John Shadegg

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John Shadegg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Jon Kyl
Born	October 22, 1949 (1949-10-22) (age 58) Phoenix, Arizona
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Shirley Shadegg
Religion	Episcopalian

John Barden Shadegg (born October 22, 1949), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1995, representing Arizona's 3rd congressional district (map). The district, numbered as the 4th District before the 2000 Census, includes much of northern Phoenix.

[edit] Personal life

Shadegg is the son of Steve Shadegg of Arizona, who managed Barry Goldwater's 1952 and 1958 U.S. Senate races and organized the Draft Goldwater movement in the 1964 presidential campaign. Steve Shadegg did not, however, manage Goldwater's general election campaign in 1964. John Shadegg was born in Phoenix, was educated at the University of Arizona B.A. 1972 J.D. 1975, served in the Arizona Air National Guard from 1969 to 1975, and was a lawyer, a special counsel to the Arizona state House Republican caucus 1991–1992, special assistant attorney general in the State of Arizona 1983–1990, and an adviser to the United States Sentencing Commission before entering the House.

Shadegg is married to the former Shirley Leuck; they have a son and a daughter. The Shadeggs are Episcopalian.

[edit] House of Representatives career

Shadegg entered the Republican primary for the 4th District after four-term incumbent Jon Kyl made what turned out to be a successful run for the United States Senate. He won a four-way primary with 43 percent of the vote, and breezed to victory in November. He has been reelected six times.

Shadegg was recently elected Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, the fifth-ranking position in the House Leadership below the Majority Leader. He was the only member of the Republican Class of 1994 serving in leadership until resigning the post to run for Majority Leader in January 2006.

From 2000 to 2002, Congressman Shadegg served as chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), a group of conservative House Republicans.

On January 13, 2006 Shadegg officially joined the race for the House Majority Leader as a compromise alternative candidate to Representatives Roy Blunt and John Boehner. Shadegg received the support of the National Review,^[1] the Club for Growth,^[2] the Arizona Republic,^[3] and the blog RedState.^[4] Feb. 2, after Shadegg came third in the first ballot, his supporters switched to second place Boehner, ensuring Boehner's election on the second ballot.

Shadegg ran for House Minority Whip following the loss of Republican control of the House in November 2006, losing to Blunt.

[edit] 2006

In 2006, the Democrats nominated Herb Paine, who barely defeated his Democrat primary opponent, to face Shadegg in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) Shadegg easily retained his seat with nearly 60% of the vote.

[edit] Retirement announcement and retractment

Shadegg announced on February 11, 2008 that he would not run for an eighth term, saying that he wanted to "seek a new challenge in a different venue to advance the cause of freedom." However, Shadegg retracted the statement on February 21, and announced he would seek reelection.^[5] Over 140 Republicans in Congress signed a letter asking Shadegg to keep his seat.^[6] Although it was speculated that he would run for the United States Senate if John McCain becomes president,^[7] Shadegg had expressed his intention to leave public life and return to the private sector^[6] before changing his mind. Shadegg will face Democratic candidate Bob Lord in the 2008 election.

[edit] Political positions

Shadegg is a free-market conservative.^{[citation needed]} Shadegg opposed a house budget resolution that would increase taxes in 2007.^[8] Citizens Against Government Waste considered him a "Taxpayer Hero".^[9] National Taxpayers Union considered him a "Taxpayer Friend" in 2006.^[10]

In 2007, he opposed several bills to set a deadline to withdraw troops from Iraq.^{[11][12][13][14][15]} Shadegg voted against lowering the interest rate on federal student loans (College Student Relief Act of 2007).^[11][16] Shadegg voted against the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, which increased the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour.^[11][17] Shadegg voted for a bill to build a 700-mile fence along the border between the United States and Mexico (Secure Fence Act of 2006).^[11] In 2005, Shadegg voted against a bill to create a flag-burning amendment to the Constitution.^[11][18]

[edit] Electoral history

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• U.S. Congressman John Shadegg official House site
• John Shadegg at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission — John B. Shadegg campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — John Shadegg issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — John Shadegg campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative John B. Shadegg (AZ) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — John Shadegg profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: John Shadegg voting record
• John Shadegg for Congress official campaign site