of the U.S. Department of Education.
Comments